For a moment, imagine yourself an invited guest at an exclusive dinner at a First Growth Chateau in the Medoc. It is mid-June, and everyone who is “anyone” in the wine world is in Bordeaux to attend VinExpo to make…
… very excited to visit Winery Cecchi in Chianti tomorrow on a special study tour arranged by the Wine & Spirits Educational Trust! According to some pre-study of their web site, the winery started up in 1893 with the founder…
“If only people could imagine the riches!” says a wine connoisseur friend, standing in the gorgeous ballroom of the historic Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan. It is a sunny winter day, and celebrity wine writers have turned out to taste…
Didier Galhaud, tall, dark, and slim, meets me at Chateau Guiraud in the Sauternes district of Bordeaux, and escorts me around the First Grand Cru Classe wine property, known for the spectacular sweet wine called Sauternes. Grey mist swirls around…
“Robert Parker spent an entire day here,” says the charming matriarch Annick Saturny, whose husband bought and created Château Tayac many decades ago. So far, this is the first Château I have visited that actually looks like the American ideal…
Enjoy a good California Zinfandel at your favorite steakhouse? Join the crowd. I love the Cal Zin varietal because it is so assertive and proud. Take a sip and you can almost see this plump little grape waiving the California…
“I’m not your mother’s rose!” This was the mental flash I experienced tasting 2008 Quivira Grenache Rose from California’s Dry Creek Valley . This wine is a gorgeous baby pink color, with an aroma of fresh berries (raspberries, tiny tart…
As a Gemini, I’ve spent many birthdays celebrating during the four days of festivities leading up to the Napa Valley wine auction, now in its 29th year. The official kick-off begins the first Thursday of June, which this year began…
“I’m staying at this fabulous hotel,” I overhear a woman tell a Napa Valley local. “Yet I can’t pronounce the name.” “That’s okay,” the Napa-based friend replies. “I can’t pronounce it either. But I hear it is fabulous.” The hotel…
Raise your wine glass if you think Gallo represents California wines. Now put it down – The Gallo family has long gone global, and now is focused on creating affordable, well-crafted “local wines from around the world.” I was lucky…
You are probably familiar with Beaujolais Nouveau, the cheerful red wine that is celebrated when it is released the third Thursday of November. For the last several years, it has become a reason for celebration in America as well as…
