I have (among other things) been described as peripatetic. That adjective is apt, but as peripatetic as I can be, I pale in comparison to Red Car‘s tall, thin, and quick-witted General Manager Peter Willmert. Willmert, along with winemaker Carroll Kemp and vineyard manager Adam Carter live, breathe, and seemingly sleep (if Willmert actually settles…
Category: elegant wines
A Winemakers’ Winery (Amici Recent Releases)
“This is a winemakers’ winery.” That Amici’s Associate Winemaker Bobby Donnell was speaking truth to me – and not just laying out the typical wine country cliché – was evidenced by the total lack of anything resembling Napa Valley “Why, yes I DID!” pomposity in Amici’s vinous Calistoga hamlet. Maybe it’s due to owner John…
Burdened With Glorious Purpose (Livio Felluga Terre Alte 2011)
It’s been a while since I bitched and moaned about tasting (okay, and drinking) wines long before “their time.” So I think we can both agree that I am due for a repeat. The trouble is, in the words of Loki, “I am burdened with glorious purpose!” when it comes to wine criticism. Generally, I’m…
Northbound Pachyderm (Tasting Claypool Cellars, Cobb, And LaRue 2012 Sonoma Coast Pinots)
A note to musically-inclined wine people: if you help the nice folks at Claypool Cellars pick their consulting winemaker, eventually you’ll get to hang backstage at kick-ass Primus concerts. And while that might at first sound like a raging conflict of interest, I suppose it’s worth noting that a) that hasn’t stopped me from telling…