Schiller Wine (Free subscription) | yesterday
When you are in Grinzing, Vienna, Austria, for a Heurigen wine, the wine of the current year, you often find wines on the wine list that do not indicate the grape varietal on the label, but say Gemischter Satz. These wines are blends. But they are not only blends, but field blends. Field blends are made from a blend of grapes that are grown together in the field and then picked and fermented at the...
McDuff's Food & Wine Trail (Free subscription) | yesterday
Pierre-Marie Chermette. His were the first wines that turned me on to not just the pleasures but also the deeper possibilities of Beaujolais. I first started drinking them in the mid-to-late nineties. It wasn't long thereafter that I found myself selling them, mostly the "Cuvée Traditionelle" but also the Crus, in fairly copious quantities. It's been a few years now since the shop...
In the Land of Lynfred (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
Wine club members enter their receipts with each visit into our monthly drawing. October was our 30th Anniversary month so we decided to give away 30 prizes! 29 lucky winners will receive a two pack of our Cuvee Red and White wines and the Grand Prize winner receives a Salmanazar bottle (holds 12 bottles) of Cuvee Red! Drum Roll Please...... Red and White Cuvee 2 pack Winners: Jeff Boddeker, Gendale...
Vinography (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
It seems that this week has me on a sparkling wine kick, and I see no reason to stop. As I often say (to myself and others who bother to listen): it took me a while to get here, but now I realize that we are all drinking far too little Champagne. These days, the whole world isn't drinking much Champagne, which is why the industry is in a bit of a crisis -- at least the really big players are. But...
Welcome to the world of Ontario wine (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Although I never received one of the formal invitations to this tasting – just a bunch of emails back and forth between friends – I was told by another friend when I arrived at the tasting that the theme of this particular wine tasting was “All Bordeaux Wines under $30”. When you hear something like that you can almost picture a wine snob sticking their nose up in the air and...
Good Wine Under $20 (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
It's that time of year again, when people take to their computers in search of Thanksgiving wine recommendations. (vintage Thanksgiving image from an 1894 cover of Harper's Bazaar ) This is my fourth roundup of wines on GWU$20 that I think will pair beautifully with your turkey dinner--and they're all under $20. Whether you prefer sparkling, rosé , white, or red wine, I'm sure there's something...
blind tasting club (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
White wines from Southern France aren't only light summer wines. Such as Rhône wines they can be aromatic and powerful, simply outstanding. So naturally I didn't hesitate to bring back 2 wines from Montpellier when I stopped there this summer, trusting the recommendations of a wineshop owner in the city. Finally I got the opportunity to open them. 2007 Les Mûriers, Mas Bruguière...
Off The Presses (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
I bought a bottle of Olek-Mery Chinon Cuvee des Tireaux 2006 white Loire wine on the recommendation of Crush, the midtown Manhattan wine dealer. They said they had tasted the Rosenthal-imported Chenin Blanc with small expectations and were "blown away." I, too, was impressed. This little-known wine has incredible depth. I was most impressed by the unrelenting stoniness and the amazing structure....
J News You Can Use (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
Best Winery Tasting Room: J Vineyards & Winery, Healdsburg, CA The vibe: Sleek, artful, and very much about good bubbles with food: On weekends, spring for the sit-down pairing ($60) in the Bubble Room, for inspired food like the "BLT"―foie gras, applewood-smoked bacon, heirloom tomato, and mâche on toast points with the J Brut Rosé. Sips to try: J "Cuvée...
J News You Can Use (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
Made from a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier grown in California’s Russian River valley, this sparkling wine (NV, $20) has bright citrus flavors but a silky texture and doughy notes that give it distinction and complexity. Matt Lee and Ted Lee, Martha Stewart Living
Brooklynguy's Wine and Food Blog (Free subscription) | 11/01/2009
It was more like a festival - think Cannes, Burning Man, or Fashion Week, perhaps the G8 Summit. People came from all over the world to participate. Deals were struck, friends and enemies gained, and the powerful giant that is Louis/Dressner Selections showed the world that there is no such thing as a recession when it comes to the world of fine wine. At least two heads of state showed up - President...
Schiller Wine (Free subscription) | 11/01/2009
Lufthansa served 6 excellent wines in business class, a very good selection of both old and new World wines, although most of the wines were the same as 6 weeks ago when I flew from Washington DC to Frankfurt am Main. Before arriving in Washington DC, Lufthansa offered a Sushi Box. I like Sushi very much, but I found this Sushi Box disappointing, for one reason only--the food lacked the indispensable...
The Wine Cask Blog (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
Nose: Nutty, Wallnut husk, Toasted Roll and Apple. Palate: More nuttiness on the palate. Ragged bubbles in a flat and limp feeling mouth disappoint. Finish: straw and baked apples. Overall: I am disappointed. For the price I expected something more refined and elegant. While the nose on this Bollinger special cuvee is really wonderful, the ragged construction leaves much to be desired. For the price...
blind tasting club (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
After having been a bit intrigued by the last bottle of this wine I decided to give it another shot. I popped and poured it without decanting or delay, turned it a bit in a big glass and took a big sniff. There it is suddenly, clean cherry fruit, some sublte spice from the barrel. Fruit is also there on the palate, cherries, red and black berries, currant some liquorice. Tannins are fine-grained but...
Petite Terroir (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
In case you haven't heard, Austrian Wine Month in NYC is from October 25th until November 22nd. However, for Austrians and Sommeliers of New York alike, the month kicked off late last week. Willi Klinger, head of the Austrian Wine Marketing Board , was in town and with that brought a few key tastings and a fabulous Austrian Wines Magnum party. I had the pleasure of attending a tasting led by Willi...
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