“Wait, that’s my bottle!” The lively young group at the next table looked at the waiter opening our bottle of Hahn Pinot Noir in amazement. It turns out that they brought the exact same wine for a BYOB dinner at New York’s best restaurant! In time, they relaxed when their own bottle was brought [...]

  Queulat Sauvignon Blanc and Queulat Pinot Noir from Ventisquero So last night at my favorite BYOB restaurant I brought these fabulous wines from Chile! I am on a Chile kick right now … last week I attended a great tutored tasting of Chilean wines and am so excited about the quality and all the [...]

Last night at The Modern in Manhattan I tasted some really fabulous wines – very surprising! The biggest surprise was a Portuguese white, Tons de Duorum 2011 – frankly, I did not know what to expect as I do not have white wines from Portugal very often. Tasting it (without knowing the varietals) I would [...]

    So Maria and Rob Stuart were kind enough to send us six bottles of their wine from McMinnville, Oregon — last year we and several other bloggers were lucky enough to get an invitation to blend wine with them! I am saving our “Blogger’s Blend” for last, yet now am trying the Big [...]

Ah, there’s nothing quite like a SuperTuscan. Typically, a SuperTuscan refers to “Bordeaux Style” wine (blends of the typical grapes of the region, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc) except that the climate and soil and aspect (and sun!) of the region is completely different! Typically, SuperTuscans are also quite expensive, as they [...]

This week I am trying two wines from Clos LaChance, a family-owned, certified sustainable winery in the Northern Central Coast region. The winery uses modern winemaking technology mixed with old world philosophy … … gravity flow, small lot fermentation, barrel aging and unfined/unfiltered wines paired with high tech computer monitoring. Clos LaChance Estate Zinfandel 2010 [...]

Okay, so several weeks ago I was at my neighborhood wine shop and wanted to test the “new guy” out on his recommendations. “So what is a great Rioja about $20?” I asked. He recommended the Xavier Flouret Fe 2005 (the X on the right).  So being the MW student geek that I am, I [...]

Wow, what a great idea from the folks at Trione in Geyserville, California. I received this “mini box” of “mini bottles” of wines including 2007 Alexander Valley red, 2007 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2008 Russian River Valley Syrah, 2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, 2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay and 2010 Russian River Valley Sauvignon [...]

  Just in time for Valentine’s day are some fabulous wines — at surprisingly, a really fabulous price!   Piccini Brunello di Montalcino DOCG 2006 Piccini is clearly establishing itself as a key brand – though it has more than 130 years of tradition. Very impressed by their wines – this Brunello is 100% Sangiovese, [...]

Chateau Ste Michelle Dry Riesling 2011, Columbia Valley Very refreshing style of wine with intense notes of minerality and racy acidity. The finish is a pure beam of minerals, along with an orange-tangerine, tangy note that livens the palate. Style is dry and very elegant, and can be served as an aperitif or paired with [...]

2009 Wild Horse Cheval Sauvage Santa Maria Valley Pinot Noir “This wine is from Burgundy!” said a friend, blind tasting the 2009 Wild Horse Cheval Sauvage the other night at The Modern. Of course, the gentleman in question is a “super taster” and what he was responding to was the elegance and finesse of the [...]

Chateau Dereszla Tokaji 5 Puttanyos … so last night was graduation night at the International Wine Center … and as tradition has it, former graduates (I was the 2009 vintage) BYOB to I truili for the graduation ceremony. I met one of the grads, Josephine Young, last Saturday at an MW practice tasting hosted by [...]

2010 Silvarado Chardonnay Carneros (Estate Grown) Gold color with a nose of butter, orange blossom, and pointed minerality. On the palate, racy acidity and tart green apple. A very long, elegant focused finish. 2010 Van Duzer Estate Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, Oregon Very delicious, earthy, well-balanced wine with concentrated fruit and a real sense [...]

. … so here I am in Izmir … ancient Smyrna … with a gorgeous room at the #swisshotel. Sun on the terrace for breakfast (welcome after brutal NYC climate) that included sour cherry juice and thick Turkish coffee (“How would you like it … medium?” asks the waitress, as it is typically made with [...]

  2011 Château Bonnet Andre Lurton White Bordeaux From the “snap” of the twist of the bottle to the fresh scent of grapefruit, and the clean taste of fresh acidity and minerality this is a very well structured white wine/ Pale in appearance, it offers an aromatic nose and a very refreshing dry, medium body, [...]

  2010 Argento Malbec Wow, really luscious wine! Color is a garnet, and on the nose a delicous aroma of dark chocolate … oak is so subtle one isn’t sure it is even there. Lush and full palate with super ripe plum, more chocolate, and incredible balance. Though the fruit is concentrated and rich, there [...]

Finger Lake Riesling Rules A few years back, I went to the Finger Lakes with the Wine Media Guild and enjoyed these wines for the first time. They are really delicious and quite a value for the price. A good way to start your Riesling education is to visit the Finger Lakes Alliance web site [...]

  2009 Xavier Flouret uQamata Delicious, very jammy Bordeaux style blend, South African style. Big black berry fruit spiked with cinnamon and some dark chocolate. Very RIPE flavors. Tasting it blind, one can sense it’s a Bordeaux blend (here it is 40/40 Cabernet Franc and Merlot, with just 18% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Petit Verdot) [...]

2010 Yarden Chardonnay Odem Vineyards (Gallilee, Israel) Luscious and  aromatic , this Yarden Chardonnay is all about tropical fruit, fresh pear, and tangy citrus. With all its richness it is still balanced and elegant – and a fabulous price for an Israeli price at just under 20.  I experienced it at The Modern … a [...]

So we were at the Wine Bloggers Conference and are so appreciative to have visited all the different regions as part of various dinners, pre-trips, and post-trips. After the conference, Seven of Hearts (based in McMinnville, Oregon) sent me several wines to try and here I will discuss my three favorites. So I really enjoyed [...]