Category: New Zealand
Sauvignon Blanc Finds, $10 to $39
The following emerged as the best values, or offering fine style for a higher price, in tasting some 50 Sauvignon Blanc wines over the past three months. Wines were purchased from online flash sale merchants, big box stores and...
Read MoreExploring New Worlds of Pinot Noir: California, Oregon, Chile, New Zealand
A global array of winemakers, owners, merchants, distributors and educators convene each March for the annual World of Pinot Noir (WOPN) event at the Ritz Carlton Bacara in Santa Barbara, to be joined by gaggles of wine geeks...
Read More32 Wines Under $23 for Spring Sipping, Picnic and Party Fun
The following wines rise to the top in price and value from among several hundred wines tasted over the past few months, from individual bottles with food at home to sampling through scores at trade tastings and industry...
Read MoreSingle Blind Tasting – Fun Exercise in Improving Wine Appreciation
Can a single blind tasting be of value to wine drinkers seeking to learn more techniques for identifying the similarities and differences in wines, while honing their individual palates and sensitivities? The answer is yes,...
Read MoreFrom Barbera to Zinfandel, Finding Values in Old and New World Red Wines
Recent tastings – foreign and domestic, remotely or in person — led us to wine discoveries from the Sonoma Coast, to the mountains of Argentina, sunny slopes of Rioja and emerging vineyards in Central Otago, New Zealand....
Read More
Bring in the Clones: Juggling Pinot Noir Vines, Styles
Pinot Noir is a mystery to many. How can wines made from the same grape differ so much in quality,...
Read More
Cork Dork: Insights into the Quest for Sommelier Status
For highly entertaining insights into the world of wine, restaurants, the route to becoming a...
Read More
Twenty Quality White Wines Under $15, Plus a Few Higher-Priced Finds
As wines from the most recent harvests advance toward the distribution channels, spring white...
Read More
Party, Wedding Reception and Other Quaffing Wines
Remember in your college days or shortly thereafter when you were invited to a wedding and...
Read More
Finding Your Benchmark Wines, Calibrating Your Palate
During the early days of running the San Diego Chapter of WINO (Wine Investigation for Novices and...
Read More
Chardonnay 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...
Read More
Hawke’s Bay — New Zealand haven for Bordeaux blends, big Reds
Hawke’s Bay is the oldest wine region in New Zealand and one known for the quality of its Bordeaux...
Read More