Lirac has a bit of a troubled middle child syndrome on its hands. Being a middle child myself, I can relate. Look at it this way: if I asked you to tell me about some killer Southern Rhône reds (which is 85% of Lirac’s output), you’re probably going to start waxing poetic about Châteauneuf-du-Pape. You…
Category: wine review
It’s Spring, So Drink Some F*cking Tavel
It’s Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which for wine writers means one thing: an inundation of Rosé samples and PR pitches. So I am here to remind you about the Southern Rhône’s answer to Rosé Spring Fever: Tavel. You remember Tavel. It’s near Avignon. Wine has been produced there for centuries as a light-ish red….
“Sweet Lincoln’s Mullet!” (2019 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge Highlights)
I recently had the honor of judging at the 2019 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge (now in its 37th year!), the results of which have been published, allowing me to share some of my thoughts on a few surprises that my panel had the good fortune of tasting during the competition. When I…
We Now Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Features To Kick Your Ass
Lately, I’ve been reserving this virtual space for featuring producers I have recently (ok, ok, more like not-so-recently) visited in-person, with my feet in tasting rooms, cellars, vineyards, dilapidated vineyard trucks, etc. Today, however, I’m taking a short break from that feature run to turn your attention towards three items from the ever-expanding sample pool,…