Every Monday, discover new wines, regions, and ways to understand this fermenting sea.
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Munching Vidal Blanc on Keuka Lake, New York
Tag Archives: wine
An Amarone for October: Le Ragose 2007
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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Tagged Amarone, Corvina, drink, Galli, grapes, italy, Oak, travel, Valpollicella, verona, wine
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Fall Calls For Dessert Wine: Kracher Beerenauslese 2011 Austria
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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Tagged Austria, Beerenauslese, chardonnay, drink, Fall, Kracher, pinot girs, Welschriesling, wine
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Virginian Wine is for Lovers? Drinking Local -VS- Trendsetting
My wife’s conference brings baby and I to Virginia. We stay in Alexandria: namesake of our ten month old and posh tourist excursion from Washington DC.
“Really Dad?”
Now, with a week to kill, between eponymous photo-ops, I explore Alexandria’s wine shops and bottle bars. Years have passed since I last sold or tried wine from Virginia. I remember liking it. Lean and structured, like Bordeaux, Baboursville Octagon Red seemed solid.
But a concern slowly creeps in. Alexandria’s shelves and lists feature fab Sancerre, German bubblies, Rhône growers, interesting South African Chenin Blanc, Langhe Nebbiolo, and Californian classics. Heck, every shop has at least three Oregon Pinot Noir, even unseen single vineyards, and I come from Oregon. Continue reading
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Tagged Alexandria, Beer, Cabernet Franc, drinks, Norton, Rkatsiteli, travel, Viognier, virginia, Virginia Wine, wine, Winery
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Tired of Malbec? Try Cabernet Franc from Argentina
Think of Argentinian wine. If Malbec comes to mind followed by a shrug or shudder, I feel your pain. Argentina has tumbled down this monovariety’s path, much like Australia did with Shiraz decades ago. Malbec became the recession’s answer to find a big red for less. But it is a race to the bottom that backfires. The grape, and Argentina by association, are now caged by their success. They exist in most minds as a cheap alternative. Continue reading
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Tagged Argentina, Cabernet Franc, drinks, Food, lifestyle, Mendoza, travel, wine
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Wine Review: Sparkling Aligote from Cave de Bissey
I need to bring something home. Even though I sell wine, my wife deserves something different from time to time. Champagne would be great. But I only have a $20. I start flipping the bottles at a store checking back labels for something new. Then, one read in small print at the top: Continue reading
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Tagged Aligoté, BIssey, Burgundy, Cave, Champagne, drink, wine, wine review
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WAYWARD WINE 