Wine Archives - Page 45 of 172

21
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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18
Apr
2020

This Week’s Latest Wine Headlines

categories: Booze, Wine

Good Saturday morning! Here’s your list of the latest wine-related news I’ve been reading this past week. Hope this proves interesting, if not useful. Let me know your thoughts…

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16
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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15
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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13
Apr
2020

Two Angels 2016 Petite Sirah

categories: Booze, Wine

I don’t know if you’ve seen my deep dark dungeon where I store my wine. Ok, it’s a coat closet. This COVID thing’s got me like “When can we finish construction on the awesomely designed—and legit—wine cellar?!?!?. Ah well, like Indiana Jones, I lit a torch and ducked beneath the dusty remains of corpses who traversed these parts before me. Wine to the left, wine to right, wine all around me. How…how am I to know which is the right bottle for tonight? I can barely see. Quickly…quickly I must make my choice before the walls collapse around me and a bolder of a wine cask comes rolling towards me. Grab something! Grab anything! Now Run!!!!