At the end of July, I wound up at the top of Chalk Hill in Healdsburg. It was one of those events that I should be used to by now but that make me slightly uncomfortable anyway because they a) are held in lavish settings that seem to cost a billion dollars, b) usually end…
Category: elegant wines
Focus, Focus, Focus: Zeroing In On Wines For Now At Virginia’s Blenheim Vineyards
I am not a fan of small producers in emerging wine regions bottling and selling a large array of varietal wines; almost everyone loves having choices, but too often the cumulative result in this case ends up feeling like a Zinfandel that’s been watered-down in a feeble attempt to get it under 16% abv –…
Dance On A Volcano: Grapegrowing At The Edge Of Time At Clos de los Siete
“This…. this was all vineyards of Malbec…” They say the Italian influence runs strong in Argentina, and nowhere does it look stronger than in the face of our driver, Carlos Tizio Mayer – Plump, Roman-nosed and topped with a wavy shock of grey hair, he could be any of a dozen Italian uncles plucked straight…
The Long View Of Long Island Red (Tasting Through 20+ Years Of Peconic Bay Merlot)
“No one really gets to try older Long Island wine… because, well, there really isn’t any!” James Silver, General Manager of Peconic Bay Winery, was telling me about the dearth of older vintages for LI wine, as we stood on a small deck last weekend, overlooking their Cutchogue, NY property near the eastern edge of…