Tag Archives: wine

Thirsty Thursday: Nero d’Avola, COS, Nero di Lupo, Sicilia IGT 2011

Posted on April 3, 2014 by waywardwine

For Christmas we suggested a wild Sicilian red aged in pithoi (read here). This Thirsty Thursday, we revisit Azienda Agricola COS in Southeastern Sicily (because we can’t help ourselves).

Again, the grape is Nero d’Avola. Again, wild yeasts did the work, biodynamic principles reigned supreme, and nothing beyond a dash of sulfur was added to the wine.

Yet this time, instead of those gloriously anochronistic pithoi (ceramic jugs), modernism creeps in with two years of cellaring in cement tanks under temp control.

The result? Continue reading →

Posted in Nero D'Avola, Red | Tagged Azienda Agricola COS, COS, Italian wine, italy, Nero D'Avola, Nero di Lupo, Sicily, wine | 7 Comments

Graves Open Doors 3: Château Caillivet in Bordeaux

Posted on February 3, 2014 by waywardwine

Today continues our exploration of Graves: Bordeaux’s diverse, left-bank, value region that struggles in the shadow of famed and pricier Haut-Médoc. A white van has toured us around the village of Langon, visiting its wineries for free (this is an EU Austerity Drinking Tour after all).

We leave “Château” la Croix’s rustic charm. A new driver asks for our next winery. The local girls say something. I blankly agree. But my wife’s glare cuts me down.

“They don’t like you”, she growls. “I know. But it doesn’t really matter which winery we go to.” “Yes, but you choose one, they don’t want us around”. “Fine”. Angry, tipsy, and both of us sick and stuffy we continue to whisper/fight. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chateau Caillivet, Château la Croix, France, Haut-Médoc, Langon, Medoc, merlot, Oak, wine | 5 Comments

Getting Dirty in Graves: Château la Croix

Posted on January 27, 2014 by waywardwine

We pick up last Monday’s EU Austerity Drinking Tour post south of Bordeaux, sick, but thirsty. Our free, Open Doors, van tour of Graves had started decently. Château Pont de Brion let us taste a mini-enprimeur of 2012’s just-harvested varietals. They were tidy, well-branded, but too clean to be outstanding. Then I kicked a dog (accidentally), and they kicked us out.

Today, our van bounces to its next stop: Château la Croix.

The word Châteaux clearly gets applied to anything in Bordeaux. A child plays with gravel in the driveway. A stable-winery glares orange. The center tree shades a large, black dog who greets with a lazy bark.

But superficiality be damned. We came for wine, not glamor. Our van clatters off, leaving us and three, twenty-something ladies in the parking lot. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bordeaux, Botrytis cyneria, dessert, France, Garonne, grapes, Graves, malbec, Muscadelle, Petite Verdot, Sauternes, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, wine, wine tour | 4 Comments

Open Doors in Graves: Château Pont de Brion Bordeaux Deconstructed

Posted on January 20, 2014 by waywardwine

Day 93 of EU Austerity Drinking finds us sick, stuck in bed, in Bordeaux, and worst of all, completely sober.

But “Portes Ouvertes dans les Graves” is happening. Basically, free buses will carry us from one free winery tour and tasting to the next, until we have soaked in all that Graves has to offer.

So I drag my flu-riddled wife out of bed. We miss the first train, after hacking and coughing our way to the station. We catch our breath, and hop on the next. While we chug out of Bordeaux, here’s some context.

Graves is a subregion of Bordeaux. It covers vineyards that surround the city and run South along the Garonne River’s left bank. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Château Pont de Brion Bordeaux, gravel, Graves, merlot, Petit Verdot, Sauvignon blanc, Semillon, wine | 6 Comments

Bordeaux Begins: EU Austerity Drinking Tour: Day 91

Posted on January 13, 2014 by waywardwine

For 91 days my wife and I have drunk on a budget from New York to France. Finally, we reach Bordeaux: home to more of the most expensive, collectable wines than any region in the world (as well as many thin, cheap, ones). Here we can fulfill our dream, forged in the fire of the Advanced WSET exam. We will smell the soil, try the food, and revel in the wines of this unique terroir. And it’s my birthday.

The rub? My wife’s flu has hit with full force. The sniffles have also begun to muddle my mind, and worse, my palate.

So there we stand, inside one of the most posh tasting rooms bequeathed by Bacchus: Continue reading →