Category: Booze

Wine reviews, pairings, events, and getaways


Apr
2020

Catena Zapata 2017 Catena Malbec

categories: Booze, Wine

Did you celebrate Malbec World Day last Friday, April 17? I most certainly did, tasting through a wide variety of Argentinian Malbecs along with my friends at The Wining Hour. All of them were lovely, all of them truly expressive of what the climate and topography of the region has to offer this noble grape—indeed, Malbec has certainly found its seat on the throne atop what are known as some of the highest vineyard elevations in the world. But I have to say that when it comes to Argentinian Malbec, my heart truly belongs to Bodega Catena Zapata so it was no surprise that the Catena Malbec was my favorite tasting in the line-up, so this is what I bring to you today. Salud.

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Apr
2020

Food News You Can Use and Getting Crafty with Cocktails

categories: Beer & Cocktails, Booze

Apr
2020

Sojourn Cellars 2017 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

categories: Booze, Wine

This has become a Briscoe staple. And, unfortunately, sometimes staples go overlooked. This shouldn’t be the case: if there’s something that’s taken up permanent residence in the cellar (or closet as it were at the moment, thank you COVID for taking away my construction workers…), then it’s certainly something worth talking about. So cheers to an everday wine I could probably drink, well, everyday.

Yes, that IS another pizza in the background. What can I say? I like making my own pizza. Also, I’m working on an experiment with all the leftover dough…

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Apr
2020

Crystal Basin Cellars 2017 Reserve Grenache

categories: Booze, Wine

If you haven’t read my notes about Crystal Basin Cellars Mourvèdre, definitely take a look. My understanding of California’s Sierra Foothills as a cool-climate wine terroir was proven right by that light, yet rustic single-varietal expression. So I was excited to open the winery’s single-varietal Grenache—a grape that I have a love-hate relationship with. I love it when I can taste the eccentricity of fruit flavors innate in this variety, the racy red spices that can linger in the back palate, and the assertive acidity that binds it all together. I hate when it turns into a over-ripe fruit bomb, worthy of spreading on my toast with peanut butter.

I’ll give you one good guess which side of the Grenache spectrum Crystal Basin Cellars falls into…

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