NV St. James Winery Pioneer Red ($11): the climate in Missouri makes it extremely difficult to grow the Traditional wine grapes from French varieties. Three crosses/hybrids that do well here are Norton, Chambourcin, and Rougeon. These three greats … Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login here. If you … Continue reading “A Wine to Discover”
Asides
Explanation of Future Issues
In the last four decades of his life, Robert Lawrence Blazer was a wine columnist for the Los Angeles Times Magazine, a publication that offered him more fame than he had received for the many other star turns he had achieved in his long life. Bal… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome … Continue reading “Explanation of Future Issues”
No Tasting Notes This Week
Due to some unexpected medical issues and other unplanned occurrences, we will have no Tasting Notes this issue. In our next issue, which is planned to be very soon, we will publish more than the usual number of recommendations…. Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login here. If you aren’t … Continue reading “No Tasting Notes This Week”
Hot-Climate Wines
We rarely write about hot-climate wines because they typically display aromas that are more akin to raisins than to traditional table wine. I have seen wine lovers who swoon over such things, and one particular episode was amazingly enlightening. … Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login here. If you … Continue reading “Hot-Climate Wines”
An Awful Breakfast
At a New York coffee shop (the definitive example of faux everything), about five years ago I ordered a “cheddar cheese omelet.” Before letting the waiter slip my order into that wobbly, grease-coated stainless steel circular ring, I asked if the che… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “An Awful Breakfast”
Bargain Note
Some Grocery Outlet stores are closing out 2016 Midsummer Cellars Rosé, California, a sensational pink wine made mostly from Grenache with a dash of Viognier by excellent wine maker Rollie Heitz (son of the late Joe Heitz of Heitz Cellar) and his wif… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you … Continue reading “Bargain Note”
The Story Justifies the Wine
It was a Sauvignon Blanc of an extraordinary type, not because the wine itself was that remarkable, but because it had a story only a purist could possibly understand. Wine maker Adam LaZarre had been hired to make wine for a winery in Paso Robles… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back … Continue reading “The Story Justifies the Wine”
A Vintage Experience: Older Pouilly-Fumé
In the mid-1980s, I tasted the current release of Baron de L from LaDoucette, a terrific Pouilly-Fumé, and I remarked to its wholesale representative about its distinctiveness and its compatibility with fine food. Baron de L is a Sauvignon Blanc f… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login … Continue reading “A Vintage Experience: Older Pouilly-Fumé”
Not a Fad or a Trend
Some movements are neither fads nor trends. The perfume Joy once was considered the most expensive and sought-after fragrance in the world, so much so that chemical knockoffs were widely developed. (I had a great-uncle who was a chemist who dev… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login … Continue reading “Not a Fad or a Trend”
Rosé Notes
Rosé is on the rise. From Decanter Magazine: “June 21st was the hottest day in the UK since 1976, with temperatures reaching 34°C (98°F) in some parts of the country. Other countries have also experienced a spate of hot weather… In the UK, Decante… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you … Continue reading “Rosé Notes”