2018 La Valentina Pecorino Colline Pescaresi (Abruzzo): An extra shot of citric joy for your dining life. $14 B NV Fratelli Lunelli Ferrari Metodo Classico Brut (Trento): Low on drama, high on elegant refreshment. $26 B+ NV Bibi Graetz Testamatta ‘Bollamatta’ Spumante Rose (Tuscany): Artsy label; artsy presentation; down-to-earth substance. $26 B+ 2016 P. J….
Month: December 2019
Or, We Could Just Go Back to OR… (McMinnville Wine & Food Classic 2020 Competition)
Presumably because its polite residents haven’t yet learned their lesson, I’ve been invited back to Oregon to help judge the 2020 McMinnville Wine & Food Classic Wine Competition, to be held January 11. It’s been the better part of eighteen months since I’ve had my boots on the ground in that fine state, so I’m…
Wine Reviews: Weekly Mini Round-Up For December 9, 2019
NV Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (Champagne): A bubbles portrait, classically framed. $69 A- 2019 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages Nouveau (Beaujolais): Eschewing bubble-gum for lively, floral fruitiness. $14 B 2017 Renato Ratti Ochetti Langhe Nebbiolo (Piedmont): More of the plummy earthiness that you want, with less of the tannic assault that you don’t. $26 B+ NV…
Nikko Suave (Results of the 2019 San Francisco International Wine Competition)
This year I once again had the honor of judging alongside several of my wine biz cohorts at what has become one of my favorite weekends all year: the San Francisco International Wine Competition, held at the swanky and suave Hotel Nikko in downtown SF. The 2019 SFIWC incarnation took place November 9th through November…