Red Wine Review: Murrieta’s Well The Spur
Murrieta’s Well The Spur 2008 | Livermore Valley, California Lately I’ve been spending too much time at my very awesome job, commuting, blogging elsewhere, giving baseball lessons, and doing other things in life that take me away from writing here. I took a look at my list of “drafts” and there are now two dozen...
Casa Lapostolle Cabernet Sauvignon 2010
Going on 15 years now, Chile has been my “go to” for unearthing great wine values. A long time ago I discovered Casa Lapostolle’s “Cuvee Alexandre” line of wines, finding the Merlot particularly enjoyable — and fairly easy on the wallet. That said, when I happened upon this “Casa” Cabernet Sauvignon, my expectations were high...
Red Wine Review: Macari Merlot Reserve 2007
When I pulled this bottle off my rack I realized I also had the same wine in the 2008 vintage — so this is kind of “late”. Though, tasting the ’07 now proved that a.) it is ageable and b.) it might continue to evolve with even more cellaring. The nose is attractive, offering spice...
Lousy Wine at Charity Events
To start off the New Year, Jay McInerney presented his wine resolutions for 2012 in the Wall Street Journal. Among them was resolution number three: Don’t drink the wine at charity benefits. I happen to attend quite a few of these events over the course of the year. The speeches can really drag on and...
Affordable Champagne and Sparkling Wines for New Year’s
It’s time to ring in the New Year, and most likely you’ll do so with bubbles. But does it have to be Champagne? And does it have to be expensive? Not necessarily, as there are many, many other sparkling wines that offer the same dramatic effect of popping a cork and also please your palate...
Easy Cocktails for New Year’s Eve
I know, I know — this is supposed to be a wine blog, not a cocktail blog. But, one of these mixed drinks includes Prosecco among the ingredients, so that makes it relevant. Also, not everyone at your New Year’s Eve party will want to drink just wine, so here are some really easy drinks...
Wines for Thanksgiving 2011
Yes, another wine column devoted to wines suggested for your Thanksgiving feast. In the past I spent many hours in the weeks before Bird Day cooking turkey and various trimmings, and matching them with all types of wines in the hopes of finding magical pairings. After several years of this annual exercise, I’ve come to...
Red Wine Review: Torres Celeste Crianza
Miguel Torres “Celeste” Crianza Ribera del Duero 2007 | Spain No, this is not a wine made by the mixed-martial arts fighter — though it is similarly intense and packs a punch. “Celeste” Crianza is made by Miguel Torres the wine producer — a diverse family-owned company that makes wine in Spain, Chile, and California....
Wine Reviews: Big House Red and White
These were sent to me as samples by a nice PR person, but it took me a long time to get around to tasting both of the “Big House” wines, mainly because I saw them as gimmicky and figured they weren’t terribly interesting. As it turned out, both wines mildly surprised me — they are...
Tamas Rosato
Tamas Estates Rosato Riserva 2010 | Livermore Valley, California, USA Let me premise this by stating that I don’t like the idea of using the words “Prima Classe” “Rosato” and “Riserva” on a wine produced in the United States. I understand it is Tamas trying to be cute by emulating the terms that might be...
White Wine Review: Glenora Riesling
Glenora Riesling Finger Lakes, New York 2009 This bottle was given to me by my friend and colleague Phil Ward, who is on the Board of Directors of the International Riesling Foundation and frequently travels the country as a judge at wine competitions. Needless to say, I trust his palate, especially when it comes to...
Red Wine Review: Hob Nob
A full line of Hob Nob red wines were sent to me for review: Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir. They came in stylish, modern packaging including those dandy new artificial corks that are spongy and easy to remove. There’s even a snazzy website with a clever “spin the bottle” navigation format (though, being...
