Fast Facts, Hints for Tasting Your Way through Bordeaux
For future French escapes, add Bordeaux to your itinerary. The city has blossomed in many ways....
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Category: Classics
Champagne: What’s Behind Those Famous Bubbles
During a recent trip to Champagne, we enjoyed tasting a wide range of sparkling wines, from...
Read MoreCalifornia Wine Country — Helping the Rebuilding Efforts
Humanitarian efforts and fundraisers are underway throughout the U.S. to help Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties began rebuilding from the worst wildfires in California history. Direct Relief, which provides a link on its...
Read MoreThe Winofiles — a Few Favorite Books for the Wine Lovers on Your Gift List
If any of your wine drinking friends or relatives have expressed an interest in learning more about the noble grape and how it goes from a vineyard anywhere in the world, to bottle, to your local merchant, what to look for and...
Read MoreFinding Your Benchmark Wines, Calibrating Your Palate
During the early days of running the San Diego Chapter of WINO (Wine Investigation for Novices and Oenophiles) in the 1970s, my mission was to encourage people to try different wines with food and be comfortable with what they...
Read MoreChardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc values for Spring, plus a few classics
The big box stores, wine merchants and even grocery shelves (in some states) have values galore because of new vintages entering the distribution channels, creating a need to move older vintages. As the weather warms, we’ve been...
Read MoreCabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux Finds $10 to $100
Our new year’s resolution is to continue looking for great values for money in wines from throughout the world, plus classic styles worth seeking out no matter what the vintage. In that mode, we went through our tasting...
Read MoreHunt for October Red: Value Wines to Classics
As the weather drives changes in dress, blankets on the bed and kitchen smells (bubbling beef bourgignon instead of chicken, shrimp and fish on the barbecue), the ratio of white to red wine purchases flips. White values were...
Read MoreBBQ, Rib and Burger Wines — $9 to $15 — Plus a Few of the Higher Priced Spread
Whether on the backyard patio, fire pit at the beach or park, or even a portable BBQ at a tailgate party in the parking lot of the local baseball, soccer or football team, grilled meats demand robust reds as a savory...
Read MoreAn Idea for Watching (smelling and tasting) Your Wines Age and Evolve
Even if the cellar is only an interior closet where the temperature holds steady during the year, do your palate and appreciation of the nuances of wine a favor and set aside at least three bottles of a favorite young red wine for future tasting. …
Read MoreAdding Sparkle to the Holidays
In tasting some 75 Champagnes and sparkling wines from other appellations the past few weeks, I found a dozen worth recommending at prices ranging from $15 to almost $200. The wines that seemed to stand out in tasting up to 20 wines in one setting…
Read MorePalate-Pleasing Reds $9 to $15 from Three Continents
The following are highlights from wines tasted and Tweeted during the past two months on good finds in red wine values in Cabernet Sauvignon and Rhone blends from the U.S. and France, plus a big grapey Shiraz from Australia. Among the missing: val…
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