Tag Archives: wine

SPIRITED DAY: Hali’imaile Distillery Maui

Posted on May 29, 2017 by waywardwine

SPIRITED DAY: Hali’imaile Distillery Maui This Memorial Day kicks off our series on America’s tropical paradise, Maui. Where better to “drink local”, yet dive into coffee, pineapple vodka, sugar cane gin, pineapple and, yes, grape wine, along with endless cocktails wedged by a pineapple than the Hawaiian islands. Welcome … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged bars, dinks, distiliing, gin, Haliimaile, Hawaii, pineapple, spirit, tropics, Vodka, Whiskey, Whisky, wine | 5 Comments

Celebrity and the Changing Landscape of Wine: Terry Hoage Wine Review

Posted on May 2, 2017 by waywardwine

Celebrity wine.

I have mixed feelings. It seems buying a winery has become salve for a small handful of midlife crises. Owning three Ferraris, an island, and six children just does not cut it anymore. Brangelina, Drew Barrymore, Dan Ackroyd, Dave Matthews, Sam Neill, Coppola, Johnny Depp, and more have dipped their gilt toes into wineries with various success.

And then there are football players: people we imagine crushing six packs of Bud into their foreheads. Yet some -beneath that sweaty, helmeted, shoulder-padded facade- actually drink wine. Mike Ditka, Drew Bledsoe, Dan Marino, Charles Woodson, and Terry Hoage own wineries. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged America, California, celebrity, drink, football, Paso Robles, sports, Terry Hoage, wine, Winery | 1 Comment

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

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 →