If you purchase six or more bottles of any Hess Collection wines, the Napa Valley winery will deliver the package to your door for $1 in shipping costs. That’s a pretty good deal, one of many now being offered by wineries coast-to-coast in their shop-from-home campaigns during the COVID-19 crisis. The Hess Family Estate offers […]
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Artesa Winery: Lights, cameras, action and fabulous Chardonnay
Artesa Winery is small winery in Napa Valley that makes artisanal wines, principally small-batch Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Albarino and Tempranillo. The wines are very good and sometimes hard to obtain, although some have trickled into New Hampshire State Liquor & Wine Outlets. Artesa and its wines were featured in the recent movie “Wine […]
What do Kim Crawford, Sarah Jessica Parker and Charles Krug have in common? Bright, exciting Sauvignon Blanc for hunkering down
Life goes on – at home – and I’m not going to let the COVID-19 outbreak get me down. First, I want to express my gratitude to all the medical personnel and first responders who are on the front lines during these difficult times and helping the nation’s coronavirus victims. Second, I send my prayers […]
Buy wine online, save a job, and put a cork into the spread of COVID-19
While I am faithfully following all social-distancing protocols because of the COVID-19 crisis, I am still embracing the splendid art of drinking and dining at home. With that important message in mind, let’s not forget your local wine shops and their employees. Some are trying to find a way to do any type of social-distancing […]
Remember 2011? Paolo Scavino Barolo helps fill in the blanks
What do I remember about the year 2011? Not much, except for two events that have stood the test of my aging mind. On May 2, U.S. special forces pulled off a daring raid on Osama bin Laden’s walled-in compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan and shot and killed the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks that took […]
Grillo – clean, crisp, tasty – is the go-to white wine for seafood and Lent
For Christians all across the globe, especially Roman Catholics, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of a very sacred season leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his resurrection on Easter Sunday. For Catholics, this is known as the 40 days of Lent when abstinence, or fasting, from meat is observed on Wednesdays and […]
Making a ‘V’-line for vibrant, vivacious – and even vegan – Viognier
“V” is for Viognier, a “noble” white grape of France’s Rhone Valley that depends on warm, sunny climates to bring out its best features. Condreiu, located on the right bank of the Rhone River, is famous for its exclusive production of Viognier wines that tend to be medium- to full-bodied, perfumey, fruity, and dry. The […]
Ten easy-drinking, enchanting wines from the heart of Portugal
I’m predicting that Portugal is poised to have a breakout wine year in 2020. The tiny, coastal Mediterranean country is about the size of Indiana, but it’s punching above its weight when it comes to producing better wines each year. In 2019 when the world’s total wine production declined 10 percent, Portugal topped global charts […]
Winemaker Craig McAllister keeps it cool and unique at La Crema
The first Pinot Noir I can ever remember tasting was made by La Crema. So when I had a chance to interview Craig McAllister, La Crema’s head winemaker, I jumped at it. We met for lunch last month at The Crown Tavern in downtown Manchester during New Hampshire Wine Week. McAllister brought along several wines, […]
Wine of the Day (2-6-2020): Ca’ Maioli Lugana White
To taste the wonder of Ca’ Maiol Lugana white wine, you must first understand the beautiful place from which it comes. Desenzano del Garda is a small town in Lombardy, located on the southwestern shore of Lake Garda. It is a popular resort community offering beaches and boating on Italy’s largest lake and sweeping distant […]