Texas Hill Country AVA
The Texas Hill Country AVA is located north of San Antonio and West of Austin. The key areas in the AVA are Austin, Fredricksburg, Lampasas, New Braunfels, and Johnson City. The …
WSoP Support
Moniker 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, Mendocino County
This is the last vintage of this wine, so I’d recommend picking up a few bottles. A rock-solid cabernet that has the big oak and extraction one would expect for a …
Wine Reviews
Tenuta di Burchino Il Burchino ToscanaA blend of Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, this is very sleek and international in style. This estate-grown wine is a Super Tuscan in all senses …
A Wrinkle in Wine: The Former Chairman Returns. Sort of.
This is an older article from the Wine School, originally publishing in May, 2018. Jonathan Newman, the former Chairman of the PLCB is selling wine to Tim Holden, the current PLCB Chairman …
The Chook 2015 Shiraz Viognier, McLaren Vale
Like much of Australian lingo, Chook has forboding silliness to it. WTF is a Chook? Is it an insult? A term of affection? I went looking for clues. In Shakespeare’s England, it …
Robert Mondavi Winery 2014 Fume Blanc, Oakville
A Historic Napa Wine This is a landmark bottle of Napa wines. One of those historic wines that fly under the radar these days. Let’s let the old guard take up …
Simi 2014 Reserve Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
A barrel-fermented, barrel-aged, full buttery bomb MLF of a Chardonnay. This bottle is largely sourced from the Goldfields Vineyard in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley; this bottle offers exactly what you’d expect …
Hecht & Bannier 2016 Rosé, Côtes de Provence
Hecht & Bannier are a négociant winery based in the southern French town of Aix-en-Provence. Since 2002, they’ve released several excellent red wines. However, it’s their rosé program that is getting noticed, …
Tenuta di Burchino 2010 Il Burchino Toscana
Tenuta di Burchino is located in northern Tuscany, in the hills outside Pisa. I’ve some great wines from this producer, particularly their Genius Loic IGT from their “Le Corti” vineyard. They’ve …
Reserve Mont Redon 2016 Cotes du Rhone Rosé
Mont-Redon is one of those Chateauneuf du Pape wineries that totally messes with my life. They bottle wines like Zeus throws lightning bolts. Bolts. A place that throws out muscle-bound luxury …
Vine Cliff Winery 2014 Chardonnay Los Carneros
In most classes at the wine school, I behave myself. I don’t let my deep love of Cali Chardonnay get in the way of a great wine class. Back when I …
Bodegas Montecillo 2009 Rioja Gran Reserva
On occasion, I sit next to a normal at a wine conference. After a few minutes of awkward conversation, they invariably ask me one question:“What is your favorite wine?”I don’t have an answer to that question. …
Cafaggio 2013 Chianti Classico
When I was the national wine buyer for Bacchus Wines, one of my first additions to the portfolio was Villa Cafaggio. They’ve been producing excellent Chianti Classico since the 1960s. For a …
Chateau Los Boldos 2015 Grande Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
This is such an exceptional value that I want to jamb a $10 bill into the empty bottle and mail it back to the winery in Cachapoal Valley, Chile.We did a bit …
Poggio Stella 2011 Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva
Labels like this confuse most wine consumers. Let’s break it down. Vino Nobile = another term for the grape Sangiovese. The same grape that’s in Chianti Montepulciano = a town in …
Food and Wine Books
Looking for the newly updated article on wine book recommendations? You can check that out here: Top Picks for Wine Books. Larousse WineMany years ago, a student of mine –an aspiring chef and …