Volume XXV – Issue 8

By Dan Berger Most wine collectors I have encountered have carefully considered how and where to age the wines they buy. Such homework is a worthy exercise. Doing it wrong can turn out disastrously, or at the very least disappointingly costly. … Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “Cellar Times”

If ever anyone asks about why you age wine, you could probably answer in several different ways and you would still never be able to convince some people that aging is a mystical process that takes an ordinary simple beverage and converts it into a … Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – … Continue reading “Really Old Stuff”

Decades ago, a San Diego wine merchant invited several wine collectors, including one newcomer, to a tasting of red wines that theoretically were supposed to sell for very little money. The tasting of 15 wines “generic reds” (as he called them) repr… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “Can even very good tasters properly evaluate older wine?”

I believe there are several important messages embedded in an odd experience that occurred at a New York restaurant not long ago, which was reported in a sort of amusing manner in an article in Decanter magazine. At the restaurant Balthasar, two … Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “A Restaurant Glitch”

New Grapes: The U.S. government has approved several dozen existing grape varieties for use on wine labels. One recent one is Cliegiolo, an Italian native that is occasionally used in traditional blends such as Chianti. Wikipedia says interest in th… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login here. If you aren’t … Continue reading “News Notes”

Exceptional 2017 Migration Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley, Bien Nacido Vineyard ($70): Wines like this don’t come along all that often and there are probably ten different reasons why it is so Exceptional. The reason for this wine leading off sev… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login … Continue reading “Tasting Notes”

2019 Navarro Muscat Blanc, Anderson Valley ($22): We all know of the somewhat simplistic aroma that comes out of warm-climate Muscat grapes. It can be fascinating and alluring, and especially so when the wine is made with sufficient residual sugar t… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may login … Continue reading “Wine of the Week”

2020 Goldridge Sauvignon Blanc Reserve, Marlborough ($9): One of the aroma markers of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is not its “cat pee” or gooseberry aromas, but its faint trace of “iodine,” a most attractive aromatic note that adds interest to its l… Want to read more? If you’re already a subscriber, welcome back – you may … Continue reading “Bargain of the Week”