Posts belonging to Category Rioja Alta

wine angel

U20s abound. We are proud to point out thebestofwines saw the trophy-wine-bubble bursting urrlllyy on. Way ahead of the trend…a trend not set as deep, perhaps, as current real estate prices. When will our multi-million dollar homes and those fat home equity credit lines come back? Only when $350 Napa Cabernets become hard to acquire. Right now they are simply hard to find. Try China [ed. "wine angels" are supposedly the hot ticket in Beijing and Shanghai]. In the meantime the thoughtful oenophile can sample from a slew of retailers’ bargain bins PLUS the gemstone picks by some very savvy online/email vendors. Here are three we like [ed. with thanks to alert tBoW team taster Krisses!] (more…)

We continue with the evening session of a Great Riesling Tasting in 100 degree heat. As you can see laying down a leeching field is critical. If you missed the preceding afternoon session click here.
Icardi Suri Vigin Brachetto NV $19: Time to transition to red. How about a sparkling red from Piemonte? Wow. Absolutely delicious. These light sparkling fruity wines are the joy of summer. Pronounced blueberry flavors with just a hint of pepper in the back. The King decrees Brachetto is a fun wine. Long live the King!! 6.5%

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To cancel or not to cancel my wine club subscriptions? The economic crisis (i.e, we gonna have a lot less disposable $$) means making adjustments all down the line. Including wine…and especially wine clubs
tBoW subscribes to a handful or two of wine clubs including 20 year memberships in the Rochioli and Williams Selyem wine clubs. I sell off these wines because they are simply too damn pricey and having tasted 15 consecutive vintages from 1982 through 1997 I have a very good idea about what each winery aims for and how well they hit their marks (very well). (more…)

It’s Christmas Eve as I write this. The Godfather is on, everyone is chillin’. Tomorrow is the big party. Tamales, honey-baked ham. Mama’s lasagna and many U20 wines from Dar-dee’s cellar and those of our guests. So I want to get these notes down in advance since there will be many more tomorrow…I hope. We opened these wines over the past week, some with company and some on our own. All in all, a very nice group…of wines.
How about this 2007 photo of a Piemontese La Morra vineyard? My cousin’s 12 year old son took it. Think he will learn to enjoy wine? I think so. (more…)