Grenache, the ultimate back-up player, breaks out
In the chorus of Rhone varieties, Grenache rarely gets to perform solo. But at the most recent lunch for the Wine Media Guild in New York City, we put it on a stage all alone with twenty five examples...
View ArticleThree bubblies, Fox Business, and a mystery
On Wednesday I went on Fox Business–for the second time in a week! The video for this segment is available (see it by clicking on the image at right). We continued the discussion of “trading down” that...
View ArticleIs sherry’s retro image ripe for a makeover? On public radio’s Marketplace
In August, I dropped by the Manhattan studio of the public radio show Marketplace studio and chatted with reporter Caitlin Carroll about sherry. She was interested in it since apparently the Sherry...
View ArticleWine Future in Rioja – opening Pandora’s bottle of grenache
So the King of Spain, 18 bottles of Grenache, and a man wanted by Interpol walk into a conference in Rioja. Sound like the start of a bad joke? Welcome to the reality that is Wine Future! The two-day...
View ArticleRibeira Sacra is en fuego when the weather is hot
I keep meaning to do a comparative tasting of wines made from the mencia grape. But every time I get a bottle, I drink it! Case in point: D. Ventura’s Vina do Burato, 2008 (about $19). Weighing in at...
View ArticleTraditional Rioja, the anti-en primeurs wine
Why pay en primeur prices for young Bordeaux that won’t arrive for two years? A case against en primeur certainly comes in the form of the traditional Riojas from R. Lopez de Heredia. One of the few...
View ArticleTxakoli, albarino, Manzanilla and more! A Spanish tasting
A group of friends that know each other through their sons’ school has a tasting every so often. I’ve been fortunate enough to lead the smart and fun group in about ten tastings over the past couple of...
View ArticleWhy importer Jose Pastor says “no, gracias” to Wine Advocate scores
This week, our “set of titanium corkscrews” award goes to Jose Pastor. The 30-year-old Bay Area resident has a difficult business life selling Americans on the virtues of wines from such little-known...
View ArticleLobstah and a surprising cavah
During the recent, week-long power outage, we sought refuge in an undisclosed location that may or may not have been the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We found a bottle of “brut nature” cava German...
View ArticleThe Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwestern Spain
After so much discussion of the Parker-Miller-Campo imbroglio (see a thorough recap from Monday here), it’s refreshing to read about the wines of Spain again without thinking of “no pay – no Jay.” The...
View ArticleScores on labels: what’s the point?
We all know that Spanish wineries looooove critics, so much so that they would pay extravagant fees for a “master class” by a point-wielding critic on “a freelance.” The good folks at Torres have...
View ArticleTelmo Rodriguez uncorks terroir in Rioja
Telmo Rodriguez was in full cry when I met him in New York City recently. Although the 50-year-old “driving winemaker” studied enology in Bordeaux, worked a vintage at J.L. Chave in the Rhone, and for...
View ArticleTalking dirty: Rioja soil map
Mosel winemakers love to talk about the blue slate of their soils. A discussion of Chablis couldn’t be had without mentioning Kimmeridgian. Coonawarra has its terra rossa and Rutherford has its dust....
View ArticleReader mail: Parker’s selective Spanish reviews
A reader writes in: I have just seen that Robert Parker has tasted the wines for Jorge Ordoñez and given points instead of Neil Martin. What is going on? I thought after the No Pay No Jay scandal they...
View ArticlePepe Raventos on leaving Cava and making the new Conca
While he was pouring bubbly at the spring tasting of his his NY distributor (Skurnik), I spoke with Pepe Raventos of Raventos i Blanc. Late last year, Raventos announced that they had decided to...
View ArticleA visit to Lopez de Heredia
I’m in Rioja attending the Digital Wine Communicators’ Conference. I got to stop by Lopez de Heredia, the shrine to fine wine in Haro. As the sun set and the last grapes of the 2013 harvest arrived,...
View ArticleExciting times for Spanish wine – a story over on SevenFifty
Spain makes a lot of wine. Overall, it’s the third biggest producer in the world. One problem the country has is that many of the country’s wines sell at low prices–don’t get me wrong, there are...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....