Category Archives: Uncategorized

Happy New Year: Paul Bara 2004 Champagne

Posted on January 1, 2016 by waywardwine

Finally made to our delux cabin at Fort Stevens near Astoria on the edge of Oregon Coast. At least we are armed for the New Year! We decided to open the magnum of 2004 Paul Bara Brut Champagne: a fantastic … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Year Sparkling Wine: Champagne vs Cremant de Limoux and Loire

Posted on December 30, 2015 by waywardwine

And so it ends not with a whimper but a bang. We cannot leave Paris without cracking a few more bottles of bubbly. No 191 day EU Austerity Drinking Tour could finish France without value Cremant or Champagne.

For a mere €15.00 we find true, actual, not Prosecco, Champagne from Champagne, France (specifically the village of Buxeuil in the region’s southern extreme). Grower André Diligent et Fils created this Brut: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Austerity, Bertrand, Brut, Champagne, Cremant, Diligent, drink, EU, Europe, Food, France, Limoux, New Years, New Years Eve, Paris, Review, travel, wine | 4 Comments

Last Tango in Paris: Saint-Chinian red blend, Saint Joseph Syrah, and the Paris Opera

Posted on December 28, 2015 by waywardwine

This is the end. Our seven month, thirteen country EU Austerity Drinking Tour finally, achingly, grinds to a halt. 188 days of tasting Europe’s best value wine, whiskey, and beer has trialed our sanity, budget, and marriage.

But today the SNCF takes us from Reims, Champagne to Paris: Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Blind tasting, drink, Food, France, Opera, Paris, Paris Opera, Saint Chinian, Syrah, travel, wine | 3 Comments

Christmas Dinner with Penfolds 389 2012 South Australia

Posted on December 25, 2015 by waywardwine

So this is Christmas, and my wife has baked a feast of field roast, potatoes, yams, carrots, mushrooms and cranberry sauce. We just happened to have a bottle of Penfolds 389: a nearly equal parts cabernet sauvignon and shiraz blend … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Australia, Cabernet Sauvignon, fermentation, grapes, Penfolds, Shiraz, wine | Leave a comment

2002 Brut Lanson Champagne Vineyard Winery Review

Posted on December 21, 2015 by waywardwine

Last Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour post found Wayward Wine spelunking Taittinger’s Champagne caves (read here). Today, we visit Lanson, another of Reims’ iconic houses and an old favorite of ours and Queen Elizabeth II. Our hosts make us a … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment