Wine Reviews
All Things Corked & Forked
Over two thousand wine reviews! While most of our reviews focus on great wines under $20, we also offer reviews of luxury and collectible wines. As we are located in Philadelphia, most wines reviewed here are available via wine & spirits shops in Pennsylvania. Our main reviewer is Keith Wallace, the executive director and founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia. Want to locate a specific wine? Use our PLCB Wine Finder.
Wine Reviews: Top Picks from Columbia Valley
Seven Hills 2015 Red, Walla Walla Valley A 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 finesse. Flavors of Asian five-spice and sun-dried cherries...
Wine and Pizza Pairing
Okay, so John McKeever reached out to me a while back. Remember Delco Proper on Comedy Central? He was the director and star of that show. Apparently, he attended a class at the Wine School and had an idea. He wanted to do a food and wine show and wanted to do the...
Best Kept Wine Secrets: The Columbia Valley Wine Regions
Why is it that California gets all the love when Washington State makes great wines, too? The pat answer is that California has been growing grapes longer and it’s a core feature in America’s wine past. Napa Romantic What's all the fuss with...
Wine Review Search
You can search our database of wine reviews for free. From Bordeaux to Virginia: there are over twenty thousand wine reviews dating back over twenty years. If you want access to the newest reviews, please register for our newsletter, the Wine Report. It’s a great free resource to find the top-rated wines currently available.
Our focus is on wines available in Pennsylvania. We feature wines in the Chairman’s Selection program and other discounted wines available in the PLCB Wine & Spirits Stores. You can also check out our reviews of Philly’s Top Wine Shops.
Wine Reviews for October 2019
Columbia Crest 2012 "Walter Clore Private Reserve" Red Columbia Valley This is a monster Merlot with a margin of Cabernet Sauvignon in the mix. Smoked chocolate and Dwayne Johnson-level muscularity. Last time it hit the shelves around here was in 2003, when we used...
The Case for Philly Wine
Specialists Vs Generalists in PA Wine Back in the day, if you wanted to be a winemaker, there were two career trajectories. You could either become a generalist or become a specialist. That meant either working for a big-brand like Gallo or a boutique winery. ...
A Guide to Wine Tasting
Spend a few minutes listening to a sommelier speak about wine and they will soon have you dazzled with their talk of aromas and bouquets, unknown wine valleys and silky tannins. It may feel like you’re a world away from their extensive knowledge, but it is actually...
Wine Reviews and Features from the Wine School
WTF Rosé?
From the palace of King Louis XIV to the vineyards of Pennsylvania, rosé has always been apart of wine drinking culture. This article offers up the essentials of what it is, how it’s made, and what you should be looking out for. There is always a place in our...
June Newsletter
Summer in Wine Town I know most folks hit the Jersey shore summer. What fun for the kids! I hear the tidal syringes are very nice this time of year. But what do I know? Here's something you may not know: a few people have to stay in Philly, just to keep it from...
Stonehedge 2016 “Grand Reserve” Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
I took a deep dive while trying to figure out who made this wine. I hadn't heard of Stonehedge before tasting this monolithic Cabernet Sauvignon. The label seems to have been started by Shahin Shahabi. He was cited in 1995 by Wine Spectator article, "Napa...
Terroir Daronton 2017 Roaix, Côtes du Rhône Villages
Le Terroir Daronton is a cooperative winery that includes about 200 winegrowers in the Southern Rhone. They don't make a generic "Cotes du Rhone" instead, they focus on village-designated wines. These villages include famous ones like Gigondas and Chateauneuf...
Bodegas Berceo 2013 Rioja Reserva
The town of Haro has a long winemaking history, and Bodegas Berceo is its figurative heart. Berceo's wine cellars were dug under the city streets, repurposing tunnels that dated back to the middle ages. In the 19th century, Calle Cuevas --nothing more than an...
Brittan Vineyards 2014 “Basalt Block” Pinot Noir, McMinnville
Robert Brittan is best known as the winemaker responsible for Stags’ Leap Winery's Petit Sirahs. Those inky monsters redefined the grape as a luxury Napa Valley wine. Robert was the head winemaker throughout the nineties and became the winery's president when it was...
Infinito 2014 “Winemaker’s Selection” Malbec, Mendoza
Out of nowhere, a 90-plus rated wine shows up on the wine shelves at the local wine & spirits store. As a wine critic, I like to know who makes the wine. I know there isn't a winery named Infinito anywhere in Argentina, so who should we give credit for this...
Rimapere 2017 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough
A single vineyard bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from the Rimapere vineyard, in the highly regarded Rapaura district of Marlborough. This is a joint venture between Bordeaux's Baron Benjamin de Rothschild (owner of Château Clarke and Château des Laurets) and New...
Vinos de Arganza 2015 “Seculo” Mencia, Bierzo
A small winery that has a laser-like focus on the Mencia grape. This is one of several they produce, much of whom have earned critical praise. These include the brands Flavium, Encanto, Legado De Farro, and Lagar De Robla. The grape itself has a long history and...
Chateau Boutillot 2015 “Revelations d’Hubert de Bouard” Bordeaux
The Revelations d'Hubert de Bouard is a portfolio of wines from eight Bordeaux wineries. These are not their usual releases, mind you. They are each working with Hubert de Bouard and Yvon Mau. The former is the owner of the famous Bordeaux winery Chateau Angelus. The...
Vinessens 2016 “La Casica del Abuelo” Alicante
Vinessens is a small family-owned winery located in Spain's Valencia wine region. This particular bottle comes from the sub-region of Alicante and is sourced largely from a vineyard of 80-year-old Monastrell vines. This is the type of Spanish wine that is so...
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 grape. That list of top spots includes Garey, Rancho Real, Rancho Sisquoc, and Bien...
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 is not such a wine: it's a project by winemaker Gilles Nicaul of Long Shadows...
Castelli del Grevepesa 2015 “Clemente VII” Chianti Classico
This tale starts with our protagonist leaving their sylvan homestead in search of their destiny. With an eye to making their mark in the world, they make their way to a sprawlingly romantic city on a hill. After trials and tribulations, they succeed, but not in a way...
10 Tips For Food and Wine Pairings
Eating what you like with a glass of your favorite wine is a great idea; eating should be a pleasure. But food and wine pairings are not a solitary affair. When was the last time you saw a restaurant full of people eating alone? For most of us, it is a shared...
The Six Worst Food and Wine Pairings
We learn from failure, not from success. And although food and wine pairings are subjective, and depend on the peoples’ taste and preference, some mismatches simply feel odd. A good pairing brings out the best in food, wine, or both; a bad one can easily do the...
Domaine Vetriccie 2017 White, Ile De Beaute
About Domaine Vetriccie Corsica is an interesting place. It's an Italian island off the coast of Tuscany, but it's a French territory. The province often seems like a hybrid between the two cultures. It's been a French municipality since the late 18th Century, but...
Italian Food and Wine Pairings
Italian food is beloved everywhere. Because of that, you will see sommeliers pairing Italian dishes with wine from nearly every country in the world. A good Chilean Sauvignon Blanc will match beautifully with minestrone, and an Oregon Pinot Noir tastes amazing with...
Ventisquero 2013 “Grey Glacier” Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley
Overview of Vina Ventisquero Vina Ventisquero may not be one of the best known Chilean wineries, but it does have significant market share under its Root: 1 brand. A well-funded winery under the guidance of winemaker Felipe Tosso, this venture began in 1998 and...
German Food and Wine Pairings
In today's global economy, gastronomy is beyond generalizations. No cuisine can be justly profiled with a list of a few traditional dishes. Like cultures, cuisines evolve, influenced by trends and new ideas. Germany is no stranger to the modern culinary...
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