Twenty East Coast Wines that Rival Napa Valley
Recently, I was researching East Coast wines for an online wine class. While researching, it struck me how far we’ve come, even in the last year. So I made it a …
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Columbia Valley Wine Reviews
Seven Hills Red, Walla Walla ValleyA Bordeaux-style blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and aged for two years in mostly older oak barriques. Cedar and wildflowers frame a classy move into old-world …
Wild Horse 2015 “Cheval Sauvage” Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
Long before the movie Sideways, Santa Barbara County has been a hot spot for Pinot Noir. In particular, Sanat Maria Valley is home to some of California’s top vineyards for the …
Julia’s Dazzle 2017 Pinot Gris Rose, Columbia Valley
Don’t judge this wine by its bottle. This is the type of packaging I’d expect for a White Zinfandel geared towards functional alcoholics that sell bedazzled dog leashes on Esty. This …
Ventisquero 2013 “Grey Glacier” Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley
Overview of Vina VentisqueroVina Ventisquero may not be one of the best-known Chilean wineries, but it does have a significant market share under its Root: 1 brand. Under the guidance of winemaker …
Santa Julia 2017 “Magna” Red, Uco Valley
José Zuccardi’s is the director of Argentina’s Familia Zuccardi winery. We’ve reviewed their wines in the past. In the 1990s, he developed a new brand, Santa Julia, which was named after his only …
Soléna Estate 2015 “Grande Cuvee” Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Laurent MontalieuLaurent Montalieu continues to make great wines. Despite selling Soléna Estate to Jackson Family Wine Estates in 2013, Laurent has remained on board as winemaker (For a bit of history …
L’Ecole No 41 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
Walla Walla is one of the great unheralded wine regions in America. I’ve always believed that’s largely due to the name. Walla Walla, Washington doesn’t have the elegant flow of Napa, California. L’Ecole …
Carden 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Bomb Winery?This wine exists (It’s amazing. It drinks well above its current price). Its winemaker, Tony Rynders, the former winemaker at Domaine Serene, existsI just don’t think the winery exists.At one …
North by Northwest 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Oregon Goes To WashingtonThe first time I heard of an Oregon winery making wine with Washington State fruit sounded a little odd. Why would an Oregon winery buy grapes from so …
Matetic 2014 Corralillo Syrah, San Antonio Valley, Chile
Art vs ArtistsI’ve never really cared much about an artist’s life. If their work inspires me, I don’t need to be weighted down with their ideas on religion or politics. I …
Mount Veeder Winery 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
Constellation BrandsIn the late ’90s, Constellation Brands started buying up Napa wineries. At the time, they were an unknown wine company that produced low-end brands like Cribari. A lot of people …
Cambria 2014 “Benchbreak” Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley
Cambria WineryCambria has always been that tiny corner of the Kendall-Jackson empire that didn’t have that smell of overstuffed marketing. It was the family home of Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke, …
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 …
Beringer 2014 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Knights Valley
Knights ValleyOne of the top pieces of advice I can give anyone is this: if you want to buy great wines at a discount, don’t buy from famous places. Case in …
Del Rio 2015 Pinot Gris, Rogue Valley
Rogue ValleyIf you drew a line between Napa Valley in California and Willamette Valley in Oregon, Rogue Valley is just about the halfway point. It’s a place of rolling hills, warm …
