Tag: Pinot Noir
Red, White, and Rosé Wine Values for Picnics, Parties, BBQ
From the big box stores to the national chains to your neighborhood grocery store, you can find excellent selections for those occasions when easy sipping and value are the order of the day, rather than delving into the nuances...
Read MoreValue Red Wines for the Kitchen, Grill or Easy Sipping
The following scored highest in their price ranges in wines tasted the past three months. Some were tasted with food, others in comparative tastings. The wines were purchased from Costco, local grocery stores and wine merchants...
Read MorePinot Noir Discoveries, from Values to Burgundy Classics
With the continuing and rapidly rising cost of Burgundy wines, we continue to search for fine Pinot Noir from around the world. We’ve found some winners in Oregon and New Zealand, with their own sense of place and styles that...
Read MoreTop 20 Reds Tasted During 2022
The news media and various entertainment, search engine and research websites are currently featuring their “Best of 2022” lists, with occasional predictions for 2023. In the spirit of sharing, here are my Top 20 Red Wines...
Read MoreSo Many Wines, So Little Time
Readers often ask where I get my wines, particularly after posting tasting notes on some great values from around the world. Start with the big box stores (e.g., Costco) and local wine merchants. For expanding my horizons and to...
Read MoreFun summer sipping with Rosés and white Rhone varietals
After tasting through an ever-broadening array of Rosé wines over the past two months, we were pleased to find several excellent values, including some with depth and style. Our favorites were mostly from Cotes de Provence and...
Read MoreExploring the Wines of Santa Barbara, California
The Santa Barbara County Vintners Association visited San Diego recently for a trade and media tasting featuring wines from 10 members, including wineries and wine families with more than one label. The vintners are on a...
Read MoreBeyond the California Cult Fruit Bombs – Classic Wines from Napa
Having followed the evolution of the California wine industry since 1972, I’ve seen many changes in winemaking styles to appeal to new markets and critics whose rankings drive sales. In the past two decades, one trend is for the...
Read MoreFavorites from 2021 — Classics and Values
It’s always memorable to go through our tasting notes for the year. We recorded the notes during a wide range of tasting experiences, from trying new wines at home, to dinner parties with friends, to trade tastings, industry...
Read MoreExploring New World Pinot Noir, $12 to $88
The following notes are from Pinot Noir wines tasted from the New World over the past six months and rated as good, very good and excellent. For background on Pinot Noir in the New World, versus its home in Burgundy, France,...
Read MoreRobust Red Wines to Complement Your Mastery of the Grill
In getting an early start on firing up the barbie as the days get longer and the nights warmer, we’ve been sampling more robust red wines that can be a match for grilled foods. The dishes ranged from burgers and bratwurst to...
Read MoreExploring South African Red Wines
Blind tastings help calibrate your taste preferences (if you like it, it’s good, no matter what the experts say or how much it costs). This was reinforced recently in a blind tasting of eight wines from South Africa by a...
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