Tag: Zinfandel
Dueling Red Wines, Napa and Paso Robles Shoot Out
As noted here many times, 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 comparing...
Read MoreEnjoying an Old Favorite, New Discoveries in Paso Robles
Good friends had rented a house in Carmel for three weeks and invited us to spend a few days there and enjoy the town and golf at local courses. We thought we would turn it into our first road trip and tasting adventure since...
Read MoreWarming Up to Good Values in Winter Reds
Beef stew, pasta with meatballs, ribs, BBQ, Tuscan bean stew, meatloaf, boeuf bourguignons and more – winter dishes in need of matching to a bolder red wine with a decent price. Fortunately, local merchants, warehouse stores,...
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 MoreWhite, Red Wine Values for Continued Hunkering in 2021
Some celebrants usher in the New Year with a little bubbly and an expensive vintage wine or two. Based on requests from some friends for lower cost wines to get through the first quarter of 2021 under a pandemic budget, we took...
Read MoreIn Search of Good Red Wine Blends — Traditional to Creative
One strategy for calibrating your palate is to taste wines made from the same varietal grape and decide on styles you like. This is best done blind, where a co-conspirator buys the wines and another puts them in numbered brown...
Read MoreValues from Four Nations in BBQ Wines
With Americans firing up the home barbecue and indoor grills more than ever before, we searched for good values in hearty BBQ wines to enhance the fun. We would typically suggest adding to beach parties and picnic fare as well,...
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Lodi Reds Redux; New Discoveries from California
After enjoying a class on Lodi wines at the annual SommCon® conference held each year in San Diego...
Read MoreBig Reds: BBQ, Picnic and Party Wines from $12 to $32
With many outdoor events scheduled as we headed into the Labor Day weekend, we sorted through notes on bigger wines we’ve enjoyed with barbecue, picnic and party fare. Here are 12 favorites. The selections include wines made...
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...
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Lodi – the Motherlode of Affordable California Wines
Randy Caparoso, wine journalist, wine country photographer and columnist for The SOMM Journal, led...
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....
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