VINOGRAPHY: a wine blog
Wine and food adventures in San Francisco and around the world
~ Recently in Wine Reviews Category ~
Vinography Unboxed: Week of May 20, 2013
Hello from the bottom (or more truthfully, from floundering near the top) of the samples pile. This is the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles of wine that have crossed my doorstep recently. I'm just getting back to the pile after some travel and craziness that has made it hard to find time to open boxes and taste things lately. This week we've got a pretty Riesling from Germany, with a lemon complexion and a hint of something deeper. The couple of biodynamic and mostly unsulfured wines from Ambyth Estate in Paso Robles... continue reading 
- Posted by: Alder on May 22, 2013 9:48 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Pietradolce Winery, Solichiatta, Sicily: Recent Releases
Michele Faro loves his mother, and I do too. In fact, I wanted to kiss the woman after a long day of driving from the northern tip of Sicily down to the eastern slopes of Mount Etna. Tired and hungry, I arrived at the tiny boutique hotel that Faro has named after his mother, Donna Carmela, and sat down to a bowl of her rustic pork ragu and freshly made pasta, and practically burst into tears it was so good. Simple, essential, bursting with flavor, and perfectly spiced -- the tangy tomato sauce playing counterpoint to the rich, fatty saltiness... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 18, 2013 11:41 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Framingham Wines, Marlborough, New Zealand: Current Releases
Sometimes the true story of a winery is not found in its history, tracing back the ownership from generation to generation. The story of some wineries begins when someone decides to start afresh with the materials of the past, looking forward instead of back. Rex Brooke-Taylor was certainly forward looking when he planted his Marlborough Vineyards in 1980 and 1981. An engineer from Wellington, Brooke-Taylor named his winery Framingham after his ancestral estate in East Anglia, and had the unusual foresight to plant Phylloxera-resistant rootstock in an era when many couldn't imagine the pest making it to New Zealand's... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 9, 2013 11:26 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Bressan Mastri Vinai, Friuli Izonzo, Italy: Current Releases
I'm not entirely sure why some of the best wines in the world are made by people who are more than a little crazy, but there are enough wacko winemakers out there to make it clear that the connection between great wine and eccentric iconoclasts is more than mere coincidence. Even more telling are the number of these "eno savants" (to perhaps coin a phrase) that live in Friuli, in northeast Italy. Once upon a time, there was no Italy, there was only the river Isonzo, winding its way down out of the Alps towards the Adriatic sea. From the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 5, 2013 10:24 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Frank Cornelissen, Etna, Sicily: Upcoming Releases
"It's not going to be big enough," says Frank Cornelissen, watching the backhoe dig out the foundations of his second generation winery in the shadow of the little village church. But before I can ask him why he's bothering to build a winery that he knows isn't going to handle his dreams, he adds, "That's why we bought another cellar. We'll move into that one eventually. The third one will be right." Eventually, in Cornelissen time frames, is about 10 years. It's all part of a plan he is executing with the frenetic passion of a man running across a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 30, 2013 10:56 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Churton Wines, Marlborough, New Zealand: Recent Releases
Sometimes we head off into the world searching for our heart's desire only to return home to find that what we needed was right in our own back yard. Like all literary tropes, this one has more than a grain of truth. When Sam Weaver and his wife Mandy decided to move to New Zealand from their native England, they found themselves a pretty house at the base of a hill with a gorgeous view and a lot of big trees. Ten years later, after searching throughout Marlborough for a hillside vineyard to buy, Weaver realized he had been... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 25, 2013 11:28 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Stella di Campalto, Castelnuovo dell'Abate, Italy: Current Releases
Some stories are just about enough to make you believe in fate. Fifteen years ago, no one in their right mind would have ever predicted that the young Stella di Campalto would be one of the most exciting new producers of Brunello di Montalcino in the last decade. Being of sound mind, she certainly couldn't have imagined it herself, especially given the fact that she didn't drink wine. But luckily for her, and for those of us who love Brunello di Montalcino, she had an aunt who was decidedly not in her right mind. "My mother's family is from Florence,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 21, 2013 9:23 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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When it Comes to Rosé, Italy Gives France a Run for the Money
My gold standard for pink wine has long been the wines of southern France, in particular Provence. Add in some of the wines of Tavel, Marsannay, and the Loire Valley, and you've pretty much covered the vast majority of what I think is the world's greatest rosé. For anyone who's not familiar with those appellations, they all have one thing in common. They're in France. Have I had good rosés from other places? Sure I have. From all over the world. We're not talking about France having a monopoly here, they're just the safest bet I know of. Or knew... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 15, 2013 9:34 PM
- Filed under: Pink Wine , Wine Reviews
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Three Glasses Full: Highlights from the 2013 Tre Bicchieri Tasting
When given the opportunity -- usually the occasion of someone asking me "what's your favorite wine" -- I often tell people, with some degree of pride, that my tastes in wine are quite broad. I like wine from everywhere, and love wine from a ton of places, and lust after wines from many places. I don't believe I have a specific bias towards one region or another, and get great enjoyment out of drinking wine from all over. However, each year, my confidence in my catholic tastes is shaken a little as I emerge from the Gambero Rosso Tre... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 5, 2013 2:25 PM
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2009 Ladera Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, Howell Mountain, Napa
I've been drinking wine for nearly 50% of my life at this point, taking notes on wine for almost 20 years, and writing this blog for nine, but despite that fact, it's not exactly common for me to be able to say with certainty that I've tasted every vintage of a particular wine made by any one winery. Even those wineries whose inaugural vintages debuted since Vinography became a going concern I am generally not able to taste their wines with regularity every single year. But there are a few wineries whose wines I have been buying and tasting since... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 3, 2013 10:08 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of March 24, 2013
Hello from the bottom (or more truthfully, from somewhere in the middle) of the samples pile. This is the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles of wine that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week seems to be the all-California week for wine samples, with a few favorite brands showing up this week. The Arista and Dutton Goldfield Pinots are always a good bet for quality and reasonable prices (as far as California Pinot Noir goes -- it's all relative). When it comes to white, Macrostie is as sure bet as you can... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 27, 2013 9:49 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Te Whare Ra, Marlborough, New Zealand: Current Releases
"I think if I hear 'wine must be such a great lifestyle' one more time," says Anna Flowerday, "I think I'm going to punch someone. A lot of people don't understand the crazy hours, the way that wine is such an all encompassing thing." "It's not a lifestyle, it's a life" agrees her husband Jason, as they both dry off their well-worn hands and settle down into dusty chairs in the chilly and slightly ramshackle workroom-cum-enology lab that sits towards the back of their small winery, named Te Whare Ra. A team of two other workers continues racking wine while... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 23, 2013 10:59 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Dog Point Vineyard, Marlborough, New Zealand: Current Releases
What do you get when two guys who helped to build one of New Zealand's most iconic and successful brands decide they're tired of being administrators and want to get their hands dirty again? You can find it down a little dirt road a ways outside of Blenheim. Drive slow. You might miss the sign. Once through this unassuming gate, you'll likely be attacked. But don't worry, dog slobber won't kill you. After you've met the welcoming committee (Stella, Charlie, Case, Dixon, and/or Monty) you'll find your way to the unassuming sheds and tanks that make up Dog Point Vineyard,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 19, 2013 10:02 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Kapcsándy Family Winery, Napa: Current Releases
Napa has a way of turning modest dreams into major productions. Lou Kapcsándy and his wife Bobbie decided to retire to Napa mostly out of nostalgia for the picnics and wine tasting they used to do as a young married couple living in Sausalito. Forty years after the first of these romantic escapes, their retirement dream included only a little cottage with at most an acre or so of vines, so Lou could putter in the garage and make a barrel or two of wine from his backyard fruit. Three years after the family, including their son Louis, made the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 16, 2013 10:49 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of March 10, 2013
Hello from the bottom (or more truthfully, from somewhere in the middle) of the samples pile. This is the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better bottles of wine that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week's offerings hail from France, Australia, Italy, and even Portugal, and bring with them some nice surprises. I continue to be impressed with the still wines of Gloria Ferrer. Better known for their (decent, but not fantastic) sparkling wines, Ferrer's still wines have never garnered much attention (from me or elsewhere). But I've been tasting them for the last... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 11, 2013 10:52 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Bilancia Wines, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand: Current Releases
New Zealand's Hawke's Bay wine region nestles up against the astonishing natural harbor that lends the area its name, sprawling primarily across flat, former river-beds. These generally gravel-rich and nutrient-poor soils, including the increasingly well-known Gimblett Gravels sub-region, have lent themselves to little else but grape growing. But when they first began to be planted in the early part of the 20th Century, everyone discovered just how good they were for wine. Consequently, you don't see many hillside vineyards in Hawke's Bay. When the former floodplains of the area's many rivers have leveled out such a gorgeous section of land... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 9, 2013 5:44 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of February 24, 2013
I'm not on the road at the moment, which gives me some time to dive back into the samples pile. So welcome to the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week's offerings span the globe, from France, to Australia, to Uruguay, to Italy. I got a pair of white Burgundies from small producer Henri Darnat, whose village Puligny-Montrachet was quite tasty, and made a nice counterpoint to the Grgich Hills Chardonnay, which is always a reliable bottle of wine. I really enjoyed the Clos du... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 27, 2013 9:09 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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The Best of Napa's 2011 Cabernets: Tasting at Premiere Napa Valley
This past Saturday, Napa Valley held what the Napa Valley Vintners association refers to as its "Annual Bake Sale." The event officially named Premiere Napa Valley is held each February as a fundraiser for the Vintners' operations, and is open only to members of the trade (retailers, corporate buyers, and the like). Every year, this auction provides a gauge of the overall demand for Napa wine, and perhaps a broader barometer of the American fine wine market overall. Judging by the auction's proceeds of $3.04 million, which didn't quite top last year's record haul of $3.1 million, the demand for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 26, 2013 11:18 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Hawke's Bay Wines With Some Age On Them
With the clouds turning a peachy pink against the always-riveting-blue sky above Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, I found myself strolling around the grounds of Clearview Estate sampling bits of the region's past. To celebrate the final evening of the few days that I and a few dozen other journalists, sommeliers, and wine buyers had spent immersed in the region, several producers grabbed a couple of older bottles from their cellars and offered them up for a leisurely tasting as the last rays of the day hit the cliffs of Cape Kidnappers above the gentle swells of the bay. New Zealand's... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 17, 2013 12:39 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Wine Reviews
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New Zealand and a Tale of Two Grapes
When you don't have two thousand years of history proving which grapes grow best in your soils, how do you decide what to grow, and how do you learn how to grow it well? And perhaps even trickier, once you've planted something, how do you decide whether you made the right decision? These were some of the questions that went through my mind as I tasted some of the first Grüner Veltliners produced in New Zealand. Along with a few dozen other journalists and members of the wine trade, I attended the 2013 Nelson International Aromatics Symposium a few weeks... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 12, 2013 10:37 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Man O'War Vineyards, Waiheke Island, New Zealand: Current Releases
Under painfully blue skies and across the turquoise waters of the Hauraki Gulf on a 40-minute ferry ride from Auckland, it's hard to believe you're approaching wine country as the rolling hills of Waiheke Island fill your view. But climb off the ferry in the small cove dotted with lolling sailboats, and wind your way over the hill through the little village with no stoplights, and soon enough, you'll see a vineyard. Continue down the road a ways after a left hand turn and past the place where the pavement runs out permanently, and other than sheep paddocks, stands of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 9, 2013 11:42 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Hawkes Bay Merlot: Worth the Effort?
Continuing my coverage of my time spent last week in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, we come to the opportunity to contemplate the most widely planted grape in the region, and what it may offer. Of the slightly more than 11,800 vineyard acres in the Hawkes Bay, more than 2500 are planted to Merlot. Merlot has long featured in the region's Bordeaux-style blends, along with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and occasionally Petite Verdot. In most wines, just as in the Bordeaux regions of Pomerol and St. Emilion, it is the dominant player rather than Cabernet Sauvignon. And, as one might... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 28, 2013 11:58 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Hawkes Bay Chardonnay Versus the World
Hello from the land of the Kiwi. As some of you know, I'm down here at the bottom of the world exploring the wines of New Zealand for a couple of weeks. It's been about 8 years since I've been to New Zealand, and I'm quite excited to see how the industry has changed and evolved. New Zealand was the first wine region I visited after beginning my odyssey as a wine writer, and I'm sure I've changed a lot, too. I've tasted a good bit of New Zealand wine in the intervening years, but if feels good to be... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 26, 2013 11:53 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Best of the West: Tasting the Wines of the Extreme Sonoma Coast
What are the most exciting wines being made in the state of California? From nooks, crannies, ridges and ruffles of western Sonoma county, some of the country's best Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah wines are being eked out of chilly vineyards by passionate winemakers who are at the vanguard of where wine is going in this state. These winemakers, who have sought out some of the most extreme (read: cold) vineyard sites in Sonoma county, have recently rallied together under the banner of the West Sonoma Coast Vintners Association. In August, they put on their second annual public tasting and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 24, 2013 9:22 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of January 6, 2013
Welcome to the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week's samples included the remainder of the group of wines I was recently sent from Alsace producer Pierre Sparr, and I find that over several of these Unboxed postings, I've basically recommended nearly every wine from this producer. None of them are knockout amazing, but they are all quite tasty, and most are fantastic values. I've got another wine in here this week from Dry Creek producer Quivira, a special blend of Zinfandel from their biodynamically... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 7, 2013 10:26 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Vinography Unboxed: Here We Go, 2013!
Welcome to the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently, and the first edition of 2013. This week's samples included a stellar wine that has quickly become one of Napa's best values, the (slightly difficult to find) "Herrick" red blend from the folks at Conn Creek winery. This bottle is great candidate for a house wine, but sophisticated enough for serious Cabernet drinkers. Quivira, the biodynamic estate in Sonoma's Dry Creek Valley has been producing great wines over the past few years, many of which are excellent... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 2, 2013 11:01 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2007 Shafer Vineyards "Hillside Select" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag's Leap District, Napa
In a family wine business, one of the most crucial moments in the history of the enterprise will always be when the parent decides to hand over control of the family's winery to the next generation. This is a time honored tradition, and one that has marked wine dynasties old and new. In Napa's short modern history (following the end of Prohibition) only a few families have achieved or are even trying to create the kind of family legacy that has ensured the continuing success of many old world wineries. Doug Shafer and his father John Shafer have been working... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 1, 2013 10:00 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2004 Craggy Range "The Quarry" Bordeaux Blend, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand
New Zealand is certainly a land of surprises. A relatively compact landmass, it seems to possess every possible topography and climate. Tropical rainforests, glaciers, arid plains, high deserts, rich low country farmlands, coastal beaches, and alpine foothills, to name just a few. While the country may perhaps be known best for its cool-climate winegrowing, it should really come as no surprise that its winegrowing regions mirror the diversity of its larger geography. The fact that the country has a growing region with a climate like Bordeaux or the upper Rhone Valley (minus some annual moisture), however, still remains somewhat under... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 29, 2012 10:47 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of December 23, 2012
Welcome to the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week's samples included further proof that Syrah is not dead in the form of two excellent wines, one from Napa, the other from the Central Coast of California. Now whether anyone will buy them is another matter, but at $15 (in some outlets) the Morgan Syrah is definitely a steal, and the Spring Mountain Syrah is worth its heftier price tag as well. A nice Aszu Eszenscia wine is worth seeking out as well, made from... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 26, 2012 10:34 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Suvla Vineyards, Gallipoli, Turkey: Current Releases
Walking through the front door of Suvla Vineyards' immaculate visitors center on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula a visitor familiar with California wine country might experience a brief and intense moment of dislocation. This especially if they had spent time visiting other wineries in the area, whose hospitality facilities ranged from modest terra cotta bars, to polished modern architecture. None that I visited so unnervingly matched the crisp and bountiful offerings of the trendiest wineries in California. Walls of olive oil bottles, freshly filled from the winery's stone press alternate with preserved vegetables and fruits, as well as lovingly showcased examples of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 25, 2012 2:07 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of December 16th 2012
Welcome to the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week's samples included a Riesling I enjoyed very much even though I suspect it might have been slightly oxidized. It was a 2010 vintage but tasted 5 to 10 years old at least -- which is to say, quite pleasurable, but my suspicion is that I didn't get a perfect bottle. But that didn't particularly matter to my palate. Don't miss the incredible value represented by the Pierre Sparr white blend from Alsace, which offers a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 18, 2012 9:07 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Cantine Ferrari, Trentino, Italy: Entry-Level Wines
Who knows what it is, exactly, about sparkling wine that entices us so. But go to any wine region around the world, and you're bound to find someone making sparkling wine there (for better or worse). Most, even the best contenders, have a hard time holding a candle to the benchmarks of Champagne. There are a select few regions and producers outside of France, however, that manage to make sparkling wines that are truly exceptional. Two of them (at least) are in Italy, and this is the story of one of them. At the turn of the 20th century, Champagne... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 17, 2012 10:57 PM
- Filed under: Sparkling Wine , Wine Reviews
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2011 Tatomer "Paragon" Gruner Veltliner, Edna Valley
When you meet some winemakers, who are seemingly making a living at a pursuit borne entirely of passion, it's hard not to look at success in their chosen field as a product of luck. Many of them will encourage this impression, speaking honestly of how lucky they are to be doing what they love, and to have been successful at it. The younger they are, the more likely they are to talk this way. Such surfaces belie the deeper truth of what it takes to really make it as a winemaker -- the incredible amount of work, persistence, and knowledge... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 12, 2012 10:25 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Turkish Wine: Some Tasting Notes
I have fond memories of the two weeks I spent in Turkey during early November. As some of you know, I visited to attend the European Wine Bloggers Conference, and to explore a bit of the Turkish wine country. I'm in the process of writing up a few more profiles of individual wineries, but thought I'd share my tasting notes from a large number of the Turkish wines I tasted throughout my time in Turkey. Without also preempting another future blog post which will contain my deeper impressions of Turkish Wine, here are some short thoughts on the state of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 9, 2012 9:25 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Smith Madrone Winery, Napa: Current Releases
There are more legends, stories, fairytales, and fables than anyone could count that all involve some guy up on a mountainside somewhere. Sometimes a hermit, sometimes a wizard, sometimes a troll -- sometimes just an old man who went to sleep under a tree for a long, long time. No matter what the story, there's always something a little different about the guy on the mountain, something that is both scary and alluring at the same time. Stu Smith might be living out yet another version of one of these tales. The fact that Stu sports a big gray and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 8, 2012 10:01 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Pasaeli Winery, Izmir, Turkey: Current Releases
At the age of 17, Seyit Karagozoglu was far from home. For three years he had been away from his native Turkey at a boarding school in Switzerland. His father, a tobacco dealer, wanted him to receive an international education. One weekend in his third year, Karagozoglu's father came to visit, and they went out to dinner. His father ordered a bottle of Musigny, and gave the young man a glass. "It was the first time I had ever had a French wine, and I remember the taste to this day. How could a wine be this good?" says Karagozoglu.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 3, 2012 11:19 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Kocabag Winery, Cappadocia, Turkey: Current Releases
From the small airport of Nevsehir you must cross the Kizilirmak or "the red river," the longest river in Turkey which earns its name each spring as it fills with the iron-rich soils washed down from the painted hills of Cappadocia. But for now, the river exists in placid greenish-gray, slightly turbid from the recent rains, flowing as ever towards its end in the Black Sea. Once across the narrow bridge, the road climbs back onto the the terraced plateaus of former floodplains which silently date this wide expanse of high desert to somewhere between ancient and eternal. It's easy... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 25, 2012 11:04 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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The Legendary Wines of Napa: Tasting Notes
Last weekend I had the singular pleasure of co-leading a tasting with the title Legends of Napa Valley. I wrote about my impressions of the tasting overall, and the lessons that it offered, such as they were, about the aging of Napa wines across the last five decades, as part of my monthly column for Jancis Robinson. Now that I'm done editorializing, we can get down to the wines themselves. Below I offer my tasting notes for every wine that we tasted, in the order we tasted them. We tasted in four flights, two each day. The start of every... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 23, 2012 11:59 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Perfect 10s , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Cobb Wines, Sonoma Coast, CA: Two Vineyards, Four Vintages
When we are children, we don't necessarily comprehend what our parents do for fun, and when we do, we rarely approve. As a teenager, the view from Ross Cobb's room included a few dozen Pinot Noir vines that his father, David Cobb, a marine biologist and environmental scientist, had planted in the backyard of their Mill Valley home. The fact that his parents were spending their Tuesday and Thursday nights taking viticulture classes at the Santa Rosa Junior College, and their weekends looking at land in Sonoma meant very little to him. "It seemed like a funny hobby, but I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 19, 2012 8:54 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of November 11, 2012
Welcome to the latest installment of Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week's samples included a very nice Syrah from the coolest part of the Russian River Valley, Green Valley, from a producer who keeps getting better and better. Don't miss the earthy, herbal red blend from Weingut Christ in the city limits of Vienna, whose whites are also excellent, should you ever come across them. Russian Hill Estate Vineyards in the Russian River Valley is a reliable source of excellent California Pinot Noir, and their Lera's single... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 13, 2012 12:30 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Highlights from the Wine & Spirits Top 100 Event
I attend a lot of public tasting events for the same reason I tell my readers to attend them. They are simply the best way to educate the palate, and often the only way to get a chance to taste certain wines that you might not otherwise have a chance to afford. Such tastings can be quite exhausting and by the end of the event, I'm usually ready to take a nap. At the end of the annual Wine & Spirits Top 100 tasting every year, however, I find myself wishing I had another couple of hours to wander around... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 5, 2012 10:07 AM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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Vivier Wines, Napa: Current Releases
Most winemakers have some story of how they discovered wine. It's quite commonplace in Europe to simply grow up in a winemaking family, but here in the U.S. most winemakers don't have that luxury. Instead they often can recall a specific moment when the world of wine opened up to them, and they recognized the possibility of finding their life's work in it. Stéphane Vivier grew up in the heart of Burgundy, but his family, which hailed from elsewhere, was not a winemaking family, unless you count the small batches of homemade wine by aunts and uncles. When asked how... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 3, 2012 5:36 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Bonny Doon Vineyards: Syrah is not Dead, and Other Matters
There's just something about Randall Grahm that demands only the use of adjectives pulled off of a rack clearly bearing the label "erudite." The man isn't busy, he's peripatetic. He's not merely opinionated, he's irrepressible. More so than many winemakers, an afternoon's conversation with Grahm seems likely to range deep and wide across philosophic, economic, political, literary, and scientific domains. And that's before you even start talking about the wine. "I can't be consistent, I can't stay on message. How boring is that? I try to be a little more focused but.... " Grahm trails off with a smile. Grahm... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 27, 2012 11:35 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of October 22, 2012
Welcome to this week's installment of my new feature, Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This weeks samples included a rather austere Hunter Valley Semillon from Australia. The Hunter Valley is known for its Shiraz and Semillon, and this little number from Brokenwood tasted completely ageless, and was quite a palate shocker. On the other end of the spectrum, a 6 Puttonyos Tokaji Aszu from Grof Degenfeld, a well known Hungarian producer was liquid sunshine on the tongue. Don't miss the Alta Maria Vineyards Pinot Noir (now releasing their... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 25, 2012 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of October 7, 2012
Welcome to this week's installment of my new feature, Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This weeks samples included a number of great values from France, South Africa, and Italy. I was particularly impressed with the Laurentaise Corbieres, a very pretty little wine from the Languedoc, which I was unfortunately unable to find for sale online anywhere, but keep your eye out for it as it's a phenomenal value. The Chateau Chambert was a nice surprise, as it avoided the trap of austerity and stiffness into which lot of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 11, 2012 7:37 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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The World's Best Champagne?: Tasting Bubbly with The Masters of Wine
There was a time I didn't care for Champagne. Now, a week doesn't go by without me wishing I had more Champagne in my modest little cellar. But perhaps even more often than that, I find myself wanting a glass in my hand. Champagne, it turns out -- at least when it's good, has all of my favorite things when it comes to wine: texture, complexity, savoriness, and acidity. My particular problem, however, is that I tend to find these qualities most concentrated with, and in direct correlation to, the price of the bottle. Turns out that I have Champagne... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 7, 2012 10:56 AM
- Filed under: Sparkling Wine , Wine Reviews
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2007 Ruston Family Vineyards "La Maestra" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
I love Napa and its wines, but the bits of it that are truly dear to my heart tend to be off the beaten path, away from the big shiny wineries that front the main roads, with parking lots big enough for tour buses. Finding the "down home" bits of Napa has become harder and harder, but thankfully not impossible. It is still easy, with a little sleuthing, to track down tiny producers that cling to their little vineyards, making small quantities of good wine, and selling them for a reasonable price. Often, these last bastions of down-to-earth winemaking and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 29, 2012 10:49 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of September 24, 2012
Welcome to this week's installment of my new feature, Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week offers the usual grab bag of wines, with some unusual bottles that somehow made their way to me to taste, among them an older vintage Bordeaux and a wine from Cahors, both of which were a nice change from a lot of California wines. The first 2010 Pinot Noirs are starting to to be released and I can say I'm very excited about them. There are a couple from Dutton Goldfield that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 27, 2012 9:35 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of September 17th
Welcome to this week's installment of my new feature, Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week highlights many places on the globe, from Burgundy, Greece, Chile, New Zealand, Germany, and of course a bunch of wines from California. Look for the Gallica Cabernet, a personal project of winemaker Rosemary Cakebread, as well as the perpetually reliable Cabernets from Grgich Hills, and Dry Creek Vineyard. Did you know that Cloudy Bay made Pinot Noir in addition to their famous Sauvignon Blanc? Have you ever tried a wine made from... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 20, 2012 9:53 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2009 Clos de los Siete Red Wine, Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
Fifty miles south of the city of Mendoza the valley of Tunuyan feels less like a valley and more like a vast, kneeling supplicant to the immediate, looming bulk of the Northern Andes mountains. Though the valley floor is massive -- sweeping away from the jagged, snow capped peaks in every possible direction as if it were trying to get out of the way of their falling bulk -- you never get the sense that it is very flat. No matter where you stand, the world seems to be constantly tipping up towards (or down away from, as the case... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 13, 2012 9:18 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Vinography Unboxed: Week of September 10th
Welcome to this week's installment of my new feature, Vinography Unboxed, where I highlight some of the better wine samples that have crossed my doorstep recently. This week highlights a bunch of new Napa Cabernets that are being released to the market this fall. The Cabernets I chose to feature this week represent quite a stylistic range, from the leaner, stonier notes of the Smith Madrone to the ripeness and oak influence of Pine Ridge's Fortis. There's a nice Chardonnay from Dierberg, whose wines just keep getting better in my opinion, as well as an interesting Merlot or two (one... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 11, 2012 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Domaine Coffinet-Duvernay, Chassagne-Montrachet, Burgundy: Some Current Releases
Burgundy is nothing if not consistent. The unbroken line that the region traces back through thousands of years of winegrowing history anchors the soul of the place as firmly as it does its vines. Families, too, for sometimes dozens of generations, seem rooted in place, as the father's wines give way to those of the son, preserving and slowly evolving the family link to the place. Anyone who has visited Burgundy and descended into the mold-encrusted cellars understands how everything there is steeped in time and tradition, as if somehow you could strip away a few trappings of modernity like... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 8, 2012 9:19 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Introducing Vinography Unboxed
I've been sitting on the horns of a minor dilemma. For eight years, I've written about wine precisely the way I want to -- primarily telling stories about the people, places, and histories behind the wine. I've long maintained that in doing so the tasting note for the wine is one of the least important aspects of my reviews, and that Vinography would never become the equivalent of the last 30 pages of every wine magazine, simply a long litany of tasting notes, one after the other. But there's a reason, of course, that wine magazines like the Spectator and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 6, 2012 11:38 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2009 Hyde de Villaine Chardonnay, Carneros, Napa
In some quarters, speaking of the greatness to be found in California Chardonnay will earn nothing but sniggers and the complete loss of credibility when it comes to quality wine. The cognoscenti of the wine world, with few exceptions, have largely written off California's rendition of one of the world's greatest grapes as a failed experiment with excess: too much ripeness and too much oak. Of course, most American wine drinkers care not a whit for what the elite of the wine world think. They never even hear their babbling. Instead they're content to keep buying the slightly sweet, overly... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 4, 2012 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Tasting Notes from the 2012 International Pinot Noir Celebration
The International Pinot Noir Celebration is perhaps my favorite tasting event that I attend each year here in the U.S. Held on the bucolic grounds of a small college in a little town in Oregon's Willamette Valley, the event always manages to get just about everything right. It offers great food, fantastic wines, and interesting lectures all wrapped up in a very casual, relaxed atmosphere that simply makes it a joy to attend. I've already posted some of my coverage of the 2012 event (here and here) but now it's time to get down to the wines on offer.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 25, 2012 10:52 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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Heimann Family Estate, Szekszard, Hungary: Current Releases
The Transdanubian hills in Szekszárd (pronounced sex-sahrd), rise up sharply off the Hungarian Plain, bounding up several hundred meters in short order, so that the roads to the top must hairpin and switchback all the way. Once atop the ridge, however, the view is worth the climb, as beautiful hills and little valleys cascade from the central ridge line, carpeted in grapevines and dotted with the small farmhouses that seem like they could have been there since the beginning of time. Szekszárd is one of Hungary's 22 growing regions. Like most, it has a long tradition of growing grapes, but... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 22, 2012 11:25 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Forgotten Jewels: Reviving Chile's Old Vine Carignane
As a child, the lure of archeology cannot be denied. Fantasies of discovering ancient treasures fuel the dreams of many youngsters, as they did my adolescent imagination. These days, such notions have been replaced in my life with interests no less exciting in the wine world. For the curious wine lover, opportunities abound to explore the treasures of the past in the form of old vines, recently discovered and under rehabilitation by vintners around the world. I delight in tasting wines made from gnarled old plants to which no one paid attention for years until someone realized they might make... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 18, 2012 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Treasure in the Hills: Tasting Oregon's Rieslings
"Pssst. Hey buddy. Wanna taste some Riesling?" said the shadowy figure in the trench coat from behind a tree. I must say, I wasn't surprised at this open solicitation in broad daylight amidst the festivities of the International Pinot Noir Celebration. After all, it had happened to me once before -- a mysterious invitation to slip away from the orgy of Pinot Noir for something a little more.... racy. In fact, I've come to eagerly anticipate the opportunity to check in on the progress of Oregon's least known wine trend. In the land of hills awash with fantastic Pinot Noir,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 5, 2012 10:40 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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A Walk Through the Cote de Nuits with Allen Meadows
As some of you know, I spent last week at the (always) fabulous International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Apart from my responsibilities hosting a tasting, I attended events like everyone else, including the featured Burgundy seminar and tasting run by Allen Meadows of Burghound. As is my habit, I tend to make fairly detailed notes of these seminars, so I can offer my readers a taste of what it was like. What follows below, as usual, is not an actual word-for-word transcript, but it's the closest I can come. Any misstatements, innacuracies, etc, are mine. * *... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 2, 2012 10:48 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Life and Wines of Jacques Lardiere
As some of you who follow my adventures on Twitter know, I'm spending the weekend at the International Pinot Noir Celebration in Oregon's Willamette Valley. I attend this event periodically as a media guest, and enjoy the event's relaxed style, fabulous food, and wonderful mix of Pinot Noir producers from all over the world, including a significant number of Burgundy producers. This year, in addition to enjoying the event, I was asked to host one of the event's add on seminars, a celebration of winemaker jacques Lardiere, and a retrospective tasting os some of the wines he's produced in his... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 28, 2012 11:30 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Weingut Franz Hirtzberger, Wachau, Austria: Current Releases
Standing at the edge of the Danube on a cold spring day, gazing at darkening clouds above the picturesque church of Spitz that is set against a natural bowl of steep terraced hillsides lined with vines, it would be so easy to imagine that you are actually looking backward through time. Other than the modern highway snaking past this little village at the northern end of Austria's Wachau wine region, some barely visible power lines, and the occasional hum of aircraft, not much seems to have changed since the 13th century, when countless hands built these stone terraces that now... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 21, 2012 10:14 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2008 Ovid Proprietary Red Wine, Napa Valley
I've learned a lot about many things in the course of meeting with Napa winemakers and writing about Napa wines for more than eight years. But I tell you, few lessons have been beaten into my head more than the dangers of looking for a vacation home in Napa. If you have the means to buy a nice place in the Napa Valley you are already imperiled. If you start looking, however, you expose yourself to supernatural forces whose breadth and depth have yet to be mapped. Much like the famed Bermuda Triangle, the Napa Valley chews you up and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 11, 2012 11:11 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Weingut Fred Loimer, Kamptal, Austria: Current Releases
"This can't be the way, there's nothing out here," I hear myself saying as my traveling companion and I dutifully follow the GPS into a landscape so pitch black that our high beams barely make a dent in it. All we can see is a rutted dirt road extending in front of us for as far as the beams can see, with a hill falling steeply off to the right and the edge of an embankment to the left, so close that we'll never be able to pass or turn around if we happen to run into another car. Of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 24, 2012 3:56 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Hungarian Wine: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. My Notes From the 2012 Pannon Wine Challenge.
As some of my readers know, I spent four days in May as a judge at the Pannon Wine Challenge, a national competition for Hungarian wine. While this competition is not the sole national proving ground for Hungarian wines, it is perhaps the best known. Along with eight other judges, three of whom were Hungarian, I spent many hours tasting hundreds of wines and passing judgement. In the interest of my more intrepid readers, and anyone in Hungary who cares (perhaps a bit more than my average US reader), I've decided to post all my tasting notes from the competition... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 23, 2012 9:10 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine Reviews
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Italy's Best Wines?: Highlights from the 2012 Tre Bicchieri Tasting
One of the pitfalls involved in blogging-as-therapy, as opposed to blogging-as-profession manifests as the paradox of too much content. If I made my living at wine blogging I'd need to post several times per day, and I'm sure I'd be looking for good content in between my sofa cushions. But since I blog, at best, once a day, and not even seven days a week anymore, I have way more to write about than I have time to write it. Too many wines I've drunk, too many places I've been, and too many events attended. All of which is a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 5, 2012 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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Futo Wines, Napa: Current Releases
In some ways the stories aren't all that different. A wealthy businessman falls in love with wine at some point, starts visiting Napa, and eventually dreams of owning a vineyard, to make a small amount of wine, just for fun. A vineyard is purchased, wine made, and everyone lives happily ever after. I can't tell you how many times I've watched this narrative play out in Napa, and tasted the result. Nine times out of ten, the wine that results from such a venture never transcends being merely good, even for those that have spent top dollar on grapes and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 27, 2012 11:35 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Zoltan Demeter, Tokaj, Hungary: Current Releases
It's hard to fathom what it must be like to have the world change beneath your feet overnight. When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, I was a relatively clueless high schooler for whom the news was elating, but only in a purely theoretical sense. For a whole generation of Eastern Europeans, however, the event wrought an entirely new future. When the wall came down, Zoltan Demeter was a Hungarian student, dreaming of a future as a winemaker. Before 1989, that future in Hungary would have involved working for one of the huge state-run winemaking companies whose primary mission was... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 25, 2012 10:53 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Domaine Marcel Deiss, Alsace: Current Releases
Alsace, the oft-contested and much-coveted skinny strip of land between northeastern France and its neighbor Germany, is an odd and unique place. Like several other such zones around the world, it has been a part of so many different countries and empires that it enjoys a sort of twilight zone atmosphere, where place names reflect one language, spoken words another, and family histories often both or none of the above. Alsace is also a unique landscape sculpted by both rivers and volcanic events, but bearing the unmistakable and essential traces of a more ancient geological past as the bottom of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 19, 2012 9:21 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Weingut Nikolaihof, Wachau, Austria: Current Releases
There are certain places in this world that feel as if they exist outside of time. Or perhaps they exist inside of time but move much slower than the world around them. As I stepped through the doorway into the inner courtyard of Weingut Nikolaihof, a stones throw from the Danube, and saw the morning light filtering down through the century-old linden tree, the world narrowed down to this quiet bounded space. Gravel crunched under my feet, and there was a stillness as I gazed up at the bell tower that spoke of the building's storied past as part of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 7, 2012 11:59 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Napa Royalty: Tasting the Wines of Oakville
While often considered a single "place" when it comes to wine, Napa is hardly a monolithic growing region. Each of its 14 established AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) lays claim to a separate identity, characterized by geology, microclimate, and different histories of production. The Oakville AVA has one of the most storied of such histories. It is home to the famed To Kalon Vineyard, purchased by H.W. Crabb in 1868, shortly after the installation of a railroad stop made the tiny village of Oakville spring to life. In 1876 Crabb's neighbor John Benson bottled his inaugural vintage of Far Niente wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 5, 2012 10:34 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Burgundy Comes to San Francisco: Some Tasting Notes
It's been two years since I've been to Burgundy and I miss it terribly. And not just because I haven't had my fix of Delice de Pommard, the utterly addictive soft cow's milk cheese that is encrusted with whole mustard grains. Burgundy is magical, and so are its wines. There's nothing like winding your way through the back roads of the region to little towns like Pouilly-Fuisse (pictured at right), stopping to step down into ancient cellars and taste vibrant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir with people whose lives are suffused with wine and the soil in which it grows. If... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 29, 2012 8:59 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Matthiasson, Napa Valley: Current Releases
The past of most wine regions becomes physically embodied in its most iconic destinations, whether grand Chateaux, or venerable old cellars. The future of many wine regions, on the other hand, can be much harder to find. It is often tucked away, or sometimes hiding in plain sight, but usually off the beaten pathways of expectation. One incarnation of Napa Valley's future, or at least a future furtively hoped for by many, can indeed be found in a place most unexpected. Just off of Highway 29, down a back street, a modern sub-division gives way to the valley's ubiquitous vineyards,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 26, 2012 11:39 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Schloss Gobelsburg, Kamptal, Austria: Current Releases
It seems like they have always been there. For centuries, the monks have been rooted as firmly as their grape vines, watching empires come and go, tending their secrets as carefully as the grapes and the sacred wines they produce. Shrewd investment and politics have brought great wealth through the ages -- palaces and vineyards, coffers and buildings. Not to mention the troves of knowledge. But time does not preserve all -- neither fortunes nor knowledge -- and one day, after nearly eight centuries of unbroken devotion to a place, and to the vines that grow there, the monks turn... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 23, 2012 11:25 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Mountain Wines of Italy: Tasting Notes from Alto Adige
From the snow-capped peaks of the Dolomites and the Alps, water trickles off glaciers down into steep-walled fertile alpine valleys where small villages and their vineyards beg to be photographed against the stunning backdrop of one of the world's most impressive mountain ranges. Snug between Austria and Switzerland, the northernmost part of Italy hosts some of the most stunning vineyard landscapes in the world. With an official name of Trentino-Alto Adige/Sudtirol, but usually shortened to Alto Adige (also the name of its best known DOC wine region), this region of both German and Italian speaking residents is primarily known for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 21, 2012 10:55 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Weingut Veyder-Malberg, Wachau, Austria: Current Releases
In Austria's Wachau valley, it's hard to pay attention to what winemakers tell you, especially when they're talking with you in a vineyard. The Danube twists olive and lazy below incredibly steep hillsides terraced with centuries-old rock walls, each containing but a single row of vines, climbing for thousands of feet from the floodplain. Never mind the vertigo that anyone susceptible to heights might feel perched on these ledges that perch precariously on slopes many would not ski down -- the view is so incredible that you easily lose yourself in the vast majesty. My appointment with Peter Veyder-Malberg was... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 12, 2012 11:07 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Undiscovered Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Weingut Nigl, Kremstal, Austria: Current Releases
If you begin in the medieval town of Krems, and turn your back on the Danube to instead follow the Krems river from where it hits the Danube back up a narrow valley, you will eventually find yourself in the village of Senftenberg, gazing up at an ancient church perched on a rocky promontory overlooking the valley, itself overshadowed by the crumbling ruin of a castle. If you bring yourself right up to the base of the escarpment, you may find yourself imagining life in this little valley in the 16th century, dark and feudal, punctuated with the pleasures of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 7, 2012 5:01 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Acid Freaks Unite!: Tasting Notes from In Pursuit of Balance 2012
I may be mangling the quote a little, but I swear I saw someone on twitter the other day say something along the lines of: "It may be possible that there's a wine out there with too much acidity, but I have yet to taste it." I couldn't agree more. For me, acidity (and perhaps more specifically, the perception of acidity -- since they are a little different) is a crucial component that can make or break a wine. I love wines that have higher levels of acidity. They make the mouth water, they give life to the fruit, they... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 1, 2012 4:53 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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2010 Grgich Hills Estate "Fume Blanc" Sauvignon Blanc, Napa
Visitors to Napa Valley, even those on their first trip, have a hard time missing the Grgich Hills winery, which sits prominently on the west side of Highway 29, its flower beds almost pushed right up against the edge of the blacktop. Of course, when the winery was established in the late 1970s there was a lot less traffic on that same highway, and founder Miljenko "Mike" Grgich (pronounced "gur-gich")was a young man. But despite his youth, this Croatian-born immigrant did not lack for experience or acclaim. Indeed, it was partly based on his success as the winemaker for the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 29, 2012 10:08 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Tasting the World at ProWein
Imagine my surprise when I arrived at ProWein, Germany's largest wine exhibition, to find that German wines were in the minority. What I expected to be one large (but doubtlessly well organized) German wine love-fest, was in fact a stupendously large, and (supremely well organized) international wine fair of gigantic proportions, with wine regions from all over the world very well represented. It's not the largest wine exhibition in the world, but the way it continues to grow, it's only a matter of time before it can easily make that claim. In the mean-time, it will simply be one of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 28, 2012 10:41 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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The Sweet Taste of Freedom: Austria's Ruster Ausbruch Wines
It's hard to imagine an age when wine might have literally been seen as treasure. Certainly those of us with the privilege of living in first-world countries take the idea of drinking wine for granted as an everyday pleasure. There was a time, however, that wine, especially the good stuff, was more valuable than gold in some places in this world. So valuable, in fact, that it could be used to buy your way out from underneath the control of an empire. With a mouthful of the finest Ruster Ausbruch swirling around your tongue, it's not difficult to accept the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 24, 2012 10:34 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Dessert Wine , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Beauty of Blaufrankisch: Tasting Wines from Leithaberg, Austria
My first tastes of Austrian red wine were without context, and I will admit, not favorable. In tasting through the various portfolios of different importers, I would taste a lot of Riesling and Gruner Veltliner and occasionally find a red or two scattered in the mix. My impressions were not fully formed, but they weren't encouraging. But then I had the wines of the MORIC project in 2007, and I realized I was missing something. More importantly I realized that there was great potential in a place and a grape to produce a wine that was quite profound. Therefore it... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 21, 2012 11:15 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Weinlaubenhof Kracher, Burgenland, Austria: Current Releases
When it comes to dessert wines, most people have heard of Sauternes or ice wine (location unspecific). Perhaps some have heard of Tokaji, the sweet wines of Hungary. But few have heard of the sweet wines of Austria's Burgenland region. There are several reasons for this. Dessert wine isn't all that popular, Burgenland doesn't make all that much of it to begin with, and those who actually do know about these wines tend to buy as many as they can afford and guard them like buried treasure. The sweet wines of Burgenland are one of Austria's best kept secrets, and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 18, 2012 9:22 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Dessert Wine , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Taste of Zweigelt
If you can tear yourself away from the gorgeous facades and ancient spires of Vienna, to head south-southeast as if your goal is Hungary, you quickly leave behind the cultured world of music and stone, and cleave through soil rich with history. Sweep away from the plateaus carved by the Danube across the Pannonian plains, with windmills churning lazily and winter-bare trees rimming vast fields of tilled soil. The earth, in rich shades of ochre and umber, also catches and reflects back the pale steel-blue of the sky. The nearly imperceptible tilt of the landscape away from the hills of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 17, 2012 11:38 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Burgundy: Current Releases
You don't get very far in a journey towards being a wine lover without hearing the words "Romanée-Conti" spoken with some combination of reverence and amazement. And in today's world of Asian fueled wine-auction speculation, even those with casual interest in wine have heard of this famous domaine. Equally referred to as both the best wines in the world and the most expensive, the wines produced by the small Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are inarguably some of the most revered and sought after wines in the world. Their price and scarcity mean that many wine lovers with modest means may... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 4, 2012 10:47 AM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Napa's Best Cabernet: Tasting at Premiere Napa Valley 2012
It looks like the California wine industry is officially out of the recession. Yesterday, at the annual Premiere Napa Valley wine auction, the Napa Valley Vintners Association cleaned up, earning a total of $3.1 million, a gain of 31% from 2011's total. As usual, the auction featured 200 unique wines, most from the 2010 vintage, which were sold to raise funds for the organization. These wines are made solely for the auction in quantities of 5, 10, or 20 cases, and often represent the highest quality wine that each producer can make. For anyone (such as myself) with no aspirations... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 26, 2012 9:16 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Ramblings and Rants , Red Wine , Wine News , Wine Reviews
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Spottswoode Estate, Napa: Current Releases
Great wines are always tapestries of story, with people and place making up the warp and weft of their fabric. When a family stays long enough in one place, they grow roots that can never fully come free from the soil. Such a connection doesn't take centuries, but merely a couple of generations. When children grow up running through the vines, they may wander away, but are often drawn back inexorably to the place where their roots run deepest. Such is the story of two generations of women and a place called Spottswoode, an estate in the picturesque town of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 18, 2012 4:55 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Critically Tasting Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir
One of my unbroken refrains here at Vinography has to do with the value of large public wine tastings as opportunities to educate the palate. There's just nothing like the chance to taste a lot of wines side by side to teach you a thing or two -- about what you like and what you don't, as well as the character of a grape, a region, or a vintage. Tastings held by regional wine marketing organizations continue to proliferate in the San Francisco Bay Area, much to my delight. So when the winery association of the Santa Lucia Highlands decided... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 15, 2012 11:34 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Zinfandels of California: Tasting at ZAP 2012
You can always count on the ZAP Zinfandel festival in San Francisco to draw a crowd, no matter what the economy is doing. The fact that things are picking up, both for business, and specifically in the wine world, meant for a very lively event last week. The big news was a new venue for this traditionally mobbed tasting, that most attendees seemed to love, myself included. While the arrangement of vintners left something to be desired (tables were supposed to be alphabetical, but it was more like alphabet soup than a line from A to Z), everything else about... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 4, 2012 10:32 AM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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2006 Peay Vineyards Roussane/Marsanne Blend, Sonoma Coast
As a wine reviewer who gets paid next to nothing for his work, I have the luxury of only reviewing wines that I think are worth writing about. I've got no deadlines, no quotas to fill, and no obligation to anyone. All of which means that it's always a great pleasure to say nice things about a wine or wines that I enjoy. But this is perhaps the most pleasurable kind of review I write. The review of a winery whose wines I can safely say are all spectacularly good -- so good that I will simply buy any wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 28, 2012 4:52 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Older Vintages , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2008 Alta Maria Vineyards Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
If I were doing now what I thought I would probably do with my life as a sophomore in college, I would be a photographer living in a tent or an old VW Bus somewhere, splitting my time between rock climbing and taking pictures of stuff that most people wouldn't give a second glance. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but I offer it as proof of how little sense I had of what path my life would take. James Ontiveros, on the other hand, was spending his sophomore year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo going to classes... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 19, 2012 11:17 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2008 Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli, Republic of Georgia
We don't know exactly where and when mankind first made wine in any significant quantity, but we believe that it was approximately 8000 years ago -- long before the rise of the Egyptian civilization. We're also fairly sure that these initial efforts to produce large quantities of fermented grape juice took place in the region currently occupied by the Republic of Georgia. These estimates of the time and location of mankind's earliest forays into oenology are based on the carbon dating of grape seeds found in the bottom of ancient clay amphorae, the remarkable progenitors of the world of wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 8, 2012 10:38 PM
- Filed under: Orange Wines , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Dutton-Goldfield Winery, Russian River Valley: Some Current Releases
What's hot in the wine world tends to focus the most attention. The newest superstar winemaker. The hot new vineyard. The latest cult wine brand. The stratospheric auction results in Hong Kong. But in so many ways, these bright lights are not at all representative of the real world of wine -- a world in which farmers and winemakers (sometimes the same person) work day after day to produce something that not only fires their passion, but also pays their bills. For every winery that makes news, there are dozens or hundreds that never seem to get much of the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 24, 2011 2:51 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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2001 York Creek Vineyards Cabernet Franc, Spring Mountain District, Napa
One of the most gratifying experiences I have as a wine lover and very, very small time wine collector involves pulling a dusty bottle off the shelf from where it has slumbered for years, and popping it open to find an utterly fantastic wine. I don't own a lot of wine, and I have even fewer bottles that I've been deliberately aging long enough for them to be mature, so this experience isn't a regular occurrence for me, but when it happens, it engenders nothing short of joy. I think it was 2003 when I bought a couple of bottles... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 15, 2011 6:26 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Piña Napa Valley: Current Releases
If one were to speculate on the wine market as a savvy investor might in the small-cap stock market, the game would be the same: follow people you know with good track records. In the wine world, we'd also have to include a corollary about betting on great vineyard sites, but leaving aside the raw materials, it's clear that most good wines don't happen by accident. They're made by talented people. Finding talented people in Napa isn't hard at first. There are a lot of them, many of whom have big brand names. When they start working for a winery,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 6, 2011 10:21 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2009 Morgan Winery "Cote du Crows" Rhone Blend, Monterey
It's not a huge leap from veterinary medicine to winemaking, and that leap is made even shorter when you're enrolled at UC Davis which happens to be the top school in the nation for both. Dan Lee initially thought he wanted to work with animals, but a few courses as electives during his vet school tenure were enough to convince him to immediately enroll in the Enology program as soon as he finished his undergraduate degree. While he still loves animals, Dan hasn't looked back, graduating and continuing on to become a winemaker for Jekel and Durney (now Heller Estate),... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 24, 2011 12:40 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Tatomer Wines: Current Releases
When you meet some winemakers, who are seemingly making a living at a pursuit borne entirely of passion, it's hard not to look at success in their chosen field as a product of luck. Many of them will encourage this impression, speaking honestly of how lucky they are to be doing what they love, and to have been successful at it. The younger they are, the more likely they are to talk this way. Such surfaces belie the deeper truth of what it takes to really make it as a winemaker -- the incredible amount of work, persistence, and knowledge... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 19, 2011 11:37 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Undiscovered Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2009 Dry Creek Vineyard "Heritage" Zinfandel, Sonoma County
Driving through California's wine country, with its carefully manicured vineyards carpeting huge swaths of the countryside, it's easy to imagine that people have been growing grapes there for centuries. Indeed, in many places in Northern California, the first vineyards sprang up in the middle to late 1800's and a thriving wine industry along with them. But what most people forget, if they ever knew, is that the California wine industry suffered several decades that were the equivalent to Europe's Dark Ages. First, 99.9% of the vineyards were wiped out by the Phylloxera epidemic that swept through around the turn of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 8, 2011 10:25 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2007 Bodega del Fin del Mundo "Special Reserve Blend" Red Wine, Patagonia, Argentina
When I visited Argentina a few years ago, my trip was a mix of vacation and wine investigation, and, like so many great trips, left me feeling like I had done too little of both. In the wine department, I left with two main regrets. The first was the lack of a visit to Salta, which is the first place I'll head in South America next time I get down that way. And while I did get down to Bariloche in Patagonia for a little while to hike and fish, and generally relax, I really wish I had taken a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 27, 2011 10:45 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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What's Your Best Wine? Tasting the Wine & Spirits Top 100
The difference between a good public wine tasting and a bad one can be quite dramatic. The bad ones are in crappy locations, are poorly organized, offer no food, and only mediocre wines. The good ones are, well, just the opposite -- nicely organized, well catered, and offer great wines. And the best ones? Well, they throw in a jazz quartet, and all you can eat oyster bar, a dessert bar, and wines that sometimes retail for hundreds of dollars, if you can find them at all. This year's Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting threw in all that, and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 15, 2011 11:51 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2006 Arnot-Roberts "Clary Ranch" Syrah, Sonoma Coast
The reported death of California Syrah has been greatly exaggerated. That's the topic for a rant some other time. But it's a fitting way to open this review of a wine that represents my favorite kind of wine discovery: a situation where someone pours me a glass that I'm not paying that much attention to, I stick my nose in it, take a sip, and then the next thirty seconds of my life are some combination of a sense of whiplash and usually more than a few very positive expletives. I love it when wines literally turn my head, as... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 5, 2011 11:19 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2008 Bordeaux: Some Tasting Notes
It's a measure of just exactly how busy I am these days at work that it's taken me approximately eight months to write this post. Way back in January, I happened to be in New York City when the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux came to town to show off the 2008 vintage. I had about an hour and a half to kill before I had to run to the airport and catch a flight home, so I got the chance to taste through some of the wines. It's taken me some time, but I finally managed to transcribe... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 1, 2011 10:40 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Bastianich Wines, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Italy: Some Current Releases
Celebrity wines cause most serious wine lovers to cringe. Despite the immediate tendency to dismiss such wines as vanity projects with little substance, a lot of celebrity wines are fairly good, if only because making good wine can sometimes take a lot of money. There's a different sort of celebrity wine starting to emerge on the scene, however. Wines that can be called celebrity wines only because we live in an era of celebrity chefs and restaurant personalities. If we didn't have the food network, and the 21st Century foodie craze sweeping across America, very few people would have any... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 24, 2011 10:43 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Penché Winery, Napa: Recent Releases
As you might imagine, I get sent a lot of Cabernet from Napa. At first I eagerly anticipated the arrival of every new label that I had never heard of, but over the years, I've become a bit jaded, as so many fail to rise above reasonably competent, over-oaked expressions of the grape. These days it's a lot harder to turn my head with a new Napa Cab, but when they arrived, two dark bottles with simple parallelogram labels did more than turn my head, they rocked me back on my heels. A successful orthodontist, Scott Asbill eventually picked up... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 15, 2011 8:11 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1988 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti La Tache Grand Cru, Burgundy
You don't get very far in a journey towards being a wine lover without hearing the words "Romanée-Conti" spoken with some combination of reverence and amazement. And in today's world of Asian fueled wine-auction speculation, even those with casual interest in wine have heard of this famous domaine. Equally referred to as both the best wines in the world and the most expensive, the wines produced by the small Domaine de la Romanée-Conti are inarguably some of the most revered and sought after wines in the world. Their price and scarcity mean that many wine lovers with modest means may... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 10, 2011 11:58 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Perfect 10s , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Greek Wine: A Compendium of Tasting Notes
Occasionally I still dream of Greece. Warm breezes above the terra cotta roofs of Nafplion, grilled octopus and crisp rosé.... I had better stop before I get depressed. The press trip I took to Greece at the end of June this year was a wonderful introduction to the region, and served to cement a budding notion that Greece was home to a wonderfully unique combination of interesting wines that represent phenomenal values on a global scale. And that's even before Greece dumps the Euro. My trip, as you might remember, was concentrated first on the island of Santorini, where I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 30, 2011 11:20 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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The Joy of Pink Pinot: Tasting at the 2011 IPNC
Regular readers will know that I'm a fan of everything pink when it comes to wine. Rosé is one of the most underrated and least appreciated wines by "serious" wine lovers. Food friendly, refreshing, and complex, the best rosés are among the wine world's most versatile and exciting wines. Thankfully, they are not only becoming more accepted, but increasingly popular, especially as the stigma of sickly-sweet White Zinfandel fades from the collective consciousness. One of my favorite features of the IPNC event that I am attending this week in Oregon's Willamette Valley has always been their afternoon rosé of Pinot... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 30, 2011 11:14 PM
- Filed under: Pink Wine , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Domaine Skouras, Greece: Current Releases
"Now with 27 vintages under my belt, there is not one vintage the same. It's like having 27 different kids, all with different personalities. Waiting for a new vintage, you become like you were in the first vintage. You become young. Young of thinking." With someone like George Skouras, a man who has been such a prominent force in the Greek wine industry, it's hard to imagine him as a young twenty-something, crushing his first vintage of wine. Especially because 27 years ago, few would have predicted that there would be a thriving Greek wine industry in 2011. But thanks,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 20, 2011 11:21 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Santorini Wines: Reviews and Impressions
As many of you readers know, I spent about 10 days in Greece on a press trip a couple of weeks ago, and I've been busy working through my notes from the trip. The primary place I visited during this trip was the tiny island of Santorini. While the name Santorini is well known as a picturesque resort, most people aren't aware of its status as one of Greece's most famous wine regions. I wrote earlier in the week about the remarkable history and methods of viticulture on the island of Santorini (which if you haven't read, I suggest breezing... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 9, 2011 11:55 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2008 HALL "Kathryn Hall" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
The pleasures of childhood call to us as adults. The tug of nostalgia is so great that we so often find ourselves indulging in little things that remind us of our early years, and in some cases we throw ourselves passionately into the pursuit of the things we have lost. Kathryn Hall lost the vineyard that was her childhood playground. Despite having managed the vineyard for nearly a decade, letting it go after her father's death was the right thing to do. But her memories of growing up among the grape vines in Redwood Valley, coupled with her enduring love... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 11, 2011 10:49 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2008 Ridge Vineyards "Estate" Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
If there's one thing about a winery that is likely to earn my immediate respect it is what you might describe as consistency of vision. Some of my favorite wineries not only make great wine, they have been making great wine in much the same way for decades, according to a deeply held philosophy that pervades everything they do. This sort of conviction, married to excellent winemaking, is not as common in California as you might think, but there are few who could argue against Ridge Vineyards as one of the finest examples of such a fusion of skill and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 4, 2011 10:17 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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South African Sauvignon Blanc: Some Tasting Notes
I've been trying to remember the first South African wine I tasted, but it's a little fuzzy in my mind. At the time I wasn't keeping notes on wine, so I don't have a scribble in any notebook to look back on for my very first impression. I do remember subsequent opportunities to drink South African wines, and in particular their Sauvignon Blancs. My general impression of these wines were that they were competent, but they didn't grab my attention much more than that. Three years ago, however, I had the opportunity to visit South Africa and taste hundreds of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 24, 2011 6:59 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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1983 Schloss Schonborn Rudesheimer Bichofsberg Riesling Spatlese, Rheingau, Germany
Wine is the closest we come to alchemy. And ironically, the most magical transmutation that takes place within wine is almost entirely out of our control. Far be it for me to deny winemakers their due for what is surely the magical feat of assisting in the transformation of simple grapes into fluids that evoke things as exotic as mangos, lavender, chocolate, and wood smoke. But at least half of the magic in wine comes from what happens to it when we stop messing with it and leave it to its own devices for a decade or two. Aged Riesling,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 21, 2011 3:48 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Perfect 10s , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Presqu'ile Winery, Santa Maria Valley: Current Releases
I'm wandering around the grand tasting tent at the World of Pinot Noir conference, focusing, as I often do, on a combination of wines that I know well, and those that I've never heard of. I walk up to a table with an unfamiliar label, get a little something poured into my glass, lift it up to my nose, and WHAM! It's like I've been slapped upside the head and my senses have just kicked into overdrive. All of a sudden I'm hyper-aware and focused on this delicious experience: a wine that grabs me by the lapels, shakes me... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 14, 2011 10:37 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Tasting the Superstar Wines of Napa's Oakville AVA
Napa Valley is famous, or infamous depending on your point of view, for some of the world's best and priciest Cabernet Sauvignon. While it has yet to reach the heights of the few First Growths in Bordeaux in terms of pricing, the Napa Valley has been producing some of the most sought after wines in the Western Hemisphere for several decades. Napa Valley, like so many wine regions, is not actually one place, but many - its various sub-regions offering a wide variety of topographies, microclimates, soil types, and exposures. The AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) that have been created to... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 3, 2011 8:56 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Central Coast Pinot?: Tasting at the World of Pinot Noir
I don't know about you, but spending a couple of days tasting Pinot Noir while strolling along cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean is definitely my idea of a good time. Back at the beginning of March, I joined several hundred other wine enthusiasts for the World of Pinot Noir, a two day festival celebrating Pinot Noir set in the idyllic seaside tourist town of Shell Beach. Well known for its festive atmosphere and an emphasis (though not an exclusive focus by any means) on showcasing the Pinot Noirs of the Central Coast, WOPN, as it is abbreviated, draws Pinot Noir... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 26, 2011 8:33 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Turkish Wine: Some Initial Tasting Notes
Exploring new wine regions continues to be one of my greatest thrills as a wine lover and wine writer. And when I say new wine regions, I mean new to me, of course. I wish I were writing these words above the bustling streets of Istanbul or out in the countryside off the Aegean, but sadly my first explorations of Turkish wine had to be as an armchair traveler. Or should I say, by-the-bottle traveler? At the great generosity of a Turkish friend, who happens to be a wine critic for a Turkish newspaper, I got the chance to spend... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 24, 2011 11:30 PM
- Filed under: Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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Low(er) Alcohol California Pinot Noir: Tasting Notes from 'In Pursuit of Balance'
Spring certainly seems to be Pinot Noir season in the Bay Area. Several major Pinot focused events -- the Pinot Noir Shootout, the World of Pinot Noir, the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, the Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Passport Event, etc. -- all occur within a span of about three months. To this impressive list, we may be able to add yet one more annual event, judging by the crush of the crowd at the first ever "In Pursuit of Balance" tasting held a couple of weeks ago at RN74 in San Francisco. This was a somewhat unusual Pinot Noir... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 5, 2011 11:08 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Montenidoli, San Gimignano, Tuscany: Some Current Releases
About three months ago, I found myself wandering around the halls at the Vino2011 tradeshow in New York. Put on by the Italian Trade Commission, it is the largest Italian wine show outside of Italy, and an opportunity to taste an awful lot of Italian wine in a very short period of time. Sometimes when I go to such events, I have a plan to focus on certain regions, or grape varieties, but sometimes I just wander to see what catches my eye. Which is how one afternoon I ended up in the back corner of a side hall where... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 26, 2011 8:39 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Pink Wine , White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Pinot Noir Everywhere: From the Expected to the Fringes
Yes, I'm on a Pinot Noir kick this week, thanks to my recent attendance at the World of Pinot Noir conference in Shell Beach, California. I haven't had time to write up my notes from the grand tasting of several hundred Pinots that I tasted, but I did want to share some notes from an interesting assortment of wines that I had the opportunity to experience. What places come to mind most easily when you think of growing Pinot Noir? For me the list, in order, goes something like this: Burgundy, California, Oregon, and New Zealand. If I want to... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 12, 2011 9:33 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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The Young Turks of Burgundy: Allen Meadows with Domaine Marc Roy and Domaine Jean-Marc Bouley
As I mentioned in a previous post, last weekend I had the pleasure of attending the World of Pinot Noir conference in Shell Beach, California. In addition to the grand tasting of many different wines on the cliffs above the seaside, there were some focused tastings where moderators and panelists worked through some wines in great detail. I attended one entitled The Young Turks of Burgundy, led by Alan Meadows, the wine critic behind Burghound.Com, a newsletter that in the past decade, has become the de-facto critical authority on much of Burgundy, and especially the most famous part known as... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 8, 2011 7:17 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Ramblings and Rants , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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1971 J.J. Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese, Mosel, Germany
As you know, I think wine reviews should be more than just tasting notes and scores. They should be the stories of the people and the places behind the wines. While the people quite often bring the most life to the story of a wine, sometimes the place, even the vineyard itself, can be the most prominent character in the drama. In the case of this wine, the story consists of the inextricable link between a family and a vineyard. By most accounts, the Prum family has owned vineyards in and around the town of Wehlen in Germany's Mosel river... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 2, 2011 10:22 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Cabernet in Napa: Tasting at Premiere Napa Valley 2011
One of my favorite events each year involves the opportunity to sample some of the best wines that Napa produces in a given vintage. At Premiere Napa Valley, an auction that serves as the world's most expensive "bake sale" to support the efforts of the non-profit Napa Valley Vintners Association, journalists like me get a chance to sneak a taste of hundreds of unique wines that are purchased by the nation's top wine retailers at staggeringly high prices. This year, as every year, 200 member wineries each crafted a unique auction lot of wine that in most cases represents the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 26, 2011 10:38 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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The Wines of Alsace in Anderson Valley: Tasting Notes
My first memories of Alsace? A confusing little strip of land that the Germans and the French kept fighting over. Somehow the grade-school history lesson never quite resolved itself, as I had lingering uncertainty for many years about which country this beautiful little wine region had ended up in. But many years later, I got my first taste of the wines of Alsace and I started to pay a lot more attention to this unique wine region in northeast France. Subsequently, I have fallen in love with the region through its wines, and I harbor deep seated fantasies of a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 21, 2011 11:21 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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California's Best Zinfandel: Notes from the ZAP 2011 Tasting
Ah, Zinfandel. The all-American grape that fuels much passion in the Bay Area. The annual ZAP Zinfandel festival draws crowds bigger than most other wine events, even in the midst of a tough economy. Truth be told, this year continued the slightly mellower note of last year's tasting, with fewer producers and fewer attendees, though no shortage of great juice was to be had. One of the reasons, it seems to me, that the public gets so excited about Zinfandel is that the wine refuses to be taken too seriously. While there are certainly a few cult Zinfandels that are... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 19, 2011 9:02 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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2009 Patton Valley Vineyards Rosé of Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, Oregon
When it comes to wineries I generally know I'm in for something good when I drive down a long dirt road (unsure if I'm headed in the right direction) and finally come upon some vineyards and a couple of small aluminum barns with harvest bins stacked outside. For many small winery operations, the barrel storage, the lab, the office, and the tasting room are all under one corrugated roof. I had the pleasure of winding my way down just such a road on a rainy Autumn day five years ago to arrive at the little operation that is Patton Valley... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 8, 2011 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Pink Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Domaine Jean Chartron, Puligny-Montrachet: 2009 Barrel Samples
One of the most characteristic qualities of the Burgundian wine experience is missing for visitors to the village of Puligny-Montrachet. Because of the shallowness of the water table, none of the winemakers have cellars. So instead of tramping down into an ancient cellar, you're more likely to be taken "around back" to the barrel shed, or some variation thereof. What the village lacks in ancient stone cellars, it makes up for in quality wine, of course. The little village (which today still has less than 1000 inhabitants) takes its name from its Roman designation Puliniacus, where vines were planted at... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 2, 2011 10:27 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Seven Hills Winery, Walla Walla, Washington: Current Releases
We're funny, us humans. We like to draw these imaginary lines on the earth and give names to the places on either side, and then we treat those figments of our imaginations like they mean something. The mental model of a map becomes so ingrained in us that when we look at the world around us, its as if we can see those imaginary lines. Grapes, of course, don't care much for maps. They like to grow where they like to grow, just as the soil that makes this so meanders without regard to the political boundaries we draw in... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 20, 2011 10:32 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2006 Shafer Vineyards "Hillside Select" Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag's Leap District, Napa
Napa Cabernet is getting a pretty bad rap these days from ordinary wine consumers, and from the economy as a whole. In some ways it has fallen from a pinnacle that may never be reached again -- a place where people really didn't blink an eye about paying $200 for a bottle of California wine. While sales are down a little, they are picking up, and even in the darkest hours of the global financial meltdown, top Napa wines continued to sell, even if just barely. At this point while there are probably less people willing to shell out more... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 18, 2011 10:28 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2009 Dancing Coyote Gewurztraminer, Clarksburg, California
I try to taste widely. I'm always excited when I come across wines from regions that I haven't heard of before, especially when those regions are in my back yard. It's been a few years since I first spotted the region "Clarksburg" on a California wine, but that first experience with a Grenache Blanc from the region made me sit up and pay attention. Since then I've been pleased to gradually see more wines appearing from the region. The Clarksburg AVA (American Viticultural Area) has been called California's "secret appellation" because so few have heard of it, yet its grapes... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 12, 2011 9:57 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Domaine Seguin-Manuel, Beaune, France: Current Releases
My recent trip to Burgundy was an exploration of the Burgundy of tradition and heritage, as well as the Burgundy of a new generation. While I thrilled to visit sixth generation vignerons working in their family cellars as many generations had before, under the same name, and with the same parcels of grapes, I was also interested in the (somewhat less common) new ventures. Such new ventures are rare, simply because vineyard plots are so difficult to get ahold of, thanks in part to the strict laws of inheritance and the relative scarcity of the vineyards to begin with. While... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 6, 2011 10:08 PM
- Filed under: Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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My Burgundy Nights: Tasting Notes from Les Trois Glorieuses
I've written already about my experiences as a first timer at the Hospices du Beaune in November, the events known as Les Trois Glorieuses and in particular the incredibly orgy of wine drinking that is La Paulee de Meursault. For seven or eight hours (the longest lunch you may ever have) more incredible wine is opened up than any sane human being really knows what to do with. I admit to being completely charmed by the event. I've never attended such a raucous, convivial party of wine lovers, where such great wine flowed so freely. Strangers share their most precious... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 2, 2011 4:16 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Wine Reviews
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Chinese Wine Too Good to Be True
I had high hopes for Chinese wine. And I still do, to a certain extent. But I can't say I'm surprised by the latest news that the government is shutting down some wineries and pulling wine from the shelves after finding a whole lot of faked, adulterated, and chemically altered wine on the market. I've heard rumors of such practices from various people in the wine industry, many of whom scratch their heads when they compare the amount of wine on the market with the amount of acreage under cultivation in China. The two don't add up. Add to that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 27, 2010 9:38 PM
- Filed under: Wine News , Wine Reviews
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Dominique Cornin, Chaintré, France: Current Releases
When you wind your way up to the east out of the little village of Fuisse in the Mâconnais region of southern Burgundy, you should take time to look back over your shoulder at the beautiful little church with its plot of vines, and the hillside skating back up behind it to the west. The narrow road will curve around the shoulder of the hill (atop which sits what has long been called the "faerie woods") and if you bear to the left, you will quickly find yourself in the little village of Chaintré, the home of many men bearing... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 23, 2010 10:52 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Domaine de la Vougeraie, Premeaux-Prissey, France: Some Current Releases
The village of Premeaux-Prissey is hardly more than a blip on the N74 as you head north towards Nuits-St-George. Blink and you'll miss it, along with the small sign that points you down the church lane to one of Burgundy's more remarkable domaines. Many domaines in Burgundy have existed under the same name for centuries, passed down through generations that have grown up living and farming in the same spot, each new generation working in the family's vineyard, which, on occasion, is right behind the house. Domaine de la Vougeraie is both the same and very different from these traditional... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 19, 2010 11:36 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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Domaine Buisson-Battault, Meursault, France: Current Releases and Library Wines
Part of the charm of Burgundy has to do with the context of many of the wineries and their cellars. Rather than the grand Chateaux with long driveways between rows of trees and vines (though Burgundy has a few of these) more often than not, you simply round the corner of a narrow street in a small village, walk through a wrought iron gate into a gravel driveway, into a garage with a few steel tanks, and then down a set of stairs attached to a normal looking stone house, into a 16th century vaulted brick cellar (most recently used... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 11, 2010 10:49 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Undiscovered Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2009 Domaine Alain Gras Saint Romain Rouge, Burgundy, France
The vineyards of the Côte de Beaune spill off the limestone cliffs that mark the eastern edge of the region like a blanket that has slipped off the edge of a bed. Most of the vineyards that everyone knows lie puddled on the floor or in the crease between them. But a bit of vineyards still cling to the edges of the escarpments, cooler and higher than the rest of the Côte de Beaune. Perhaps one of the most important of these nooks and crannies in the cliffs above Beaune, and certainly the most picturesque, is the little village of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 7, 2010 10:47 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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1957 R. Lopez de Heredia Viña Tondonia Blanco, Rioja, Spain
There are few wineries in Spain whose names conjure the heritage and prestige evoked by R. Lopez de Heredia. Don Rafael Lopez de Heredia was born in Santiago, Chile in 1857. At the age of 12 he was sent by his family to Spain to study with the Jesuits, and nearly became a doctor before discovering the world of business, leaving his brother Fernando to realize the family dream of having a doctor for a son. When he was 19 years old, Don Rafael arrived at the railway station in Haro, Spain suffused with the aromas of wine. The railway... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 30, 2010 10:08 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Perfect 10s , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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Domaine des Vignes du Maynes, Cruzille, France: Current Releases
I went to Burgundy to dig my feet into the dirt a bit. To get down on my hands and knees and smell the wet leaves, and to stand on the crest of the hills and see the lay of the land. But I also went to Burgundy hoping to spend some time off the beaten path. Sure, I wanted to taste some Corton Charlemagne, and have dinner at Clos Vougeot, but I also wanted to see if I could find my favorite kind of winegrower -- the kind that is more "crusty hermit" than "lab chemist." And so,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 27, 2010 2:07 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
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The Wines of Rully on a Wednesday Morning
Press trips like the one I'm on are not exactly the vacations that my friends and many readers imagine them to be. They are a lot of hard work, albeit quite civilized work in very nice places, interspersed by good things to eat and drink. Though I'm exhausted at the end of every day, it does, as they say, beat the hell out of sitting in a cubicle, pushing paper. The pattern of a press visit to a wine region is fairly standard. Once in a region, the day is made up of mostly visits to individual producers, where I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 18, 2010 3:09 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Domaine Vessigaud, Pouilly, France: Current Releases
Arguably, one of the key defining features of Burgundy as a wine region must be the huge plateau of limestone on which it sits. Like a solid layer of frosting atop a deeper cake of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, this limestone starts in the far north in Chablis and continues down into the southernmost parts of Burgundy. There exists a point in Burgundy, however, where this limestone ends, and rather abruptly at that. So sharply and starkly in fact, that you might easily fall to your death from the edge of it. Get too close, even, and the edge might... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 15, 2010 2:13 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2007 Three Sticks "Durell Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
People tend to turn up their noses at the word "pedigree" as it is most often invoked in the context of class, but for both grapevines and the skills of the people who work them, a long history can make a big difference. The tiny Three Sticks winery started in 2002, but unlike many wine labels that spring up overnight with nary a grapevine to their name, Three Sticks emerged as a logical conclusion from the collision of several decades of experience in the wine industry and one of Sonoma County's most well known vineyards. Bill Price made his money... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 11, 2010 11:03 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Looking Forward To, and Back On, the Last Decade of Napa Cabernet
There are few types of wine writing I tend to ignore so completely as I do vintage reports. The generally pithy paragraphs that attempt to sum up a vintage in Sonoma, for instance, are about as useful as a few sentences dedicated to an attempt at characterizing the quality of food in Lower Manhattan. No matter what you might say, there are a thousand and one exceptions. This vague uselessness tends to be true even if the vintage report purports to speak at the level of an individual AVA or appellation. There are just too many differences in micro climates... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on November 6, 2010 11:10 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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The Best Wines of the Year?: Taste Testing the Wine & Spirits Top 100
The difference between a good public wine tasting and a bad one can be quite dramatic. The bad ones are in crappy locations, are poorly organized, offer no food, and only mediocre wines. The good ones are, well, just the opposite -- nicely organized, well catered, and offer great wines. And the best ones? Well, they throw in a jazz quartet, and all you can eat oyster bar, a dessert bar, and wines that sometimes retail for hundreds of dollars, if you can find them, at all. And that's just what you get at the annual Wine and Spirits Top... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 25, 2010 10:23 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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2007 Freestone Vineyards "Ovation" Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
Most people aren't aware that I grew up, at least partially, in Sonoma County. My parents split up pretty early on, and I moved with my mother to Colorado. But starting at the age of five, I would come out to visit my dad during the summer in the little town of Bodega, and spend my time chasing around the sheep ranch where he still lives. As a kid I knew Sonoma County was wine country. Mostly because whenever my dad's parents would come visit during the summer, we'd all pack into Grandpa's car, and trundle off to Rodney Strong... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 21, 2010 10:36 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2007 Chateau de Beaucastel Chateuneuf-du-Pape Blanc, Rhone Valley, France
My love of deeply complex white wines has been growing for some time. I'm not sure exactly when I learned that there was more to white wine than Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay, but ever since then, I have been seeking out white wines, and especially white blends, that lean towards the profound. I'd be hard pressed to pick a clear favorite among the bevy of beauties that fit the aforementioned description, but certainly one of the top contenders would be the white wines of the the southern Rhone Valley, and in particular this wine from Chateau de Beaucastel, Known for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 14, 2010 10:40 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
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2001 Thierry Allemand "Cuvee Reynard" Cornas, Rhone Valley, France
As much as I love wines from all over the world, and as open and welcoming as I am of the newest upstart winemakers and their wares, when you come right down to it, there are winemakers (and their wines) out there in the world that just have more soul. And there are places, too that have more soul. And soul, when it comes to wine and winemaking, is a very good thing in my book. If I had to make a list of places that have soul, the Northern Rhone appellation of Cornas would be high on the list,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on October 5, 2010 9:01 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2007 Hess Collection "Allomi Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
I can still remember my first wine tasting trip to the Napa Valley. I'm young, so it wasn't that long ago -- probably 1997 or so. Having been born and grown up in Sonoma County, most of my first winery visits as a legal drinker were there. But given my growing love of wine, my girlfriend at the time arranged a trip up to Napa with some friends and I gamely went along for the ride. The first place we stopped was, and remains, one of the cooler wineries in Napa. These days I continue to send those who ask... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 28, 2010 10:33 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Dry Creek Vineyard, Healdsburg, CA: Some Current Releases
Driving through California's wine country, with its carefully manicured vineyards carpeting huge swaths of the countryside, it's easy to imagine that people have been growing grapes there for centuries. Indeed, in many places in Northern California, the first vineyards sprang up in the middle to late 1800's and a thriving wine industry along with them. But what most people forget, if they ever knew, is that the California wine industry suffered several decades that were the equivalent to Europe's Dark Ages. First, 99.9% of the vineyards were wiped out by the Phylloxera epidemic that swept through around the turn of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 18, 2010 9:59 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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The World's Best Sake: Tasting at the Joy of Sake Soiree 2010
One of the public wine tastings I most look forward to every year doesn't serve a single drop of wine. There aren't many opportunities (OK, there are almost none) to taste a large number of high quality sakes anywhere outside of Japan, let alone here in San Francisco. Which is why I make an annual pilgrimage to a yearly event called the Joy of Sake, which is effectively the largest sake tasting outside of Japan. This event highlights the finalists and winners of something called the Annual U.S. Sake Appraisal, which is the largest (and only?) sake competition held outside... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 13, 2010 9:45 PM
- Filed under: Sake , Wine Reviews
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2008 Outpost Grenache, Howell Mountain, Napa
To the casual visitor or inexperienced wine lover, Napa may just be a name on a bottle, or a vision of vineyards stretched between Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail. But like many wine regions, Napa is only a word on a map and an official designation for a group of winegrowing regions that, at times, seem to have little in common. The extreme variations of climate, soils, and topography among the various sections of Napa County make the subdivision of the region into separate AVA's (American Viticultural Areas) an inevitability. The variety of terroirs represented by these 14 (going... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 9, 2010 9:35 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Lake County's Best Wines: Tasting the People's Choice Awards
Those of you who follow this blog closely know that a few weeks ago I played hooky from work and drove over the mountain into Lake County to be a judge for the Lake County People's Choice Wine Awards. Now, wine competitions are definitely not my thing, in general, but this competition was an interesting one because we weren't giving out any of the medals I so despise; because we were just narrowing the field of wines to a few top wines per category that the public then gets to taste blind and judge themselves; and finally because more than... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 4, 2010 4:12 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2007 Anaba Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
One of my greatest pleasures remains my "discovery" of small new wineries, and the opportunity to watch them mature over time. Of course, three vintages isn't exactly a lot of time to watch a winery mature, but it's quite exciting to see the third vintage of a winery that seemed to hit it out of the ballpark with their very first release. A couple of years ago some bottles showed up on my doorstep bearing the name Anaba in beautiful looping script. I was immediately intrigued to note that the first releases from this new Sonoma County winery were Rhone... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on September 2, 2010 10:25 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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2008 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese, Mosel, Germany
There are a few categories of wine that qualify for the designation of "I just don't drink nearly enough of this stuff" in my house, and one of the top candidates is German Riesling. When it's good, it's just so damn good. It goes so well with food, and it makes you happy. What's not to love? Of course, to the uninitiated (and that applied to me about six years ago) it can be an intimidating landscape to navigate. The inscrutable labels, the different levels of sweetness, the unfamiliar quality designations -- they all contribute to an unease for many... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 26, 2010 11:06 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
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1997 Calera Wine Company "Mills Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Mt. Harlan, CA
Those of you who know me well understand the soft spot I have in my heart for iconoclastic winemakers. The crazier the better, in my book, but at the very least, so steadfastly committed to their idea of what makes for great wine that they're willing to persist in their quest even when everyone else says they are nuts. And that's exactly what most people said when they spotted Josh Jensen driving up and down California in his beat-up Volkswagen stopping here and there to get out of the car and sprinkle hydrochloric acid on the ground -- even those... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 23, 2010 10:45 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Henschke Wines, Eden Valley, Australia: Some Current Releases
While many may argue about just which individual wine represents Australia's finest expression of Shiraz, few could argue that when considering top producers of Australian Shiraz, Henschke shouldn't be on the short list. For more than 140 years, across five generations, the Henschke family has been growing grapes and making wine in a little corner of the hills surrounding the Barossa Valley. For the last 30 years, the winery has been run by Stephen Henschke and his wife Prue, with increasing help from their children. The history of the Henschke family is in many ways the history of the Barossa... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 15, 2010 10:57 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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2008 Clos de los Siete Red Wine, Mendoza, Argentina
Fifty miles south of the city of Mendoza the valley of Tunuyan feels less like a valley and more like a vast, kneeling supplicant to the immediate, looming bulk of the Northern Andes mountains. Though the valley floor is massive -- sweeping away from the jagged, snow capped peaks in every possible direction as if it were trying to get out of the way of their falling bulk -- you never get the sense that it is very flat. No matter where you stand, the world seems to be constantly tipping up towards (or down away from, as the case... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 7, 2010 4:06 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Tentaka "Silent Stream" Junmai Daiginjo, Tochigi Prefecture
I'll admit it. It's probably been at least six months since I've had sake in my mouth. In part, I think that's because even more than wine, I find sake a contemplative drink, and one that is best sipped serenely over a long evening. I haven't had that many evenings recently, and even though tonight wasn't particularly a special night, I opened a nice bottle to go with the steamed fish that we were eating. There are some clever, even inspiring winery names in the wine world, but for some reason I find the stories behind how sake breweries get... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on August 2, 2010 9:27 PM
- Filed under: Sake , Wine Reviews
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2008 Ridge Vineyards "Three Valleys" Red Blend, Sonoma County
If there's one thing about a winery that is likely to earn my immediate respect it is what you might describe as consistency of vision. Some of my favorite wineries not only make great wine, they have been making great wine in much the same way for decades, according to a deeply held philosophy that pervades everything they do. This sort of conviction, married to excellent winemaking, is not as common in California as you might think, but there are few who could argue against Ridge Vineyards as one of the finest examples of such a fusion of skill and... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 24, 2010 10:43 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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2008 Bodegas Colomé Estate Malbec, Salta, Argentina
Once upon a time, I went to Argentina looking for the good wine. Frankly I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about when it came to Malbec. Most of the ones I had tasted here in the US were mediocre. Only a select few rose to the level of excellent, and none to the level of amazing. Yet there was a long stream of proclamations from various people (you know, the ones whose opinions "count" when it comes to such things) that Argentinean Malbec was the next greatest thing. Scratching my head, I traipsed off to Argentina looking for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 22, 2010 8:31 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
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Dom Pérignon, Champagne, France: Some Current Releases
Where to begin with Dom Pérignon? It is a brand, a wine, and a historical figure welded into an idea that has transcended itself to become an icon of culture. Pretty much every wine drinker has heard of Dom Pérignon. Ask them and they won't necessarily be able to tell you how. But Dom Pérignon universally means luxury, and it means Champagne. It is truly one of the world's most revered brands. But of course, Dom Pérignon is more than just a brand. Unlike the Nike logo, which will get slapped on everything from T-shirts to flip flops, the signature... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 13, 2010 4:26 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Sparkling Wine , Wine Reviews
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The World's Best Burgundy? Tasting La La Paulée de San Francisco 2010
I won't be winning any awards this year for "timely reporting." It's now been more than three months since the event called La Paulée de San Francisco came to town, but I'm finally getting my notes from the grand tasting posted here. For those who aren't familiar with La Paulée, it offers the opportunity to spit out thousands of dollars of wine in the space of a couple of hours. In other words, it's one of world's best Burgundy tastings, where attendees get the chance to sample some wines that are made in such small quantities, and at such high... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 7, 2010 11:13 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
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Schramsberg Vineyards, Napa: A Few Current Releases
At the risk of oversimplifying things past the point of reasonableness, I'd like to suggest that there are really two kinds of wineries in Napa Valley. Those that have been made great in modern times and those that were great long before Napa Cabernet cost more than even $1.00 a bottle. There are a handful of wineries that must be considered some of the valley's historical treasures, and those that continue to make excellent wine (not all do) are to be treasured even more for it. The famous sign that welcomes the world to Napa Valley hosts a quote by... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 4, 2010 10:51 PM
- Filed under: Sparkling Wine , Wine Reviews
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Secret Wines of the Napa Valley
The second of the two seminars I gave at the recent Aspen Food & Wine Classic festival was entitled "Secrets of the Napa Valley." The folks at Food & Wine magazine sort of have me slotted as the California guy, so every year I tend to do at least one Napa or Sonoma focused seminar. This year I wanted to highlight some of the least known wines or producers of Napa in an attempt to get people to broaden their horizons, and showcase some of the diversity that flies a bit under the surface of the sea of Cabernet. The... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on July 2, 2010 9:37 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
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J.L. Chave, Mauve en Ardeche, France: Current Releases
Some places in this world are simply hallowed ground when it comes to winemaking. Of course every deep-rooted and honest winemaker treats his own land that way, but there are some places on earth that long ago transcended the brief attentions of mortal winemakers and instead exist in a pantheon of the world's greatest vineyard sites. No one knows exactly when the first vines were sunk into the impossibly steep granite hillsides in this particular elbow of the Rhone river valley, but in all likelihood there were grapes growing on the hillside now called Hermitage for more than five centuries... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 25, 2010 10:02 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Perfect 10s , Red Wine , White Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
South African Gems: My Aspen Food & Wine Classic Seminar
As some of you know, I spent last week at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic, where amongst a lot of drinking, socializing, and eating, I also gave two wine seminars. The first of those seminars was entitled South African Gems, and was an opportunity for me to showcase some of my very favorite South African wines for a crowd of about 160 people. Here's what it looked like, courtesy of my little Flip camera placed on the edge of one of the tables. The video offers the full seminar for those with the patience to watch. The wines I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 23, 2010 11:57 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
- Comments (2) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2004 Cooper Garrod "Lone Oak Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Santa Cruz Mountains
One of the greatest joys in my life remains the feeling I get when stumbling upon a small winery whose name rings no bells, but who produces excellent wines. I don't know why this is, exactly, but it has replaced the childish joy I used to experience as a young boy when finding a small crystal on a hike, or setting a new personal record for stone skipping on a pond. Little wineries with high quality wines are like buried treasure, I guess, but these days my goal is not to hoard but to share as widely as possible. I... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 15, 2010 9:30 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (2) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 Quinta de Roriz "Prazo de Roriz" Red Blend, Douro, Portugal
I think one of the greatest assets any wine lover can possess is an unflagging curiosity in the form of a desire to taste as many different kinds of wine as possible. Certainly such an orientation to the wine world provides the basis for the best kind of self-education available to anyone who is interested in wine. I consciously nurture my own appetite for wines I have never tried before, and whenever possible try to encourage it in others. These days, when I find someone who is interested in breaking out of a rut of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, or Zinfandel... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 7, 2010 11:36 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Sea Smoke Cellars, Santa Barbara: Current Releases
Sometimes as I'm traveling through wine country, I see beautiful pieces of land that aren't planted to grapes and I think to myself, "now why is it that someone hasn't turned that into a vineyard?" I don't pretend to have an eye for what makes good vineyard property, but those who do are constantly saying the same things about choice pieces of land everywhere. Sometimes these pieces of land become famous, or perhaps infamous is a better word, for their frustrating combination of appeal and unavailability. For years, even decades, the wine country of Santa Barbara, and the appellation of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 5, 2010 10:00 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (17) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2006 Hughes-Wellman Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena
While wines, and great wines in particular, are made with incredible forethought and planning, sometimes wine labels can spring up overnight as the result of an opportune conversation or new friendship. In 2005, a guy named Cameron Hughes met winemaker Sam Spencer. Sam, who has his own label called Spencer Roloson, had just been offered some choice Cabernet Sauvignon fruit, but wasn't interested in adding a Cabernet to his lineup. On a whim he offered to make the wine for Cameron, to bottle under his own label. Now you need to know something about Cameron to understand why the idea... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on June 2, 2010 11:27 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (1) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 J Vineyards "Barrel 16" Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
There was a time (think: late Seventies, early Eighties) when a lot of people would have put money on California being the next Champagne. It seems quite improbable now given California's reputation for Cabernet and the relative paucity of sparkling wine producers in the state. Yet there are many California winery names that have become synonymous with sparking wine (Schramsberg, Iron Horse, Korbel, Chandon, and more) and which have been producing sparkling wines for decades, and continue to do so. This is not the story of one of those brands. This is the story of the next generation. In the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 28, 2010 9:53 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (1) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Noon Winery, McLaren Vale, Australia: Current Releases
The term garagiste, originally coined as a pejorative referring to the small wineries in Bordeaux's Right Bank who were making more modern style wines from purchased grapes, has been greatly overused to the point of cliché. Nonetheless, I consider it a very, very good sign when I discover the people that actually are making good wines in their garage. That's why on my recent trip to Australia as I trundled up the driveway of Noon Winery in McLaren Vale past old, gnarled vines of Grenache and into the garage that holds the ancient wooden fermenting vats and the basket press... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 17, 2010 11:38 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2006 Marc Kreydenweiss "Clos Rebberg" Pinot Gris, Alsace, France
The wines of Alsace are some of the most unique and distinctive in the world. They are also some of my favorites, not only because they are delicious, but also because they are made by some of France's most individualistic and headstrong vintners. Alsace has long been a place apart, both from France and Germany, each of which have laid claim over the valleys and hills that lie west of the Rhine river which currently demarcates the border between the two nations. It's easy to characterize the region as a smooth and quirky blend between the two countries, but such... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 15, 2010 10:54 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (9) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 Monastero Suore Cistercensi "Coenobium Rusticum" Bianco, Lazio, Italy
We owe much of modern viticulture and winemaking traditions to the church in some form or another. Even before the last supper's famous entreaty that gave rise to the concept of Christian transubstantiation, wine has been a sacred fluid that was grown and made by various religious orders who had the land, the time, and the knowledge to make it happen. In the past, most such organizations were the exclusive domain of men, and consequently so were the wines. Even as various religious orders for women have proliferated, it seems that most of those that make wine (or other... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 8, 2010 4:02 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Orange Wines , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (6) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Jasper Hill Winery, Heathcote, Australia: Current Releases
The best wines in the world all share at least one thing in common, and that is a winemaker who brings a unique combination of both vision and passion to their work. At the age of thirty, winemaker Ron Laughton found himself managing the southern hemisphere's largest cheese factory, and with a total absence of passion for what he was doing. Having grown up on a farm and gotten degrees in chemistry and food science, Laughton worked all over the world for Kraft Foods before being headhunted by an Australian dairy company. His career path seemed as assured as it... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 6, 2010 2:02 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (0) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2004 St. Hallett Semillon, Barossa Valley, Australia
I'll tell you right off the bat that if you live in the United States, you can't buy this wine. It's currently not imported. Those of you who live in Europe or Asia may be able to get your hands on it, but not much leaves Australia. What is the point, you may ask, of reviewing a wine that most will not be able to buy? Firstly, the wine is delicious, and worthy of a review on its own merits alone. But more importantly, the wine represents a very under-appreciated Australian contribution to the world of wine: old vine Semillon.... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 4, 2010 10:47 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Torbreck Wines, Barossa Valley, Australia: Current Releases
Whenever I hear the term Chartered Accountant, I can't help but think of Monty Python: Counselor: Well I now have the results here of the interviews and the aptitude tests that you took last week, and from them we've built up a pretty clear picture of the sort of person that you are. And I think I can say, without fear of contradiction, that the ideal job for you is chartered accountancy. Mr. Anchovy: But I've been a chartered accountant for the last twenty years! I want a new job. Something exciting that will let me live. Counselor: Well, do... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 28, 2010 11:59 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
- Comments (0) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Palmina Winery, Santa Barbara County: Current Releases
You know how some entrepreneurs seem to start businesses in their sleep? They create a company, make it profitable or sell it to someone, and then it seems like a week into their "vacation" they're starting another one, and another. The most successful of these seem to have the Midas touch, with each business more successful than the last, as if they can't help but make tons of money. There's an analogue to this type of personality in the wine world, and it is readily demonstrated by one Steve Clifton. Clifton is best known for his partnership in Brewer-Clifton wines... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 17, 2010 10:39 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
D'Arenberg Winery, McLaren Vale, Australia: Current Releases
I can't remember when, exactly, I had my first Australian wine, but there's a good chance that it was made by D'Arenberg. Most certainly I first learned to recognize the distinct area of McLaren Vale courtesy of a bottle with a characteristic red slash through the label. I've drunk D'Arenberg wines for years, always appreciating their value for the money, and often recommending them to friends who are looking for crowd-pleasing wines that are relatively easy to find. So when I found myself in McLaren Vale a few weeks ago, I made sure to stop by the winery, have a... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 10, 2010 5:15 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Giaconda Winery, Beechworth, Australia: Current Releases
I'm an armchair student of geology. There was a time when I thought I was going to be a mineralogist. But then I discovered photography and filmmaking -- and that was the end of my obsession with rocks. But I still have an appreciation, and an eye, for both small scale and large scale topography, which means that at least I tend to notice the geological features of the world around me. I know my synclines from my anticlines and can spot a terminal moraine, if you get my drift. That's why as I drove out of the Victorian Alps... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 4, 2010 10:54 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Tasting some of Australia's "First Families of Wine"
For all of its decidedly New World status when it comes to wine, Australia has some extraordinary winemaking heritage. Some of the very first settlers of Australia brought vine cuttings that they picked up in South Africa, one of the common waypoints on the long journey from Europe. Australian wine was sold commercially starting in the 1820's and a number of wineries still operating today began producing in the 1830's. Some of these wineries have been continuously family owned and operated since that time, and remarkably some of the original vines planted by these families continue to produce wine. While... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on April 3, 2010 10:45 PM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
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Tasting the Artisans of Barossa Wines
I've just spent a couple of days in Australia's Barossa Valley, with its rolling hills of ancient rock worn down to nubs by the sands of time. I arrived in the first real rain of Autumn, the moisture a welcome relief for most everyone in the drought stricken region, and doubly so for the fact that almost all the fruit had been harvested. I came to the Barossa for two reasons. The first was to see some of the classic producers and lay my hands, or at least my eyes, on some of the oldest and some of the most... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 30, 2010 9:25 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Yarra Yering Winery, Yarra Valley, Australia: Current Releases
The greatest wines of the world are undeniably a product of place, embodying the particular constellation of elements that can be captured by the seeking roots and waving leaves of a grapevine. But some very special wines are as much a product of intense passion and vision as they are of a specific terroir. Someone must choose the land, must drive the posts, must plant the vines, and of course, make the wine. These actions can be done with ordinary dedication or with extraordinary insight, and their results vary accordingly. As I journey through my adventure as a wine lover,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 28, 2010 3:48 AM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (7) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Castagna Winery, Beechworth, Australia: Current Releases
The little house with a peaked roof pokes up over the crest of the hill, and the vineyards in the back yard spill off to the north and west, like a silk wrap that is slipping off the shoulder. Despite the few acres of vineyards clustered around the newish looking house and barn, with a small patch of garden out back, you wouldn't necessarily know that this was a winery from the dirt lane that connects the small farm with the paved country lane at the bottom of the hill. Indeed, as you open the iron gate at the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 26, 2010 11:54 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Some Initial Tastes from Australia
As many of you know, I'm currently tasting my way around Australia. I spent my first three days visiting the Yarra Valley, Beechworth, Heathcote, and the King Valley in the Victoria region surrounding Melbourne. I'm currently finishing up a couple of days in the McLaren Vale outside of Adelaide, and will soon be on my way to the Barossa to complete my tour of South Australia. The weather has been spectacular, the people I've met, fantastic, and the wines, well, that's more complicated. I've had some ordinary, unremarkable, and downright lousy wines. But I've also had some wines that have... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 25, 2010 11:58 AM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews
- Comments (11) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Brittan Vineyards, Willamette Valley, OR: Inaugural Releases
Expressed briefly, making a great wine is rather quite simple. You find the right piece of ground; you put the right grapes in; you tend them well and harvest them at the right time; and then you smash them together and nudge the product gently away from its tendency towards vinegar. For some people, the most important step is finding the right piece of ground, and for anyone looking to start a winery, it is certainly the first step. It's really important. If you get it wrong, the rest of the stuff doesn't matter. At least, that's the way that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 17, 2010 11:44 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Where Malbec Comes From: Tasting the Wines of Cahors
One of my greatest pleasures as a wine lover (OK wine geek) is learning about a wine region by tasting a lot of wines. While I prefer to taste on location, there's just no way I can possibly get to all the different places I'd like to learn about until I become independently wealthy or permanently retired (and wealthy). Which really means there are a lot of wine regions I'll never get the chance to visit. Luckily a lot of smaller wine regions are realizing that one way to improve the market for their wines internationally is the "wine roadshow"... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 14, 2010 11:24 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (19) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Italy's Best Wines: Tasting the Tre Bicchieri 2010
I pride myself on my broad tastes in wine. I like wine from everywhere, and don't believe I have a specific bias towards one region or another. However, each year, that claim is shaken a little as I emerge from what is one of the best wine tasting events held in San Francisco, The Gambero Rosso Tre Bicchieri tasting. For those unfamiliar with the Gambero Rosso, it is essentially an organization focused on the promotion and evaluation of Italian food and wine. Each year the organization publishes a guide by the same name. The Gambero Rosso is the Italian Wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on March 5, 2010 9:27 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (13) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 TAZ Vineyard Pinot Noir, Santa Barbara County
The good $15 Pinot Noir is the unicorn of the California wine industry. A mythic beast, highly sought after, no one is actually sure whether it exists or not. I'm always on the lookout myself, as it's one of the most frequent questions I get asked when people find out I review wines. Consequently, whenever I do come across something that comes close, I feel almost obligated to share the find. It's been some time since I visited the wines made under the brand TAZ, but a couple of bottles arrived recently and went into the tasting lineup and they... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 27, 2010 6:55 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (2) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Napa's Best Cabernet: Tasting at Premiere Napa Valley 2010
One of my favorite events each year involves the opportunity to sample some of the best wines that Napa produces in a given vintage. At Premiere Napa Valley, an auction that serves as the world's most expensive "bake sale" to support the efforts of the non-profit Napa Valley Vintners Association, journalists like me get a chance to sneak a taste of hundreds of unique wines that are purchased by the nation's top wine retailers at staggeringly high prices. This year, as every year, 200 member wineries each crafted a unique auction lot of wine that in most cases represents the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 23, 2010 10:14 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Activities , Wine Reviews
- Comments (11) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 MacRostie "Wildcat Mountain Vineyard" Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast
There are two worlds of California Chardonnay drinkers in this country. There are those who continue to order their favorite white wine whenever they go out to dinner, and are collectively responsible for making California Chardonnay the most consumed wine variety in the country each year. And then there are those who consider themselves wine lovers, critics, and geeks, and the consensus in recent years seems to be that there are few California Chardonnays worth paying attention to. Put more bluntly, it's getting easier and easier to find someone who hates California Chardonnay these days. I've read several major wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 16, 2010 11:01 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 Cornelissen MunJebel 4 Bianco, Etna, Sicily
Many of the world's greatest wines are also the most unlikely. Unlikely because most sane, rational, educated, and professional winemakers wouldn't be caught dead making wine in some of the strange ways and places that yield the truly exciting. It takes a strong vision, or as some might suggest, a special breed of insanity to break all the rules of modern winemaking and winegrowing, but those who break such rules often follow their passions across the border without a moment's thought to the uncharted territory they are exploring. High on the slopes of one of the world's most active volcanoes,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 13, 2010 11:18 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Orange Wines , White Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (10) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
The Best Zinfandels in California: Tasting at ZAP 2010
With a line snaking halfway around the parking lot by 2:00 PM, it might be easy to say that Zinfandel might be one of the more recession proof wines in California. The fact that very good bottles can be had for about $20 certainly means that there's probably a lot more Zinfandel being consumed these days than, say, Meritage blends. Once inside the annual Zinfandel Advocates and Producers Festival it was clear, however, that far fewer wineries were pouring this year than in the past, though the crowd was no less lively (I didn't stay until 5 PM when people... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on February 2, 2010 8:15 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (25) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Garagiste Winemakers of Chile: Introducing MOVI
If I were Hugh Johnson or Jancis Robinson, I could clear my throat and begin my story with a distinguished pronouncement about how I've watched several wine regions around the globe evolve from their infancy to later stages of maturity. But I lack the perspective of someone who's been a professional observer of the industry for decades. While I may not be able to tell you how, exactly, I do know that wine regions evolve over the course of their history, and that Chile finds itself in a particular stage of evolution that most regions probably encounter after a few... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 23, 2010 11:37 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Ramblings and Rants , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (6) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Jemrose Wines, Bennett Valley, CA: Current Releases
Some people like to go to flea markets, where they will spend hours wandering around the stalls hoping to stumble on something wonderful. I spend hours wandering through huge public wine tastings in much the same way, and every once in a while I stumble across a winery that I've never heard of nor seen before, whose wines pull the needle off the record and bring me up short in breathless surprise. When I first tasted the wines from Jemrose in just such a fashion, they immediately impressed me, not just because they were so high quality, but also because... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 17, 2010 11:50 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (1) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2001 Renaissance Winery Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, North Yuba
Every time I review a wine from some little producer whose wines I adore, I experience a pang of regret, because I know that by writing about these wineries and their wines, I only make them more expensive and harder to acquire for myself (and others). I do occasionally get e-mails from ticked off wine lovers bemoaning the fact that I've divulged one of their secret sources for great wine. But that's just an occupational hazard for me, and doesn't outweigh the joy of being able to say things like this: Listen up people. There is some seriously amazing wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 12, 2010 10:22 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (7) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2007 Potel-Aviron Fleurie Vielles Vignes, Beaujolais, France
Should one of your New Years' resolutions be to broaden your wine horizons without breaking your wine budget, one of the places worth exploring would certainly be Beaujolais. Much maligned, or at the very least avoided -- and rightly so -- by many wine lovers whose experience with Beaujolais consists of a glass of banana-scented Nouveau in November, the region actually produces some truly wonderful wines that can be tremendous values. The Beaujolais region has seen a renaissance of winemaking in the past decade, with many serious, small producers trying to make wines that have much more in common with... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 5, 2010 10:45 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (7) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Errazuriz Winery, Chile: Current Releases
The Aconcagua valley presents the first time visitor with a surreal vista. From the flattened floodplain of the valley floor, mountains rise steeply on either side but only their rocky peaks are visible. Starting only a short distance down from their spires, and extending all the way to valley below, the mountains are wreathed in a bumpy, dense green outgrowth that makes them look like they've been carpeted with a dark Astroturf on a grand scale. How someone figured out that they could grow avocados on slopes so steep I'd love to know. But once upon a time they did,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on January 2, 2010 10:15 PM
- Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (3) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Corison Winery, Napa: Current Releases
It's hard to get attention in the world of wine. Many wineries and winemakers struggle their entire careers for recognition, both deservedly and some, not quite. In the days of big marketing budgets and cult wines that are only figuratively on everyone's lips (and literally on the lips of very few), it's easy to overlook wineries that have quietly been doing their thing for decades. I can't tell you how many times I've driven by the understated Corison Winery on Highway 29 without ever going in. The number must literally be in the hundreds. While I've still not actually stopped... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 29, 2009 9:28 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (7) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Veramonte Winery, Chile: Current Releases
It's hard to believe that in the early 1990's less than 100 acres of vineyards were planted in Chile's Casablanca valley. In little more than two decades, this region of Chile has surged in growth and popularity, and is currently producing excellent wines that generally represent excellent values on the world market. The region is currently home to more than 10,000 acres of vineyards. Back when the grape acreage was still in the triple digits Agustin Huneeus decided that the Casablanca valley was one of Chile's most promising wine regions, and that he needed to start making wine there. Not... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 25, 2009 11:47 AM
- Filed under: Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
- Comments (1) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Olson Ogden Winery, Sonoma: Current Releases
I take a special interest in a particular class of winery. I call them estateless wineries, but they are wineries that have no permanent physical presence. These types of operations have no vineyards, own no buildings, and sometimes don't even own any equipment. Such wineries are most often the result of someone taking small steps towards their personal dream of being in the wine business, and are often sources for great wines at reasonable prices. Olson & Ogden winery is a perfect example of such a label. Proprietor John Ogden worked in the high tech corporate world for most of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on December 19, 2009 10:51 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
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Masuizumi Junmai Daiginjo, Toyama Prefecture Wine.Com Gives Retailers (and Consumers) the Finger 1961 Hospices de Beaune Emile Chandesais, Burgundy Wine Over Time The Better Half of My Palate 1999 Királyudvar "Lapis" Tokaji Furmint, Hungary What's Allowed in Your Wine and Winemaking Why Community Tasting Notes Sites Will Fail Appreciating Wine in Context The Soul vs. The Market 1989 Fiorano Botte 48 Semillion,Italy
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