Taking the world one wine at a time.
“Do you want us to filet it for you?”, said the helpful fish monger at my local fish shop. “Nah, that’s alright mate! I got it!”, I confidently replied, knowing full-well that I can’t remember the last time (if ever) that I filleted Sea Bass. Work seems to have been so crazy for me lately, that putting the time into making a good home- cooked meal meal has kind of been put on the backburner….
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Fiji water’s owners buy Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards Fiji Water’s owners announced this week the company’s second California winery acquisition in less than a year. Fiji Water and parent company Roll Global are buying Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards, known for high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah (a winery featured on this website). The deal includes the winery, inventory and an 11-acre vineyard. The sale price was not disclosed. In December, Roll Global purchased its first…
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Everyone has their own idea of what they deem a “good wine list” to be, but here’s what I look for… Diversity A decent wine list should have representation from the majority of the worlds major wine producing regions. Fair enough, a French restaurant isn’t expected to carry a huge Chilean selection, if any at all; but they should at least consider a few wines from outside of France. The main place where I…
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The Story Torrontes [Tohr-ron-tez] is quite easily the most widely planted white grape variety in Argentina with Chardonnay in a distant 2nd; and with the recent upsurge in sales over the past couple of years, it’s likely to stay that way for a while! Most folks in the wine community are already on-board with the idea that Torrontes has the potential to become as popular in Argentina, as Pinot Grigio is in Italy. It’s not…
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Grape 100% Torrontes [Tohr-ron-tez] Facts Torrontes is to Argentina, what Pinot Grigio is to Italy. Not quite as famous yet, but certainly has already become the signature white grape of the country. Torrontes is the most planted white grape in Argentina, leaving Chardonnay trailing waaaay behind. The current vintage of Dante Robino Torrontes is 2010, meaning that this wine (and Torrontes in general) is meant to be drank in its youth, and…
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#5 Poor Glassware Anyone who knows me knows that I remain very down-to-earth when it comes to wine. With that being said, if I’m out at a restaurant (normally the inexpensive kind); and I see they are using some kind of crappy generic Costco-style wine glasses, I’m going to forego the wine and stick with beer. I don’t for one second believe a restaurant should carry a different wine glass for every single style of…
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#10 Poor Lighting What could be viewed as a seemingly minor point, but I personally like to be able to appreciate the color of a wine before tasting it! The color of a wine can give away a lot of clues to its age, possible grape, and other keys elements such as fining or filtration. If the room is too dark, you are left, well, left in the dark as to all these elements!…
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Alcohol is the only item in wine that can be tasted (sweet or bitter), felt (heat), and smelled (strong pungent odor).
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This is a featured post from Gary Vaynerchuk’s Daily Grape Newsletter Grape 100% Pinot Noir Rating 91 Points Price $68 MSRP Gary’s explanation: California Pinot Noir producers have one man to thank for the ability to routinely price their wines over $50: Rex Pickett. The author of the book-made-movie, Sideways, single handedly skyrocketed the popularity of Pinot Noir almost overnight with his $71 million grossing blockbuster. Yet so much of the…
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Grapes A blend of Corvina, Rondinella and Molinara (don’t worry if you haven’t heard of them before, these grapes are generally only used in Italy in the wines of Valpolicella). Facts Read that title again! What a mouthful…….and that’s why your “average” wine buyer normally misses out on these awesome wines! The labels are no doubt very confusing, and the wines even more so; however if you’re feeling adventurous, the red wines from the Veneto…
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Oops! Forklift smashes $1M worth of Australia wine A malfunctioning forklift dropped 462 cases of wine in Australia on Thursday, a spill with a price tag of more than $1 million. The 5,544 bottles of 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove shiraz, with a price tag of $185 a bottle, fell almost 20 feet to ground of a wharf in Port Adelaide as the forklift was loading it for shipment abroad, according to media reports….
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