“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 [...]

  Very exited to receive a case of de Lorimier’s new offerings … and really thrilled to see that among the goodies are two Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 from different vineyards. one is from Dry Creek Valley, Warm Springs Ranch, and the other is from the Alexander Valley, Crazy Creek Ranch. So without reading the notes [...]

  Blackstone Sonoma Reserve Pinot Noir 2009 With its velvet texture, nose of well sorted fresh grapes, and fresh flavors, this is a well balanced New World Pinot that can match many foods, especially salmon, pork, rare duck. Mazzocco Sonoma Petite Syrah Aguilera 2007 Very sleek and elegant wine that would pair well with a [...]

  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 [...]

  So a friend and I were at Barney’s today (a fashionable department store in NYC, with a bustling restaurant) and one look at the wine list presented an attractive opportunity to casually compare a Chianti Classico with Rosso di Montalchino. Why compare? As a student in a wine-related educational program, there’s the very real [...]

    So have you ever been in the position of blind tasting a lighter bodied, rather fruity wine, with bright red fruit flavors, minerals, and in some cases, a vertical structure? As a student in various wine educational programs, yes, I have – and when faced with several wines fitting this description, it can [...]

“What a delicious wine!” exclaims the client with real enthusiasm after his first sip of Carmenere, a popular Chilean varietal that was once mistaken for Merlot given its soft, velvety nature. Of course, the CEO started off the dinner with…

… of course, there are wine shops and there are wine shops. A shop I often visit lacks the upscale ambiance of many featured recently in Zagat’s new listing, yet it has these incredibly great-value wines from France. Recently I…

“Can you tell us the difference between a Zweigelt, Blaufrankisch, and St. Laurent?” Wow, came upon this super gossipy wine/review story on a blog when I was searching for information on the Gernot Heinrich 2004 Blaufrankisch I’m experiencing. I’ll post…