Nearly exactly twelve months ago, I was a media guest at the NYC unveiling of the 50 Great Portuguese Wines of 2013, as selected by MW/MS/TBA (total bad-ass) Doug Frost (see last year’s write-up for tasting notes and my video interview with Mr. Frosty). This year, I was once again a media guest for the…
Category: on the road
Paving The Off-The-Beaten Southern California Wine Path (Four Brix Recent Releases)
Depending on who you are, California’s Ventura County will spark up a number of mental images: beach stay-cations; Tony Stark’s mansion; a place to refill the gas tank en route to wine country in Northern California. But there are a host of urban wineries (now numbering over a dozen) that are attempting to carve out…
Chenin Blanc, By The Numbers (Stellenrust Recent Releases)
Make your way through the typically-wine-country picturesque town of Stellenbosch in South Africa, pass by the nigh-unpronounceable Blaauwklippen and Paradyskloof (I gave up on trying those tongue-twisters, personally), and you’ll find yourself at a gorgeous mountain-studded spot – Stellenrust – where they number their Chenin Blanc. But then, you’d probably expect a numerical focus from…
Rain, Raisins And Retrospect: Klein Constantia’s Battle To Hold On To The Past
“This would be impressive, really, if you could see any of it.” We’re driving through a winding, makeshift “road” of mud and ditches in the hills of Constantia. I’m wincing in sciatic pain with every bump, which come approximately forty nanoseconds apart courtesy of the damage done by a South African winter of intense rainfall…