Morgan’s Accessible Chardonnays
By “accessible” I mean more widely available and less expensive than the winery’s single-vineyard chardonnays, typically produced in lots fewer then 500 cases. What I’m talking about are the very popular Morgan “Metallico” Chardonnay 2010, Monterey County, and the Morgan “Highland” Chardonnay 2009, Santa Lucia Highlands, Monterey, each of which serves as a sort of...
Summer Chardonnay with Wente Vineyards
Hello Friends,
Last Thursday evening I had the pleasure of participating in Wente Vineyard’s ‘Summer Chardonnay’ TasteLive event with fifth-generation winemaker Karl Wente and special guest Kimberly Charles. This virtual tasting utilized U...
Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Crostini
With a nice long July weekend, many will plan picnics, barbecues and outdoor events. Along with those grilled favorites there is an array of sides and appetizers that go well with barbecued foods. The recipe featured today is an appetizer we tried earlier this week while matching wines from the Beaujolais wine region with Independence...
Six Regional and Village Burgundies from Joseph Drouhin
There are lots of “Côtes” and “Beaunes” here as we navigate six regional and village Burgundy wines from the venerable house of Joseph Drouhin, founded in 1880. I’ve written oft before about the complex categories that comprise the scheme of Burgundy — a surprisingly small area in eastern-central France — so I won’t do that...
WBC11 Preview: The Wine Grapes of Virginia
We recently saw a Twitter tweet from the Rhone Rangers regarding the Wine Bloggers Conference 2011 (#VAWine producers at #WBC11 - We will be present, love to meet with any interested in becoming a @RhoneRangers). The Rhone Rangers is "America's leading...
Two Wines I Didn’t Think I Would Like & Two Wines from 2007 to Look For
So, yes, this post is a miscellany, a salmagundi, a pot au feu of topics and wines with which I want to deal and get done; well, two, anyway. Here goes: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Not meaning to be a jerk or any such thing, but like all people who write about wine, while I try to cultivate...
Nine Wines to Take on a Picnic
When I was a kid, I thought that picnics must be pretty damned cool and racy events, because I was familiar with Manet’s great painting Dejeuner sur l’herbes that hangs in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. In the book of reproductions that I looked at constantly, the two men and two women depicted in the...
Still in South America
*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample to participate in a Wines of Argentina Taste Live Event I don’t know that I had ever had an Argentinian Chardonnay prior to this tasting event. I’m not seeing any in my previous tasting notes, so I’m guessing the answer is no. This event provided the opportunity...
Cleaning Up Old Notes
*Disclaimer: I received this wine in order to participate in a Taste Live event. I’m still digging back in the archives to catch up on wines I never got around to telling you about when my posting slowed down last year. I tasted this bottle during a Wines of Argentina Twitter Taste Live event towards...
Postcard: Thursday in the city
A mostly aimless walk through the streets of the city (a prelude to a night of feasting and drinking), it seems to become more alien to me as I grow older and have less reason to be there. A new generation of sky scrapers is emerging to complement the ...
Wine Tasting Video: Generic Burgundies from Louis Jadot & James Nicholson
JN White Burgundy 2009 (£10.99 James Nicholson) Quite an exotic style, with plump, honest citrus fruit (fresh & crystallised) a touch of pineapple chunk and a nutty, honeyed finish – not subtle but tasty. B+ Louis Jadot Bourgogne Chardonnay ...
More Bears
*Disclaimer: I received this wine as a sample from Sean Minor Wines. I’m afraid a box of wine from Sean Minor got lost in my basement. We had a bit of a problem in the basement when our hot water heater let go and things got shifted around and buried. I finally have time to...
