Reviews

Reviews April 19, 2013

Baldacci Cabernet, Stags Leap District, Napa Valley.

  Grapes 100% Cabernet   Facts There’s Napa and there’s Napa. The term “Napa Cabernet” is all too often used to refer to any wine that hails from “The Valley.” This rhetoric quite effectively tars all wineries with the same brush: from the behemoth brands, supplying many of the large grocery stores with their generic-tasting wine-flavored alcohol; all the way through to the small estate properties, producing miniscule quantities of truly hand-crafted wines each year….

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Reviews March 11, 2013

Domaine de Bernier Chardonnay, Loire Valley, France.

    Grapes 100% Chardonnay   Facts The Domaine de Bernier is a wine from the Couillaud brothers, who’ve had winemaking in their blood for six generations. I’m also envious when I read things like that! My wife for example, has U.S President Ulysses S. Grant as one of her ancestors.My family tree? Nonexistent! I mean it’s there (obviously), but I’ve got no “cool dead relatives” on my side of the family! I guess the…

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Reviews February 25, 2013

Fess Parker Viognier, Santa Barbara, California.

Grapes 80% Viognier (VEE-ohn-yay), 13% Marsanne, 5% Grenache Blanc, 2% Roussanne   Facts After just getting back from my time spent in Texas, and tasting a few Viogniers that the wineries had to offer, I was reminded how much I love this grape! I’ve always found that Viognier has a tendency to be forgotten about by the vast amount of the wine drinking public (me included), but truth-be-told it’s probably my favorite white grape…when it’s…

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Reviews February 1, 2013

Castello di Amorosa “La Castellana” Napa Valley, California.

Grapes 70% Cabernet, 16% Merlot, 14% Sangiovese   Facts The Universe is a strange place…. ”Oh dear…he’s getting all weird and deep on us!” Wait a minute!!! Hear me out!!! So I was pouring at a wine tasting at a private residence last week, here in Jacksonville, and I happened to be looking through their wine cellar…because I’m nosy like that. Now let me just tell you that this is one of the most INSANE…

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Reviews January 9, 2013

Honoro Vera, Monastrell, Jumilla, Spain.

Grapes 100% Monastrell   Facts I’m already a big fan of the wines coming from producer Bodega Juan Gil. I’ve found them to be easily some of the best value wines coming out of Spain, but this is my first time trying their organic Monastrell. This Mrs. bought the bottle because, and I quote: “It has a cute little ladybird on the label!” I’ve still got a ways to go with her… The Bodega Juan…

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Reviews December 29, 2012

Marchetti Verdicchio Dei Castelli Di Jesi Classico, Marches, Italy.

Grapes 100% Verdicchio   Facts Pronunciation time! Verdicchio: [Vair-dee-kee-oh] Dei Castelli Di Jesi: [Day kah-stay-lee dee jeh-see] Phew! It’s a tough one! You almost need a glass of wine after saying all that! So what do we have right here? Well, apart from being a tiny-nightmare to pronounce, Verdicchio is probably most easily compared to Pinot Grigio, only with a little-more body The name Verdicchio comes to us in part by the Italian word for…

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Reviews December 20, 2012

Domaine Juliette Avril, Cotes du Ventoux, France.

Grapes Grenache, Syrah, Carignan   Facts If you’re looking to slowly step into France, but aren’t sure where to start, wines from Ventoux might be right up your alley! I speak to a great number of people who tell me that when they buy red wine from France, it’s always so earthy, tannic and dry. The bonus with wines from Ventoux is they tend to skew a little more juicy/jammy, certainly more than their neighboring…

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Reviews December 4, 2012

Edmeades Late Harvest Zinfandel, Mendocino, California.

Grapes 100% Zinfandel   Facts I don’t feature dessert wines enough. It’s a shame really. The problem is that the majority of wine drinkers (at least the ones I encounter) just don’t understand dessert wines! I shouldn’t have to religiously state that “…dessert wines are generally meant to accompany (or even be served as) dessert…” but it seems that is continuously the case.Sure, you can’t get home from a long day at work and rip…

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Reviews November 17, 2012

Fulcrum “Floodgate Vineyard” Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, Sonoma.

Grapes 100% Pinot Noir   Facts Good Pinot Noir is hard to find. Actually that’s an understatement. Good Pinot is a NIGHTMARE to find, and when you do find it you end up paying a premium. Sure, you can find Pinot for under $15 retail; but to be absolutely truthful, they generally don’t do the grape justice. I’m not saying that you ALWAYS have to spend upwards of $50 on a bottle (the price of…

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