War is waged on wine in Quebec. If it ever inspires a Hollywood screenplay, audiences will root for allied force generals like Vignoble Carone’s Anthony Carone walking arrogantly through scene after scene of shrapnel hailstorms unfettered by his constant wounds. Mike Marler, “General” of Les Pervenches, would provide hope to audiences with his battle preparedness, intellect, and unwavering grit […]
Blind Tasting: Varied Styles of 2010 Northern Rhone Reds
One might assume having tasted ten Northern Rhone red wines from the same 2010 vintage and two new world 2010 Syrahs side-by-side, blind, that the Rhone wines showed as siblings while the two new world Syrahs tagged along as genetically distinct and adopted brothers. As our Boston tasting group discovered blind tasting the 2010 Northern Rhone […]
Josko Gravner Draws Amber Line in Orange Wine
Driving ever-so-slowly on the twisting road that meanders back and forth across the Slovenian/Italian border on the approach to Josko Gravner’s home is advisable; it is the only reliable way to catch a landmark glimpse of the few spent giant amphoras serving as signposts to the home that Gravner’s father raised him in and that […]
Valentina Cubi Naturally Connects Valpolicella With Food
It is debatable whether Amarone, or even Valpolicella, have ever occupied a comfortably suitable spot on the dinner table. These combinations of dried Corvina, Rondinella, and Molinara grapes can easily overwhelm most dishes with raisin-prune flavors, powerful concentration, oak, high alcohol, and heat. There are acceptable food pairing exceptions like Gorgonzola and other strong cheeses, […]
Breathing Quintarelli
Alex pointed towards a hilltop as we entered the valley town of Negrar and I respectfully inhaled a first breath of Quintarelli air. We were on our way to visit Francesco Grigoli, Guiseppe Quintarelli’s grandson. Climbing a series of switchback roads and white knuckle turns landed us at a modest home sitting atop the cellars […]
La Subida: Friuli Venezia Giulia Taste Soloist
Walter Filipitti’s book The Taste Soloist, heavily supported by Stefano Scatà’s photography, will lure you closer to a Friuli Venezia Giulia visit and witnessing a powerful expression of ancestral driven wine and food culture. Photos, recipes, and tales featuring a cooperative of the region’s best knife, cheese, prosciutto, vinegar, wine, and artisan food makers are perfect […]
Collio Red Wine
White, not red, is the forgivable reflex for wine lovers contemplating Friuli-Venezia Giulia’s Collio and Carso DOCs. Could a Collio red wine command attention? With the likes of Gravner, Radikon, Keber, Venica & Venica, Zidarich, Jermann, and more making global benchmark white, yellow, and orange wines in steels, woods, and amphoras from indigenous Ribolla Gialla, Friulano, […]
Northeast Italy Wine and Food Trip
Next week WineZag (me) hits the roads of Northeast Italy’s wine provinces. What else should an American father do when his Copenhagen-based-twenty-one-year-old son suggests joining up for some Italian wine and food immersion? Faced with a shrinking window for these father/son adventures at a stage of life that everyone warned comes too quickly, you count your […]
Brachetto d’Acqui & Paso Robles Wines Connected?
The 2011 Pineto Brachetto d’Acqui and 2009 Bodegas Paso Robles Doña Blanca are wines of different worlds. Besides the fact Pineto’s Brachetto d’Acqui is a sweet red sparkling wine from Italy’s broader Piedmont region and Doña Blanca is a Grenache Blanc/Malvasia Bianca dry white central coast California wine, the Paso Robles produced Doña Blanca deepens their […]
2009 Houillon Overnoy Poulsard and Pasta
Neither this wine nor pasta sauce are regulars on our table. The 2009 Houillon Overnoy Poulsard came via Louis/Dressner from the Jura, specifically Pupillin, where Emmanuel Houillon assumed winemaking duties at Pierre Overnoy’s tiny estate. The pasta sauce relied on “cheater” duck broth and a prosciutto “heel”. The entire meal including prep, cooking, uncorking, decanting, […]
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