Bodegas Laxas Albarino, Rias Biaxas, 2008 – Spain Despite a rather dismal start to summer, you can almost always guarantee that August will bring the heat!  And on those blistering days when you feel like cranking up the air conditioner or better yet sitting back in the shade, you need a wine that will leave [...read more]

Domain des Corbillieres, Touraine Sauvignon, 2008 – France As the mercury rises, so does our interest in juicy, thirst-quenching white wines. I’m a big proponent of equal-opportunity consumption throughout the year, but I must admit that my zeal for crisp, high-acid whites leads me around by my nose for most of July and August. For [...read more]

d’Arenberg Chardonnay, Adelaid, “The Olive Grove”, 2006 – Australia d’Arenberg has a penchant for funny names. Their flagship bottling, for example, is the Dead Arm Shiraz. The Olive Grove Chardonnay takes its name from the olive trees that pop up between rows of vines in d’Arry’s original Chardonnay vineyard. Chester Osborne is the winemaker at [...read more]

We’ve been pushing Rosé on our customers for the last few weeks. The response we’re getting is awesome and, predictably, one of happy surprise. Initially, many of you think that these wines are going to be sweet. No doubt that this is a hold-over conception from the peak of White Zin’s popularity. C’mon, you know [...read more]

2005  Château  Fonguillon L’Enclos.   Here is a straight-from-the-shoulder Bordeaux at a reasonable price.  It is a merlot-based wine, frank and unadorned.  It is made in AOC Montagne St-Emilion which is the largest satellite of the august St. Emilion region. L’Enclos smells of leather and brass.  The taste is dark and not sweet with a tannic [...read more]

2008 Les Pallières au petit bonheur rosé.  This is a very beautiful rosé from the Gigondas region in the southern Rhone valley.  I do not say it lightly.  I never turn down a glass of rosé, especially at lunch, but it is not a wine I would seek out.  Usually bright, acidic, very pink, very [...read more]

Once you start drinking crisp, juicy, super-focused wines from the Loire or powerful, intensely flavored wines from New Zealand, I bet you’ll forget about Chardonnay for a few weeks. I’m also pretty confident that your going to become a missionary for these wines. Before you know it, you’ll be converting friends with every marvelous bottle [...read more]

Mind-blowing Sauvignon Blanc from the Loire. It’s true, it exists and you can score a few bottles here. This isn’t that big, fruity stuff that your friend picked up at the gas station because he was running late for your dinner party. This is the pinnacle of Sauvignon Blanc. An amazing mash-up of super-bright citrus, [...read more]

Some nights only a clean Burgundy will do.  2006 Philippe Colin Bourgogne is a light pinot noir.  It is a beautiful color – light red but deep and real.  You can see your hand through the glass. The nose is bracing and positive.  The taste is acidic — very evergreen.  The tartness and balance are [...read more]

Sometimes the things we overlook astound us when they actually come into focus. Saint-Péray is one of those things. The tiny appellation in France’s northern Rhône bears the burden of Napoleon’s first wine-drinking experience as a young cadet. Back then, the sparkling wines of the region rivaled those from Champagne both in terms of their [...read more]