Chenin Heaven from Vouvray’s Bernard Fouquet and Domaine des Aubuisieres’ 2008 Les Girardieres

Bernard Fouquet is an accomplished and quality Vouvray producer, focused on Chenin Blanc across 25 hectares and and seven vineyards that make up Domaine des Aubuisieres’ fruit sources.  All of unique character and terroir, they split into two primary soil types including clay/limestone or clay/flint.  His portfolio includes soil specific blends and vineyard specific bottlings.  On [...]

WineChap.com: When Wine Lists Matter Most

I am guilty of choosing and patronizing restaurants with quality wine lists first, great food second.  Preferring  a reasonable level of symbiosis, my restaurant choices are disproportionately weighted by wine programs.  If this resonates and you are more jazzed by contents of a subterranean cellar than walk-in refrigeration, or you just need a dose of [...]

Platter’s: Showcase and Reliable Guide for South African Wine

Sheltered from cooling afternoon rains by a thatched roof structure on the Zimbabwe side of its border with Zambia, I started applying context to a few days of exclusively South African wines. I, like lots of American wine drinkers, don’t pay a lot of attention to the category.  The US does not even rank in [...]

Open Offer to Taste My (Malcolm's) 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan

I consider myself “wine fortunate”, acquiring wine and friends over the years that fuel hedonistic and intellectual wine passions.  One of those friends is Malcolm.  I don’t see Malcolm regularly, yet each year for the last 15 we manage to find opportunities to get really silly and drink ridiculously excellent wine together.  It was great to see [...]

Putting Simple Wines to Tests of Age and Environment

Ever wonder what would happen subjecting simple wines, intended for immediate drinking pleasure, to extended aging terms in unsuitable environments?  It’s a risky wager and not a fully recommended strategy, even with careful wine selection and pristine cellaring conditions.  While vinous curiosity has driven some oddball aging decisions in the hopes of padding my stash with more bottles showing advanced flavor and aroma nuances, (you can read more about when wine is ready to drink in this post at Palate [...]

Wine Makers and Mortgage Makers Reverse Greedy Paths

I recoiled and pushed away the crystal stemware wondering if some savory syrup was masquerading as wine, and that maybe its destiny was to spread like jam on slices of peanut butter slathered Wonder Bread.  This sensory collision with high alcohol and unrestrained ripeness was triggered a few years back cracking open a 2005 Mollydooker The Boxer screw top, a wine Robert Parker awarded 95 points to [...]

Clos Roche Blanche: Gamay as Touraine Treat

When a wine and its fruit are born from a low yield program, organically farmed, raised in vineyards planted at the end of the 19th century, hang from old vines, retail around $15, hail from a Loire Valley appellation, and find their way to the US as a Louis/Dressner Selection, it gets my attention.  This fusion of vinous genetics brought me face to face with the [...]

Guest Post: Holiday Food and Wine Pairing in Arkansas

I was recently asked by the editors of At Home in Arkansas magazine (full disclosure: I have a business and financial relationship with the magazine) to participate in their guest blog holiday series by providing this guest post on wine and the holidays.  The magazine is the leading home design and lifestyle magazine in that region, and [...]

Wine Sales Stink and The World is Not Flat

In Silicon Valley Bank’s recently released Preliminary Findings Report (you won’t get a recap of all the details here, save a few,  so click on the link and download the PDF if you are so inclined) which precedes their more exhaustive Spring 2010-2011 Annual State of the Wine Industry Report, the Bank’s opening salvo declared;
The fine [...]

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 [...]

Next Page »