I’ve become so bored with the same old things; Pinots and Cabs just aren’t exciting me! I feel like I’ve been consorting with attractive, but shallow bottles for a while now. They’ve been perfectly tasty, delicious even, but somewhere after the bread has arrived I realize I don’t want to spend a whole evening with [...read more]

This wine is a bit mysterious; efforts to dig up information about the winery and the wine, yielded fruitless results. There is almost zero information about this wine on the web, which nowadays, is quite amazing! Do we let that deter us from sharing it with you? Heck no! Because what we do know about [...read more]

The Jaboulet family has been respected as vignerons in Crozes-Hermitage for more than 200 years.  Phillipe and his son, Vincent (fifth and sixth generations) are carrying on that tradition with their own winery that still carries the family name. This Crozes-Hermitage “Nouvelère” would make their forbearers proud.  It is pure Syrah with a bright fresh [...read more]

I like my Sauvignon Blanc to be interesting. Is that too much to ask? But wait! I also want it to be crisp, steely, flinty, smoky, minerally, bright, and clean. So… it’s a lengthy list, but no worries, it’s an easy list of demands for the Régis Minet Pouilly Fumé to accomodate. The wine offers a fresh [...read more]

There are two reasons that I am in charge of providing wine for Thanksgiving. The first, and most obvious, I work at a wine shop. If I don’t show up with something fabulous to drink then what good am I? Second, I am an absolute control freak, and this way I am guaranteed to be [...read more]

A few weeks ago our buddy (and rockstar Master Somellier) Richard Betts dropped by for a visit. His visit turned into an epic dinner – there was a rotisserie involved, a huge line-up of his gorgeous Betts & Scholl wines, and a pair of surprise bottlings that totally stunned an entire crew of wine fanatics. [...read more]

Tempier has been around since the days of Louis XV – yes, that means they’ve been making wine since the early 1700’s. Like Buisson, they too farm biodynamically and hand pick and sort their grapes. Their reds, made predominantly from ancient-vine Mourvèdre – are coveted by cellar junkies and foodies alike. Their rosé – also [...read more]

Svelte, balanced and fleshy… I’m a sucker for Pinot Noir. I greedily horde the best bottlings. Sometimes I hang out in my cellar, in the dark, with my Pinot Noir. My preciousssss… But mostly I drink them. No other single variety speaks of its birthplace the way Pinot does – a vinous umbilical chord stretching [...read more]

Barbaresco’s a different kind of player. The kind that starts out all unassuming, with a few simple warm-up chords over in the corner.  Then it sneaks onto the stage, hammers out something amazing on that beat-up old guitar, and leaves the party with your girl. Watch out Barolo.  That’s exactly the kind of thing a [...read more]

I covet wines that encourage almost unhealthy fantasies about tables full of cured meats; powerful cheeses, artisan bread and fresh pasta sauced with lots of braised anything. Northern-Italian wines are always on my mind. Especially wines from those svelte kings of Nebbiolo: Barolo and Barbaresco. These communes – the giants of Piedmont – produce wines [...read more]

When I first tried The Royal Chenin Blanc from Riebeek Cellars, I proclaimed it to to be fantastic! Sadly, it was not my first glass of wine, not my second either, truth be told I was at a large (very large) wine tasting and the table housing this wine was one of the last ones [...read more]

You may not recognize the name Villaine…but there are many wine enthusiasts that certainly will.  Aubert de Villaine is one of the owners of Domaine de la Romanee Conti, producers of some of the most coveted and expensive Burgundies.  You usually need a serious mortgage payment to consider buying a single bottle from this prestigious [...read more]

This wine comes from producer Pablo Almonacid De La Sierra.  The family owned estate was founded in 1760 and emphasizes the use of indigenous varietals and bio-dynamic farming.  Fermentation and aging in 100% stainless steel assures that the subtle fruit flavors are preserved. All of the clean ripe fruit shines through easily. The estate is located [...read more]

Oh Chardonnay, how misunderstood you are. It must be a constant let down to hear those cries of “I don’t like Chardonnay”.  I’ll admit, I myself have uttered those words. Fortunately, there are high quality well-balanced wines that save face for Chardonnay.  This is one of them.  The small Chateau of Guiot is located near the [...read more]

I can barely contain my excitement!  The fresh air & fresh produce have my spirits way up, as well as my appetite for refreshing white wines.  The Inacayal Torrontes from Argentina is my mascot for Spring sippers.  The vineyards benefit from a combination of ample sun & wind as well as an altitude of 3,000 [...read more]