Mendoza Monday: Focus on Wines of the Uco Valley

John and family recently returned to the US following a year-long Life-Zag in and around Mendoza (with a separate story Side-Zag to Barcelona).  Carrying back a souvenir passion for great Argentine wines and epic grilling sessions, I ended up in a subterranean space in his barely decorated new home in Needham, MA this past Monday to taste through a wide range of wines [...]

15 Wines in Simple Format Unlock Path To Wine Apprecation

Hosting less experienced wine drinkers to easily replicated and structured tasting formats appeals to my ritual instincts for making wine more accessible to more people.  On the one hand, it’s a refreshing personal break from the usual “club” and a way to strip away the bravado and bias brought to tasting tables by hardened wine aficionados.  On the other hand, it is a chance for me [...]

Venerable Value Trove or Flash in the Pan?

US consumers just might develop whiplash keeping up with declarations of new regional sources for quality wine values.  Rewind the last ten years and value arrows have stopped on Spain, Argentina, Australia, Germany, Languedoc, Beaujolais, Chile, Loire, and more.  And, there appears to be no let-up. Trying to make sense of the shifting landscape, each new pronouncement of dominance in the global value segment falls neatly into one of these [...]

Two Styles of Cotes du Rhone for Now and Later

I can’t have enough transforming wine in my cellar; tannins melting and fruit evolving creating advanced and sensually pleasing characteristics to be enjoyed down the line.  I am hooked on it.  But inventory and time is money and it makes sense to seek out efficient cellaring strategies.  Buoyed by just enough concurrence from fellow Rhone fans on [...]

« Previous Page