Category Archives: Uncategorized

Give Australia a Second Chance

Posted on October 27, 2017 by waywardwine

Ignore the echo chamber. Australia makes amazing wine. Yet more than a decade has passed since “critter wines” tanked Australia’s image and sales internationally.  And still customers cling to herd mentality and scoff at them. Restaurant and shop owners share blame too, claiming they cannot sell them.

The key: take a break from buying $10 wine and expecting it to change your world. Disappointment usually follows. Spend what you would on any great bottle. Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday to Me

Posted on October 24, 2017 by waywardwine

No birthday would be complete without some cool climate, alcoholic magic. The pure tidiness of Chardonnay-only Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne kicks and curls with lemon, white pear, angel food cake, and light chalk. Then a pumpkin millefeuille begs for … Continue reading →

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Across Time and Space: Olga Raffault Les Picasses Chinon Cabernet Franc 2010

Posted on October 16, 2017 by waywardwine

  Four years ago, my wife and I landed in Tours on the Loire River in France. The city jumbled modern and medieval comfortably. Our ’70’s dorm sat a few blocks from “an indoor market, rioting with vendors, that provides … Continue reading →

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An Amarone for October: Le Ragose 2007

Posted on October 9, 2017 by waywardwine

Cold fixes in this side of the hemisphere. Leaves catch fire. Grey and rain dampen the ether. It is not Port season yet. But it is Fall. And I have the perfect wine.

Fly to Valpolicella, valley of many cellars. In the hills overlooking fair Verona grow swaths of vines. The Galli family tend 70 terraced acres near 1,200 feet above sea level: the highest in the region. They bought the abandoned vineyard in 1969.  Here, it is dry, above the fog line, cool yet sunny: perfect for appassimento, aka grape-drying. Continue reading →

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Fall Calls For Dessert Wine: Kracher Beerenauslese 2011 Austria

Posted on September 25, 2017 by waywardwine

Finally, Fall comes to the Northwest. With it, like leaves on a tree, I shed my need for crisp, light, whites and reds. It is not cold yet for Port mind you. But a small glass of something sweet and complex to slowly sip away the cool evenings is in order. Continue reading →

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