overachiever wines
-
Old House, Old Vines, New Styles (Tasting Izadi Recent Releases In Rioja)
To get a feel for how important the culture of the vine is in the tiny and picturesque hilltop town of Villabuena in Rioja Alavesa, consider this: Villabuena has roughly 317 inhabitants, and just over ten percent of them (about 40) are wineries; so the…
-
Freedom, Liberty And The Pursuit Of One Of Barossa’s Best Reds (Langmeil Recent Releases)
I have a confession to make. I hate the word “freedom.” Rather, I hate the misuse of the word freedom; because, at the risk of sounding like an unpatriotic American, I’ve noticed that most of the time people use “freedom” when they really mean “liberty”…
-
On Planting A Vineyard By Hand, And Not Getting Your Wines Reviewed By U.S. Critics (Yarra’s Giant Steps)
“I can’t review your wines, they have too much acid.” Those were words that a reviewer at one of the U.S. wine glossies told Aussie Yarra Valley producer’s Giant Steps head honcho Phil Sexton (according to Phil, anyway). To which Phil’s reaction was, apparently, something…
-
What’s In A Name, Anyway? (Recent Releases From Steven Mirassou’s Not-Quite-Family-Named Brands)
After six generations of pressing grapes in California, the Mirassou family has only one son left who owns a wine brand: Steven Mirassou. But he can’t legally use his own name on his bottles, despite the fact that Mirassou’s have been making wine since the…
