July 2015 Value Wines of the Month
Cartlidge & Browne 2013 North Coast Chardonnay: Value doesn’t mean dirt-cheap; it means better quality than expectations dictate. I suspect other reviewers have discounted this wine solely because...
View ArticleSummer Riesling
Summertime calls for refreshing white wine. There are plenty of candidates to choose from: Albariño, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Vermentino — the list goes on. All are...
View ArticleThe Aged and the Decrepit
Wines, like people, age at different rates. Some elderly people are young at heart, vibrant, full of life, and still in their prime, while others are creaking curmudgeons, dried out husks of the...
View ArticleAugust 2015 Value Wines of the Month
Dry Creek Vineyard, 2014, Wilson Ranch, Clarksburg Chenin Blanc: Though technically at the threshold of off-dry (.6 residual sugar) it strikes my palate as completely dry with a silky texture and firm...
View ArticleThrough Rosé Colored Glasses
Rosés are pretty, but they’re not the most complex wines; they’re not powerful or full-flavored. In fact, they’re delicate, light, uncomplicated and easy to drink without much contemplation. Perhaps...
View ArticleA Dozen Favorites from the 2015 Pinot Shootout
Every year for the past 13 years Barbara Drady, of Affairs of the Vine, has been organizing the Pinot Noir Shootout and subsequent Pinot Noir Summit. The Shootout is not one event, but a series of...
View ArticleSipping the Light Fantastic
Here’s a light and lovely red that has all the charm of a Beaujolais but is made right here in California. I admit that I knew nothing about this grape variety, which is also known as Napa Gamay or...
View ArticleKosta Browne makes palate popping appellation wines in Sonoma’s Russian River...
What are the odds that two waiters could save enough tip money in order to make wine that would be a smashing success? With no formal training, the highly unlikely ascent to winemaking success makes...
View ArticleTX6 – Texas Red Wine
At first glimpse of the bottle from this hitherto unknown to me Texan winery, I didn’t know exactly what to think, not to mention that “Texas Red Wine” did not sound promising. But you shouldn’t judge...
View Article1985 Revisited
From time to time I use this space to report on the age-ability of older wines. I’m not really a collector. I buy wine to drink. I drink more white wine than red, none of which I age, and as I prefer...
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