Ah, Rioja! All those years spent at the International Wine Center studying the differences between the soil of the Rioja Alavesa above the Elbo river, and the Rioja Baja and Rioja Alta finally paid off. This was a scholarly trip with a group of very well-educated educators, with a focus on the wines and wineries [...]

Viticulture is a key factor in quality grapes. Rules about irrigation differ all over the world. Moreover, the timing of water and heat through the growth cycle determines the quality of the grapes. During my recent visit to Bodega Carrau in Montevideo, I asked Francisco Carrau about the effects of water and heat in the [...]

  Recently I was invited to a fabulous artisanal Neopolitan pizza dinner at La Pizza Fresca in Manhattan featuring a treasure chest of top Barolo from the very best producers, all from the 2004, 2005, and 2006 vintage. Producers Giorgio Ballarin, Andrea Giordana and Aurelo Settio attended the tasting of 23 wines (representing the 23 [...]

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be the wine director of a restaurant? Of course, in some ways it sounds like a fantasy job. One can imagine the pleasures of having distributors visit your restaurant, bringing you fabulous wine to savor and discuss … Yet of course this is really only a [...]

Filgueira winery … Alan and Sebastian show us around the winery and introduce their wine, which is now owned by a Brazilian company. The winemaker is a young woman who was an AFS student (meaning she spent a year at 17 in the midwest) which is actually quite an advantage for a Uruguan winemaker who [...]

The family has had the winery since not 1940 — yet it was only in 1991 that Maria Mendez Parodi and her husband bought this winery. The wines as you will see below are of exceptional quality and well balanced, which is a good thing as Maria had served as the president of wines of [...]

Have you ever considered moving to what some people think is the ‘end of the world?” The landscape in this remote part of Uruguay is somewhat luner, yet it’s the special terroir that makes the wines of Alto de la Ballena so good. The winery was started in 2000 by Paula Pivel, who worked for [...]

Fabulous visit today to Familia Deicas winery today, home of some of the best Bordeaux style wines in the world. President Fernando Deicas (his prized car above) and his son Santiago Deicas showed me around along with different enologists. It is a giant winery with many different buildings, including an old brick building that was [...]

This winery started in 1991 by Mr. Stagmari and they grow many different varietals that have won numerous awards, especially for Tannat. From the start the focus was on quality, beginning with limiting density in the vineyards (one meter by one meter). As you can see from the photo above the wines have won many [...]

“My 82 year old granny lives here,” says dark haired Juan Andres Marichal, pointing to a simple, one  story house near the tiny family winery. “Many years ago she would cook three meals a day for the workers.” I peek into the old kitchen, which is now used as a barrel room, and see that [...]

  Have you ever dreamed of becoming a multi-millionaire? If so, would you use your money to buy a forest and plant a vineyard, and also plant olive trees to make the best possible gourmet olive oil? … and what about a golf course? Or a high tech, state of the art winery designed to [...]

“Welcome!” says attractive dark haired Federico Domingo, Export Manager for Bodegas Castillo Viejo as we squeeze into his tiny car. He is here to escort us to the winery and introduce us to the winemaker Alexander Etcheverry and his wines. It is a quaint vineyard and after a tour of the ferementation vessels we have [...]

“What exciting wines!” is my first reaction to meeting Marcelo Irurtia, who is in charge of vineyard management for his family’s 100 year old winery, and Maria Silvia Bianchi, who is in charge of exportation. The reasons their wines are exciting are many — first, they are very carefully made and extremely balanced, which automatically [...]

  … so the first thing you notice as you drive to Bodegas Carrau near Montevideo is the gorgeous grounds and the stunning classic “Spanish Style” Hacienda with flowers all around. Javiar Carrau, an enologist and director of the family winery, greets me warmly and tells me a bit about the winery as we tour [...]

“This is an incredible park!” I couldn’t help but exclaim as Victoria  Varela, the fourth generation of her family who is also in charge of the export market, shows me around her Varela Zarranz estate. It is a gorgeous day and this is one of the most spectacular vineyards I have ever seen — trees [...]

“What are those curious birds!” I can’t help but ask, as we tour the vineyard of Bodega Bouza in Uruguay. My guides are Eduardo Boido, winemaker and Cristina Santoro, who manages PR and communications. It is a gorgeous warm day and besides the vineyards of Tannat there is a small flock of beautiful, elegant birds [...]

  … an absolutely fabulous visit to Pisano Wines today … … vivacious Daniel Pisano, director of his family’s winery, picked me up and gave me a tour of his fabulous winery as well as one of the most entertaining lunch experiences of my life. The cuisine was great and the many award winning wines [...]

“Welcome!” says vivacious Ana Pizzorno, with a bright smile and flashing dark eyes as she picks me up at the Montevideo airport. It had been a long flight from New York, and Ana’s enthusiasm to show me her vineyard makes it all worth it. Montevideo is apparently quickly becoming a hot spot … the plane [...]

Very excited to visit Uruguay! I will be visiting many different producers … Be sure to check back as I will be writing daily.  … you can read more with this link

How fabulous to have Anne Parent as a speaker in today’s presentation for NYC journalists and trade about the terroir of Burgundy. The audience consisted of the city’s most vibrant journalists and trade representatives — and even though most of us were familiar with Burgundy and its terroir — it was so valuable to taste [...]