Durigutti 2010 Cabernet Franc Reserva, Mendoza
I am thrilled to see a bottle of Cabernet Franc coming out of Argentina. This grape varietal is grown in limited quantities in South America, and it’s mostly used in blends. …
Cabernet Sauvignon
Chateau Saint Jean 2010 Chardonnay, Belle Terre Vineyard
This is an American classic Chardonnay. Imagine a big ole’ honey bear of wine, dressed up in a tuxedo but passed out on a feather bed.Golden and glossy in the glass, it …
Petra 2008 “Ebo” Val di Cornia Suvereto Rosso
The Tuscan coast has become a hotbed of luxury wines in the past decade. This is the motherland of the so-called Super Tuscans that have captured the American imagination. Petra is …
Starmont 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Here we have a wine from the second label of Napa Valley’s Merryvale Vineyard. Wine Spectator frequently calls out that their cabernets are deluxe in a way only Napa Cabs …
Bodega Benegas 2009 Don Tiburcio, Mendoza
The Benegas is the founding family of the wine trade in Argentina. Tiburcio Benegas founded the Trapiche winery in the late 19th century. By the 1970s, the family had sold off all their …
Los Boldos 2008 Amalia, Cachapoal Valley, Chile
Vina Los Boldos is an old winery at the foot of the Andes Mountains dating back to 1850. In 1990 the Massanez family from France purchased the property, turned it into …
Chateau Lanbersac 2010 “Vieilles Vignes” Puisseguin Saint Emilion
This is a winery whose bottles never end up on our shores: it’s a tiny outpost in one of the most obscure satellite wine regions of Puisseguin-Saint-Emilion on the right bank …
Chateau de Roquebrune “Cuvee Reine” 2009 Lalande de Pomerol
The Guinjard family have been Bordeaux wine growers for five generations. Before 1970, most of that fruit went to other wineries. Over the past few decades, they have started making more …
Reginato 2011 Chaman
In Argentina, a chaman is a witch doctor. Is this a witchy wine? I am not sure, but it is a fine wine and a surprising departure for the Reginato clan. …
Tenuta Belguardo 2007 Belguardo
This property is located in the ancient lands of the Etruscans, today known as Maremma. Over the past twenty years, this coastal region of Tuscany has emerged from history to become …
Koyle 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Royale, Colchagua Valley
Chilean wine reviewColchagua Valley has always been my first choice for Cabernet Sauvignon in Chile. This bottle proves that it’s a good habit to keep up.This is the first time I …
Tenute Sella & Mosca 2006 Alghero “Tanca Farra”
Sardinian wine reviewA serious wine from one of the most under-recognized wine regions in Italy. The 2006 Tanca Farra is a 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cannonau and aged for three …
Maculan 2010 Brentino, Veneto
A Veneto wine reviewA Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot blend from Northeastern Italy with a great deal of style. On the nose, classic notes of tobacco and graphite interplay with fresh plum. …
Associated Press: The perfect drink for the Super Bowl
During Superbowl season, beer and football almost seem like synonyms. But what if you or your crowd prefer wine?
Since most foods served on Superbowl Sunday – the usual array of chili, ribs, chips and dip – are salty, David Snyder, a wine instructor at the Wine School of Philadelphia, suggest high acid wines such as Champagne or sauvignon blanc.
“Champagne with potato chips goes perfectly,” he says. “High acid wine goes with salty foods because it’s going to moderate the saltiness. It’s a fantastic combination.”
But be careful when it comes to chili or ribs, especially if they’re hot and spicy. Low-acid whites, such as chardonnay, or high-tannin reds, such as cabernet sauvignon, react poorly with the heat.
“It will override the natural flavors and the food will end up tasting terrible,” Snyder says.
Merryvale 2008 “Starmont” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
A rock-solid Napa Cab at a rock-solid price. The nose of pencil shavings, vanilla, and toast promises great things to come, and it does deliver. The gritty tannic structure is balanced …
Maculan 2010 Dindarello Moscato
Maculan is a winery that typifies the remarkable change in winemaking in the Veneto wine region of northeastern Italy. A generation ago, the wines were –like most in the region– nothing …