Tag: wine
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Wine Guy: Carménère emerges as Chile’s flagship grape
Chile has long been a source of good value wines, mostly a variety of French-origin grapes. But over the past 30 years, a previously little-known grape, carménère, has become widely considered Chile’s flagship grape (although cabernet sauvignon is still the most widely grown grape). An offspring of cabernet franc, it was common in Bordeaux in…
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Wine Guy: These wines make ideal holiday gifts
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save If you are looking for a wine splurge for the holidays, whether you gift someone else or yourself, these showcase a pursuit of excellence regardless of price. Ranging from Cult Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to…
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Wine Guy: These wines make ideal holiday gifts
If you are looking for a wine splurge for the holidays, whether you gift someone else or yourself, these showcase a pursuit of excellence regardless of price. Ranging from Cult Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to Italian Icons, Rioja Royalty, Chilean and Argentine benchmarks, these are some of the best I tasted this year. • 2019…
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Wine Guy: Affordable options to light up your holidays
Drink them yourself. Share them with family and friends. Use them for a nightly meal or holiday gatherings. Give them as gifts. Or all of the above. These wines will save you money you can use for other holiday purchases (or more wine), all while delivering good drinking quality. Make the holidays bubble with prosecco.…
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Wine Guy: Affordable options to light up your holidays
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Drink them yourself. Share them with family and friends. Use them for a nightly meal or holiday gatherings. Give them as gifts. Or all of the above. These wines will save you money you can…
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Wine Guy: This Thanksgiving, it’s Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel for me
As the calendar marches us into holiday season, most of us will begin soon to plan for our Thanksgiving Day meal. Choosing the wine can be challenging, though. There are so many different types of food, flavors and textures. I’ll simplify matters for you. One of the favorite choices among my family is sauvignon blanc.…
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Wine Guy: Flavorful red and white wines from the Iberian Peninsula
Spain has one of the world’s most expansive wine cultures with notable vineyard areas and distinctive native grapes reflecting enormous varietal diversity. Except that the native tempranillo alone accounts for over 40% of Spain’s red wine production. The two major growing regions are Rioja located in north central Spain and Ribera del Duero, a little…
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Wine Guy: If you’re looking for value, focus on wines from the Southern Hemisphere
Often overlooked, Southern Hemisphere wines are worth consumer attention, especially from those of you looking for value … and isn’t that everyone! There are some mass-production brands, but my recent tastings focused on quality wines at still reasonable prices. Although Australian wine has been struggling in the U.S. market lately (compared with the days when…
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Wine Guy: When it comes to chardonnay, know your preferences
Even with a vastly increasing diversity of grape varieties available to consumers, chardonnay remains California’s most-planted white variety and the bestselling white wine in the U.S. Big, super-ripe, heavily oaked chardonnays were popular in the 1990s, but these “butter bombs” fell out of favor with many winemakers and consumers over the past 20 years as…
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Wine Guy: A wide world of grape varieties to delight your palate
As with other areas of life, it’s easy to fall into a rut drinking limited types of wines. But it’s important to remember: a diversity of grapes and their flavor profiles can be enriching. My recent tasting of “alternative” white wines (that is, no chardonnay or sauvignon blanc) proves it. You should find these wines…