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 [...]

“What a fabulous resource!” This was my first thought when clicking into the fabulously detailed online course called “Discovering the World of Wine” co-authored by highly credentialed writers/educators Patricia Savoie and Ron Kapon (also Fairleigh Dickinson University’s wine course professor for 16 years) and underwritten by Fairleigh Dickinson University’s school of International hospitality and The [...]

  If you are looking to explore a delicious value priced wine with refreshing acidity and minerality, this wine is an excellent choice. The grape is Melon de Bourgogne, and it is a “classic” from Nantes in the Loire Valley. An aromatic mineral, almost saline nose leads to a medium-bodied palate with pleasant fruit flavors. [...]

“Krug champagne!” Well, what else would you expect when having dinner with Jean-Michel and Jean-Charles Cazes at the restaurant inside the exclusive Cordeillan-Bages hotel in Pauillac. The hotel (managed by Relais & Chateau) is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very refined and relaxed. We are gathered together to experience the talent of the new chef, [...]

  … so I don’t usually drink white wines, yet who can turn down a Sauvignon blanc (SB) from Italy? Fattori Vecchie Scuole had an amazing acidity that went so well with grilled branzino. It’s 100% SB fermented in stainless steel with lots of tropical ripe yet crisp fruit and a long, dry, mineral finish. [...]

Clos de la Siete 2009 (Michel Rolland) This is a luscious, full-bodied wine (50% Malbec, 30% Merlot, 10/10 Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah) from Mendoza with a rich, ripe, perfumed nose of deep luscious black fruit, a very intense palate of dark fruit, very balanced tannin and acidity, and long finish with more dark rich ripe [...]

  Aurielle 2008 A very smooth and well balanced California cab marked with “restraint” in terms of keeping med+ acid, smooth tannins, richly concentrated fruit in balance. The use of oak is only apparent from its benefit in terms of giving oxygen to the wine (new french oak and used). Lots of Bordeaux cherry, some [...]

  Curious about what wine to bring for Thanksgiving dinner? The most important consideration is to find a good “food wine” — especially wines that will pair well with thanksgiving foods like turkey and sweet potatoes that also have that elusive quality of “balance.” Below are three wines, a white and two reds, that you [...]

Some excellent wines this week, an assortment of reds and whites from around the globe. Though diverse as a group, what unites them is their distinctive terroir. Terrezas de los Andes Reserva Malbec 2009 I visited this winery in Argentina last year and happy to have the chance to review it again, this time paired [...]

When you think of sparkling wine, what comes to mind? Champagne with its limestone soils? California sparklers with their bright sunny flavors? How about sipping a sparkler from an ancient land, with vines grown on a site filled with concentric circles. Archeologists believe this area was used as an ancient calendar and that the alignments [...]

Really fabulous wine for any occasion … gorgeous rose color, charred bread on the nose … Elegant sparkler in the french style with crisp acidity, a long finish, and gorgeous color and aroma.

  Perhaps one of the greatest strengths of the new technology is the ability to host ‘tasting webinars’ for wine education. Recently Jacob’s Creek invited key participants to meet the winemakers and taste five wines, including their 2009 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Pinot Noir from the Adelaide Hills, their 2009 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon, [...]

2010 Bodegas Julián Chivite Navarra Gran Feudo Rosado style note: Soft, fragrant nose of intense sweet cherry leads to med bodied wine with racy acidity, minerality, and pure cherry fruit. Pair with salads.

  Naked Wine by Alice Feiring Reviewed by Marisa D’Vari In this colorful narrative vaguely similar to Kermit Lynch’s Adventures on the Wine Route, Alice Feiring tackles “natural wine,” currently one of the hottest subjects in the wine world. Most people think that like buying the freshest produce in a greenmarket, the more natural the [...]

  Fabulous evening last night at the Leopard at des Artistes! Very ‘old school’ Italian in terms of the elegance of service, with fish deboned tableside. Bar was … interesting  … and is someplace I would definately go when I am in the mood to jot down character studies for a new book or screenplay. [...]

Vidal-Fleury Coes du Rhone 2010 Rose Style note: A bright cheerful rose that personifies summer with its gorgeous color, uplifting floral fragrance of ripe berry fruit and flowers, and long finish with a pleasant nectarine pit kick. Great with salads and fish. 2009 Wyndham Estate Chardonnay Bin 222 Style Note; A very apple pastry-ish with [...]

This week I had the opportunity to try some excellent new wines from Xavier Flouret! Xavier Flouret 2009 Flaca Torrentes Style note: Elegant wine with subtle floral nose, intense minerality, and a palate that offers concetrated yet subtle ripe peach/apricot backed with firm minerality and a long finish. Perfect with fish or chicken. Xavier Flouret [...]

Director’s Cut 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay Style:  Straw in color, subtle nose reveals tropical fruits (guava, pineapple, honeysuckle) that extend to the medium-weight palate along with flavors of ripe peach. Juicy and rich, the wine has lively medium+ acidity and a spicy finish.  8 months aging in an even blend of new/older french oak. [...]

  “I’ve never had a wine that could be altered in so many ways!” said a bewildered friend after blind tasting three different versions of the Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio grape. And it’s true … some might even call Pinot Gris/Grigio the multi-personality wine because of the way it takes on so many different expressions. This [...]

  Did any of you happen to read Neal Martin’s blog today on the eRobertParker.com site? I first met this eRobertParker.com wine columnist a few years back at one of the parties surrounding the tasting of the VDP “Grosse Gewachse” in Germany.  In person Neal is charming and a bit subdued, yet his columns are [...]