wine reviews & musings
Top Ten Affordable Super-Tuscan Wines
The words “affordable” and “Super-Tuscan” don't often appear in the same sentence. Super-Tuscans are big, rich, intense and modern wines that often carry triple-digit price tags, especially acclaimed Super-Tuscans with bold-face names like Ornellaia, Messorio, Solaia, Tignanello or Sassicaia.
How did the term “Super-Tuscan” come into being and what exactly does it mean or signify? To answer this you have to...read full article»
Unexpected Pleasures - More Wines From Off the Beaten Track - In a previous posting on this website, I reviewed some noteworthy Italian wines that merit attention but are not particularly well known in this country. Italy is a complicated wine country with a rich and varied wine culture. Every one of Italy’s twenty regions grows grapes and produces wines and the country can lay claim to hundreds...read full article»
Top Italian Wine Values: Twelve Great Italian Red Wines Under $12 - Italy is a complicated wine country that produces a lot of wine each year, both red and white. Some of Italy’s wines are well known and highly-regarded by the international wine community. They also are frequently quite expensive. But a lot of Italian wine comes from less well-known varieties grown in regions other than Tuscany or the Piedmont that are generally less familiar to American consumers.
Listed below alphabetically by producer are twelve noteworthy red wines that generally retail for $12 or less. These are wines of some character and distinction at wallet-friendly prices. Even though I’ve listed a vintage year for each wine...read full article»
Tasting of Pre-release 2005 Barolo and 2006 Barbaresco Wines - I recently had the opportunity to taste some of importer Neil Empson’s fine line of Barolo and Barbaresco wines from the 2005 and 2006 vintages, respectively, which have not yet been released for sale. Empson imports wines from around the world but specializes in Italian wines. The company has a stable of remarkable, quality-oriented producers of Barbaresco and Barolo in its line-up that includes Einaudi, Marcarini, Poderi Colla Conterno Fantino, Ca’ Rome’ and Bongiovanni. Below are my notes on the wines tasted recently...read full article»
My Favorite Italian Red Wines of 2008 — I have had the pleasure of tasting a lot of wines, particularly Italian wines, over the course of the year 2008. While a few have been at best, uninteresting, most have been pretty good and some have been absolutely outstanding and whose tastes have lingered long after the bottles have been tucked away. In the spirit of the new year I want to share with you my top ten favorite Italian red wines for 2008. This obviously is no small task given the thousands of wines...read full article»
Wines to Drink While Watching the Election Returns — Rather than pairing the wines with food that might be appropriate, pair wines with the platforms and personalities of the candidates. This discerning article on what wines would pair well with the individual candidates for the nation’s highest political office should be of interest to those trying to decide what wines to serve on election night...read full article»
The Better Barbera — Barbera is the Rodney Dangerfield character of the wine world — that is, it gets no respect from the general wine-consuming public. Although widely available, Barbera wines are not especially well known in the U.S. and are often overlooked in favor of Italy’s more popular Nebbiolo - and Sangiovese-based red wines...read full article»
Refreshing Sgroppino — I was first served this drink after-dinner at a small family restaurant on Campo San Margherita in Venice last year. The waiter simply announced after we finished our dinner that he was going to serve us one of Venice’s most famous digestivi... read full article»
Unexpected Pleasures — Fine Italian Wines From Off the Beaten Track — Italy produces a dizzying array of wines. With grapes growing in virtually every nook and cranny of this boot-shaped country, Italy produces more wine than any other country in the world. Moreover, with its geographically diverse terrain... read full article»
Best Italian White Wines Under $20 — White wines in Italy are generally overshadowed by red wines. This is not difficult to understand given that Italy’s most internationally famous wines (i.e., Barolo, Barbaresco and Brunello di Montalcino) are red... read full article»
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