M. Senegor

Years ago when I began wine blogging for our local newspaper, my editor asked me to write a piece devoted to advice on what wine to have for Thanksgiving. So, I did. It took a small amount of research, a few calls to local wine merchants, and the general themes turned out fairly straightforward. Since then I have noticed countless similar articles in various publications on the eve of every Thanksgiving. They typically all say the same thing over and over, year after year. So this year I present a more diversified approach to the subject, and keep the tradition,[...]

My recent travels took me to Northern Italy. As I toured the scenic, colorful towns of the Cinqueterre, historic Mantua and Verona, and the two northern lakes, Garda and Como, I found myself firmly planted in the Veneto wine region. Here the main red is Valpolicella and its recent resurrection to a fine wine status, at least in our eyes here in the U.S. is nothing short of remarkable. My Valpolicella of choice was Ripasso, mainly because at around 17-22 Euros in most restaurants, it delivered good quality at a reasonable price (again, by San Francisco standards). Valpolicella was once[...]

Grilled Saratoga lamb chops for dinner, my favorite. Instead of the usual Southern Rhone reds I drink with these, I decided to open the wine you see on the left, 2003 Reserve de la Comtesse, a lower level product from the folks who make the much loved and very expensive Pichon Lalande. While I love the latter, I have never warmed up to their lesser offering in past tastings. Thus already prejudiced, I took a sip before dinner, and I thought "oh, crap." It tasted too lean and acidic. I wanted a fuller wine.So I opened the bottle to the right,[...]

The great ascent of Northern California wine, which began in the 1970's after decades of post-Prohibition stagnation, occurred emulating France. Domestic Chardonnay, currently ubiquitous and  mundane  was inspired by white Burgundy, and Cabarnet Sauvignon by Bordeaux. Nowadays these varietals come in divergent styles and prices. How well do they hold up against their French counterparts? In general they don't. One can say that California has come of age and demonstrates its own expression, its own terroir and style. Critics complain that many California wines are "commercial" copycats of each other, sloppily made and overpriced. Leaving style aside, when it comes to[...]

Last week we hosted some friends in San Francisco and found ourselves having lunch at Chez Papa, a French Bistro at Potrero Hill. Our guest Mark was handed a wine list which he briefly perused, and he then looked at me. "Let's order a Chinon", he said, "that is a great lunch wine, don't you think?" I courteously nodded my approval, and successfully concealed my surprise at his choice. The episode made me think about wine for lunch, if it should happen much, and what's most appropriate for this occasion. I am not much of a daytime drinker. My work[...]

Yesterday was an important landmark in the history of my wine collection. I opened the above bottle, a 3 liter Schug Pinot Noir, circa 2003. I have bought several such large format bottles and, as I complained in prior blogs, I have not found any occasion to open them. The bottle has a special history. In 2006, when I bought it, I was in Yountville for a business retreat, and it happened to be during a special "Winter in Carneros" event, where one can register, pay a fee and for two days go winery hopping in the region. We did[...]