The reigning region of GSM in California is a myriad of choices, with nearly every producer in the West-Side Districts pumping out practically endless variations of blend and source. And while on the surface–to casual consumers unwilling to concentrate–these can often seem blended to rich smoothness at the expense of…

Digging into some new Sicilian bottles today, and my love for these textured, often rustic and rather inexpensive wines is well-documented. This one is a classic Nero d’Avola–one of the dominant grapes of this prolific wine-producing island in Italy. …

Enlightening and educational ZOOM today with Asolo Prosecco DOCG and of course had to pop another one of these samples after all that learnin. This is an Extra Dry, and my feeling after tasting is that it bumps up against the top limits of RS for that demarcation. Despite good…

Big spicy bramble coming out of the glass–a quite staining deep ruby with hints of amber garnet inside the pink and clear rim. Dark and smokily-tinged, the herbaceousness bringing all your vegetal dreams to fruition. Fruit a deep berry and ripe plum dessert, it’s a thick elixir of bouquet with…

Excited to try these wines, as these Italians–at least on paper–fit my formal expectations of sparkling wine a bit better. I DO enjoy quality Prosecco DOCG and Franciacorta, the former being Glera, of course; the latter having strict Pinot Noir limits. I’ve had a couple random Ferrari’s over the years…

I love a good, clean Sauvignon Blanc from Bordeaux-country, and when you see “Santa Ynez Valley” on the label, you can bet that’s what you’re getting. Probably more than any other variety, SB has been almost unilaterally type-cast by New Zealand and supermarket plonk as HAVING to have the high…

Such fun wines. Paydirt originally started as a Zinfandel-only project in Paso Robles, eventually moving to Napa and adding a smattering of other varieties from all over–hence the “California” labeling. I really like Zin stiffened up with a few other things–not just PS–and here it turns what could be a…

A pair of bottles tonight at the OPPOSITE end of the spectrum, a 2YO big-house Bojo-Villages–which is timely given the recent Third Thursday and the plethora of Nouveau-recoilers–and a typically big, refined, 10YO flagship Meritage from the artist formerly known as Clos Du Bois in Sonoma. An odd juxtaposition on…

Why can’t California make Nebbiolo? I’ve wondered this for years. There doesn’t seem to be any huge obvious reason why we can’t lurking in the room, but yet….. Oh yes and I’ve had my fair share. I keep trying–and people keep recommending–and EVERYTHING falls short. And I mean EVERYTHING. There…