Tag: wine

What kind of wine should a producer spend time and money making?  Should he make an international-style wine, a wine that Robert Parker would embrace and would then sell?  This then begs the question what is an international-style wine?  Some purists would suggest that modernization techniques used worldwide that are now in use in the South have already done the damage and therefore all resulting wine can only be of the international style.  Simply put, international-style wines are those that are fruit-forward on the nose and palate, with supple tannins, aged in oak barriques, and that do not take 10 or 20 years to age before being able to drink.  This is a New-World style wine that many suggest Robert Parker enjoys.  Continue reading Oenotria Part 2

The vine has a long history in Southern Italy.  Oenotria, the land of vines, is what the Greeks affectionately called the modern-day ‘Mezzogiorno,’ the southern part of the Italian boot, in addition to Sicily.  (It is important to know that) Southern Italy was effectively a Greek colony in the centuries before Christ, so much so, that the south was known as ‘Magna Graecia,’ literally ‘Greater Greece.’  When they colonized Southern Italy they brought with them one of the markers of civilization, the vine.  Technically, the Phoenicians were the first to bring the vine, but it was the Greeks who brought both viticulture and viniculture, essentially a wine-making culture.  From that point on wine became established there, and its wines were admired by Roman leaders throughout the Roman Empire, even Julius Caesar, himself, sung praises of these wines.  Southern Italian wine was a well-respected product before Barolo or Chianti had been created.  However, throughout the centuries, wine in the south became less well-regarded, and more infamous as it became the primary source of Italian jug wine.  Wines from Apulia, Calabria, Campania, Sicily, and Sardinia were used to strengthen weak vintages from Northern and Central Italy.  They were even used in some Southern French wines for the very same reasons as their Northern Italian counterparts.  What a fall from grace! Continue reading Oenotria Part 1

How do you really get to know someone?  Think of your significant other, in the beginning you spent time alone together and then probably with her friends, and you thought you knew her well until…she brought you home to meet her parents, her siblings, and the rest of her family.  I’m willing to bet that you really began to understand the type of person she is after becoming familiar with the people and places she grew with and around.  I’m sure you become even more intimately connected and your love for her grew in ways you never thought it could. Continue reading Getting to know you

Napa is fairly small; in comparison to Sonoma, it only runs “34 miles north and west,” according to Tom Stevenson.  Its vineyards run almost completely north to south down the backbone of the valley.  Despite its small size, Napa devotes just over 400 acres to the vine.  Sonoma is almost twice the size of Napa and has well over 400 acres planted with vineyards. Continue reading Sonoma v. Napa Part 2

There is no doubt that California wines are lauded worldwide and has put US winemaking on the map, but who is responsible?   There are two regions that have contributed immensely; Sonoma and Napa.  The latter has received most of the recognition; however its westerly neighbor clearly produces extremely high-quality wine that rivals Napa. Sonoma has burst onto the fine wine scene within recent years and her wines are gaining their rightful recognition. Both regions produce spectacular products worthy of much praise from wine aficionados and critiques alike.  Both boast producers and growing areas that are known worldwide, but will Sonoma ever surpass her neighbor?   Could Napa ever become runner-up with Sonoma being crowned the monarch of California wines? Continue reading Sonoma v. Napa Part 1

What makes a wine great? Is that the fact that Robert Parker gave it his stamp of approval with ratings of 95 points or above? Or maybe it depends on the score that Wine Spectator, Stephen Tanzer, or the Gambero Rosso gave it? Maybe it’s because a wine expert or wine trade person, like myself, recommended it to you. But what if you don’t like our recommendations? It could be that it has to cost over a certain amount of money or that it must be a Grand or Premier Cru wine from a well-respected producer. What if you just don’t like it?

The fact of the matter is that wine is highly personal. I am a firm believer in this. All tastes are different. There are some who like dairy, like myself, and some who can’t stand it, like my mom and brother (crazy family!), but they most certainly enjoy foods that I cannot stand to ingest. So stop & think for a moment…What are you looking for? What do YOU like?