Volume XXIX – Issue 2

By Dan Berger It is true. Those of us who write about wine do receive samples from wineries. Most of the samples we receive are pretty marginal in quality. (Some reviewers request special samples and many wineries comply if the review is particularly… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you … Continue reading “The Guaranteed Wine Review”

The Michelin Guide is unquestionably one of the most widely red restaurant-influencer books published in the world today. It notably lists expensive restaurants, as if they are the best food purveyors anywhere. (Few bargain joints get a star.) And yo… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login here. If … Continue reading “Flat Tire?”

As noted annually here, the group of Sonoma County winemakers that gathers every few weeks to do some serious blind tastings did another one about two weeks ago. It was their annual investigation (and joyous appreciation) of high-quality French Champ… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login here. If … Continue reading “Champagne Taste-Off”

I’m not entirely certain what the wine search engine Wine Searcher is doing with its flash announcements via email, but something odd has occurred, and it is worth noting. About once a week, perhaps even more since a few weeks ago, what appears to be… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back … Continue reading “Speaking of Champagne…”

Just about all table wines will oxidize at some point, and rarely does anyone really get into the weeds on this subject because it’s so individual from bottle to bottle and from grape to grape. In general, each table wine has a different ability to w… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome … Continue reading “Oxygen”

Most readers are aware that I write regularly for Napa Valley Features and a couple of those features have appeared in one form or another in Vintage Experiences. Recently. The owner of Napa Valley Features, Tim Carl, published an article that contai… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “My work in 2025”

A Champagne Rom-Com Netflix has decided to offer wine consumers an interesting way to test their wine knowledge with a not unique series based on a kind of romantic comedy(?) which entails an investor buying into a struggling Champagne house, the fic… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “Wine Notes”