The “Top Three Wines” of November includes one remarkable New World Mourvedre from California’s Central Coast sandwiched in between two Old World Bordeaux and Rioja showcase wines. I was unfamiliar with the claret from Saint-Estephe and the Rhone Ranger from Paso Robles until tasting them last month; both excellent new discoveries. Unfortunately, the oddball auction […]
1990 Cru Bourgeois Saint-Estephe For Breakfast
It’s a safe bet that we are not drinking 1990 Saint-Estephe, or for that matter any Bordeaux, at my breakfast table on Sundays at 10:00am. This could be a meaningful oversight, but we just don’t. That loose rule was recently broken with some good friends who produced a bottle of 1990 Chateau Le Terme (which […]
2005 Clos Rougeard Les Poyeux and Menton Boston
In both cases, drinking 2005 Clos Rougeard (click for review) and luxuriating over dinner at Barbara Lynch’s Menton (click for review) in Boston’s Fort Point extension last week were opportunities for critical return visits. I first tasted the entry level 2005 Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny a couple of months back and made my one and only previous visit to […]
Sottimano Pajore Barbaresco Pairs With Batali Rib-Eye Recipe
It took a recent Barolo and Barbaresco blind tasting and a new season for locally grown, organic, long-neck garlic to finally move me to share my not-so-secret, Mario Batali borrowed, dry rub Rib-Eye recipe. I say it is mine, even though it is not, because I have been consistently scintillating guests over the years deploying […]
Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny 2005: Best Wine This Year
I am fortunate to taste more than one man’s fair share of special wine every month. Tonight, in the context of a business dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar with a young, smart, scrappy, web marketing guru from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, we experienced the most compelling red wine I have tasted this year, and most probably one […]
Canlis: A Seattle Food and Wine Oasis
Canlis is so much more than a place to eat and drink well in Seattle. A combination of the scintillating year-old menu rejuvenation driven by ex-Eleven Madison Park Chef Jason Franey and the Canlis family’s sustained approach to warmth and hospitality leaves diners with nothing less than a spa-like afterglow on each visit. Last year […]
Jerry Garcia in WineZag?
Today would be Jerry Garcia’s 68th birthday. Had he not passed away in early August of 1995, he most certainly would still be touring with the Grateful Dead, making music deeply embraced by an appreciative and understanding few, misinterpreted and dismissed by so many more. Jerry gets a nod in WineZag today for the […]
Connecting Intellectual and Palate Learning: Tasting Two Sakes and California Cabernet
An insatiable hunger for discovery and wine education is rewarded every time I taste wines in peer groups. Without the chance to examine lots of wines every day over an extended period, even frequent tastings of one wine per sitting lays down hurdles to thorough assessment most easily cleared via contextual, side-by-side tastings. The most […]
Boston Troquet’s Cellar Dregs Are Wine Lover’s Treasures
Long ago, Troquet cemented its reputation with New England wine enthusiasts as the quintessential fine dining spot in Boston to order and drink memorable wine. Actually, it all started with Chris Campbell’s earlier Commonwealth Avenue project UVA , a laid back spot offering unassuming atmosphere, serious food, easy prices, and a wine program that brought […]
Sake Mastery, Prosecco Fun, and Independence Day
Saké and Prosecco occupy my brain’s vinous lobe on this independence day, shoving aside thoughts of domestic barbecue reds, rosés, and celebratory sparklers as swiftly and completely as South Africa’s American-less pitches vacated our nation’s collective mindset. Last year at this time, I added a caveat to Alder Yarrow’s thoughts of wine independence with a serious look […]
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