Last month the Vibrant Rioja US tour rolled east from San Francisco to New York. Its campaign organizers staged grand tastings in both cities coupled with two smaller, invitation-only tasting seminars designed to showcase the widest possible range of Tempranillo treatment and expression. It was fun showing up in my Big Apple home town, birthplace […]
Drink Ribera With a Vega Sicilia Kicker
January is a time for dormant vines, hushed wineries, and touring wine makers. It signals a season of invitations to trade and press dinners, events, and tastings that can stress even the loosest calendar. I managed to squeeze in a Vega Sicilia tasting hosted by Spain’s Ribera del Duero viticultural region, or DO. Spain’s de […]
Wine Discounts: Navigating the Email Jungle
I paused early this morning, scanning the middle third of the countless daily emails from preferred wine retailers that stared at me in unread boldface headlines hawking discounts worthy of going-out-of-business sales. Bin Ends Wine shop, a shrewd on and off-line wine monger with a uniquely well defined quality and value formula, was offering the 2001 Mauro Vendimia Seleccionada for $40 in three-pack buys. I […]
2005 Sierra Cantabria Crianza
The 2005 Sierra Cantabria Crianza rises to the top of my charts in the continuous search for world class wines in the sub $20 range. I stumbled across this Rioja last night on a restaurant list for $38 a bottle. A quick check shows it can be bought for mid teens at retail. It is a 100% Tempranillo that […]