… 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. [...]

2009 Martín Códax Albariño Rías Baixas (Spain, Galicia, Rías Baixas) Color: medium straw nose: med+ intensity, a certain briny nature, soft scent of ripe fruit such as peach and apricot, a sense of minerality palate: med+ intensity, dry, acid mes med+ tannin low body med alc est 12.5 finish med+ Style note: Briny minerality and [...]

  Have you ever wondered about the Mencia grape? The first time I experienced it was at the Cervantes Institute in Manhattan, where wine program creator Helio San Miguel presented a checkerboard of wines made from the Mencia grape to try. Very interesting … A Do-It-Yourself and simpler approach is to ask your friendly wine [...]

Henri Lurton I just returned from Bordeaux where I had attended En Primeur, a week long tasting for international fine wine journalists to taste the new 2009 vintage. I had the good fortune to catch up with Chateau Brane-Cantenac owner and oenologist Henri Lurton, whose grandfather bought the second-growth estate in 1925. All week long, [...]

Florence Cathiard, standing "Ah, you are my house guest this Thursday!" exclaimed the glamorous Florence Cathiard, who, with her husband Daniel, owns Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux. Though I can’t quite remember if Madame Cathiard was actually wearing diamonds, she seemed to sparkle with them, such was the charm of her dazzling personality. To set [...]

Gorgeous sunny weather is this beautiful city is always a treat. I am here today, March 15 2010, on a four day study trip with fellow students in the Master of Wine program. Happily, I’ve met most of the group during our Napa educational week and then during what is called a ‘Course Day’ in [...]

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…