IDENTICAL TWINS, HARD TO SPOT
In a recent tasting, a group of us picked a "grenache" theme, and each brought a randomly purchased bottle, a total of seven. We ended up with a mish-mash of Californian, French, Australian and Spanish wines. After randomly shuffling the bottles and double-blinding them, we attached "A',"B", "C" etc. labels onto the bags. Each of us poured a few ounces of this line-up into seven glasses in front us. We then tasted them in one session, and discussed and unveiled them one by one.As luck would have it, two people had bought the exact same bottle, a 2010 Tres Picos Grancha Borsao from[...]
HOME AND AWAY IN WHITE
Ask any wine enthusiast a simple question: "what are you drinking nowadays?" You'll get surprising answers. Oftentimes they will not mention hoity-toity labels. They will quote reasonably priced wines within their comfort zone, some of which you may know, and some you won't. The big names remain relegated to ceremonial occasions.There are some enthusiasts out there who restrict themselves to only certain categories. For instance, I know a few who won't touch white wine. Many refuse sweet wines like Port or German Riesling. The list is endless. I myself am a sampler of all that's out there and I don't pre-judge[...]
PINOT-SYRAH CONFUSION
Last night the above bottle appeared in our weekly tasting where we try to identify blinded wines. This 2003 Penner-Ash syrah was still surprisingly young. It had a distinct domestic syrah nose, but its flavor profile was more typical of Central Coast pinot noir, of the kind that is now ubiquitous in the Edna Valley, Arroyo Grande and Santa Lucia Highlands. It had smoky, dark berry fruit flavors upfront, noticeable but subtle sweetness in mid-palate, and a spicy finish with hints of oak. Our group tilted between syrah and pinot in their guesses. We were all certain however that if was American. When we unveiled[...]
IT IS CHINON WEATHER
As the days shorten and nigths get long, the mornings foggy, with cold humidity penetrating deep into our joints, winter doldrums begin to set in. Here in Northern California we are blessed with no snow, no blizzards, no hurricanes. Instead it rains, and it has rained a lot this year. This is the time when all my patients flock into my office with worsening back pains and we all look forward to sunshine which will hopefully arrive in late February. As the excitement of the holidays wane, the remaining bleakness of winter invariably turns my thoughts to Chinon, a suitable salve for the[...]
A NON-TRADITIONAL TRADITION
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,[...]
RIPASSO; FROM TECHNIQUE TO LABEL
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[...]