Category Archives: Uncategorized

Wine Review for Spring: Grillo Grapes by Tenuta Rapitala Sicily Italy

Posted on April 13, 2017 by waywardwine

An earthquake and marriage coincided in 1968. The Belice Valley earthquake destroyed Rapitalà winery in western Sicily, just as French Count, Hugues Bernard de la Gatinais, married Gigi Guarrasi and moved there. Together, they renovated their winery and vineyard. Six years … Continue reading →

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Wine Review: E Carrel Brut Sparkling Wine from Savoie France

Posted on April 10, 2017 by waywardwine

Just before you get to Swiss and Italian Alps. Just before you bathe yourself in fondue. Make a wine stop in France’s Savoie:

Savoie is a collection of seven gerrymandered valleys just warm enough to ripen grapes. Romans called it Sapaudia or Sabaudia: land covered in fir trees. Clearly, they had little confidence in its wine potential. But the French needed somewhere to ski. So they annexed Savoie in 1860. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alp, alps, Brut, bubbly, Carrel, chardonnay, drink, France, italy, jacquere, Savoie, ski, switzerland, travel, wine | Leave a comment

Cava Solves Power Outage

Posted on April 7, 2017 by waywardwine

With 90 + mph winds knocking trees into power lines, it looks like we will not have power through the night. Desperate times call for desperate measures: time for the emergency Cava rosado. Nothing will fool us into thinking we’re … Continue reading →

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Revel in the World’s Biggest Wine Bottle Punt

Posted on April 6, 2017 by waywardwine

Now, I am not implying that Krupp Brothers Winery suffers from an inferiority complex, size issue, or that they are over-compensating for anything in particular. But *cough *cough Look at that punt. You could fit a foot in that punt. That … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bottle, Cabernet Sauvignon, drink, Napa Valley, punt, wine | Leave a comment

Found in Translation: A Grape By Any Other Name (Monthly Wine Writing Challenge 32 #MWWC32)

Posted on April 3, 2017 by waywardwine

The theme is “translation” for this, the thirty second Monthly Wine Writing Challenge.

Luckily, my Aunt surprised me recently.

She hosts near-monthly dinners, cooks great food, and pours copious amounts of sparkling wine. I bring good bottles that survived my workweek. Well, at our last powwow she had something new from Oregon.

Now, most American wine is an act of translation. Why? Because we try to conjugate European grapes with American soil, climate, and palates. Results taste familiar but different: like speaking French with a Texan accent. But with today’s wine, America forgot the encyclopedia. Continue reading →