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Wine reviews and all things vino from Keith Wallace
Wine Reviews & The Wine Report
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 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.
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 wines like Dwayne Johnson with a Harvard degree in Veni, Vidi, Verberavi....
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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 was making wine in the late 90's, it wasn't outlandish a passion. Chardonnay doesn't show itself in the vineyard. If you...
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Bodegas Montecillo 2009 Rioja Gran Reserva
On occasion, I sit next to a normavin at a 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. I just mumble something about footwear and wander off. I...
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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 1960's. For a while there, you couldn't take a wine 101 class without me pouring you...
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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 of a psychology experiment with this bottle. When sommeliers knew the price of this wine ($10) before...
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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 southern Tuscany near another famous wine town, Montalcino. Riserva = In Italy, this...
read moreThe Wine School Blog
This is where we feature all our favorite things. Great wines, top sommeliers, awesome winemakers, great articles, and charity events at the Wine School. If we really love it, or we think you should know about it, it’s going to be right here.
Food and Wine Books 2018
The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook Back in the Iron Age, I worked my way up into an executive chef position. I'm not talking prehistory (that would be a feat) but when all food was cooked using the raw power of hot iron grills under massive exhaust hoods. I...
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Wine School Newsletter for March 2018
MARCH NEWSLETTER ANNOUNCING OUR NEW SOMMELIER CERTIFICATIONS You can now earn a specialized sommelier certification in a single month. This Spring, the National Wine School is unveiling a bold new qualification for the wine trade: the Single Semester Sommelier Program...
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The 10 Best Wines of 2017
The (PLCB) Fine Wine and Good Spirits Edition This past year was a fantastic one for those of us living in Pennsylvania, at least for wine. The first independent wine shops started cropping up all over the state, and a handful of state-run stores finally found their...
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Top Ten Wine Shops in Philly
Buying good wine in Philly can be a challenge. The prices are too damn high. Most of the folks working in the stores know more about Barefoot Cellars than Bordeaux. It would be very reasonable to despair. But don't despair: we have your back. We have compiled the...
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Our Wine Tasting Kit
Each element of our tasting kit is custom designed by the executive director of the school. The package includes a BYO wine bag, a lead-free crystal wine glass, sommelier corkscrew, silver pen, and tasting book. Wine is not included in the kit.
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December Newsletter
The December Newsletter Friends, the holidays are upon us. It's time for all of us to transform into hybrid Santa-Sommeliers. To start off the Holiday newsletter, I've crafted a super-corny jingle for you: Pop the corks and spread the cheer: Let us be part of your...
read moreSelections from our Wine Cellar
A few wine reviews from our archives.
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