The cooler days are now here, and you’ll need to have some red on hand. Chateau Pegau’s Cuvée Maclura Côtes du Rhône ($22) brings out blackberry and black pepper notes in this blend of 60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 10% Mourvedre, and 10% Cinsault. So good with comté cheese: nutty and creamy but sharp at the same time. They say …
Was in Venice recently and learned about Select—described as something between bitter Campari and sweet orangey Aperol, but to me was extremely close to Campari. The slight differences: Select was created in 1920 in Venice (not Milan, where Campari is from), has 17.5% alcohol (not Campari’s 24.5%), and is a proprietary blend of 30 botanicals like juniper and rhubarb which …
Most people think of party wines and spritzes when they think of Prosecco. But Prosecco took on a different hue on a recent trip to explore Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore DOCG wines, which make up about 20% of all Prosecco production and have stricter production rules. It’s a mouthful to say, but rather than lots of Italian …
I was expecting the hyper-colorful doors, bountiful flowers pouring over balconies, and rustic beaches. But I was not expecting the incredible cocktail scene in Cartagena! In general, Cartagena had an impressive design aesthetic, with bold interiors and amazing attention to detail in shops, hotels, and restaurants. Given that, it made sense that would travel into …
I recently went to Sicily, not to follow the White Lotus life but to explore the wines of Etna, whose official DOC was formed in 1968. All the vineyards are situated in a half-ring at the foot of the volcano, whose eruptions have completely shaped the land and infused the soils, grapes, and wines with a bold, ashy …
In other sport GOAT news, David Beckham gave Lionel Messi a Methuselah (equal to 8 bottles) of 2008 Catena Zapata Malbec Argentino for his 37th birthday. Voted the World’s Best Winery of 2023, Catena makes some truly incredible wines. Made from the best vines on the estate, the Zapata grapes are hand-picked and the production is low. According …
Have as much fun learning about wine as you do when you’re drinking it! We share what wines you should drink for each month’s biggest events, whether it’s for the Super Bowl or the super moon, the premiere of Stranger Things or the finale of Succession, Tuesday night values or Saturday night splurges. So sign …
The grapefriend wine totes have arrived!!! They’re totes amazing (get it?), and not just because they hold wine. I lug a lot of wine around. A lot. To friends, to dinners, to events, away for the weekend. I was tired of trying to find bubble wrap or random pieces of cardboard (liquor store style) to stuff in …
As we know, my fridge is packed as much as it possibly can be with wine. A total dream for many people, but this fact of a wine blogger’s world comes with its perils, too. Namely, this: The other day I was trying to get a bottle out from the under layer on my second … Continue reading
“Claret” is the English term for Bordeaux. Love Fawlty Towers. Continue reading
French for lunch: La Manarine Cotes du Rhone and Ch de Brondeau Bordeaux at Rubi’s. I love this place for lunch in the Berkshires! And they have a great adjoining cheese shop called Rubiner’s that cheesefriend is a big fan of. Continue reading
Tamari – to be passionate. Obv, about wine. Love Torrontes. Continue reading
They just ended on Sunday, but already feel so far away. It’s come to my attention, however, that many of the athletes finally got to abandon their surely-rough, no-alcohol training routines and celebrate with some bubbly: Ryan Lochte, he of much hotness and douchebaggery, continued said douchebaggery by drinking a $3,158 (£2,012) cocktail. It was made … Continue reading
grape: Pinot Noir producer: Wente Vineyards. They make a bunch of Pinots, and this is the Reliz Creek one. country: USA region: Arroyo Seco in Monterey, CA – a very good AVA for Pinots because it’s pretty cool year: 2009 price: $22 – perfect price for this wine yum factors: This has the typically cherry Pinot flavors, though subtle and not … Continue reading
So last night I was at the Mermaid Inn Oyster Bar where they have Happy Hour – $6 wine by the glass. They had a Pinot Grigio from Veneto (not my fave), Pinot Noir from Chile (not with oysters), and a sparkling rosé from New Mexico. Obv, I had to give the NM wine a … Continue reading
The other day on Instagram, someone goes, “I just read on that grape friend thing that ice in wine is bad.” I replied to let them know that’s not always so – you gotta do what you gotta do when it’s brutally hot and humid out (and it’s been brutally hot and humid a lot … Continue reading
I absolutely love port and often drink it after dinner in the winter. It’s pruny, sweet, thick and warms you up by the fire. Much to grapefriend’s summer happiness, they now make a rosé style! Just like rosé wine, the pink version of port gets its color from the juice’s short exposure to the grape skins. … Continue reading
As you know, people send me a lot of pictures of what their drinking which I love. But this was one of the most intriguing bottle pics I got in the past few weeks, from my friend Abby: Why an alien on the screw cap? Why a UFO with a beam on the label? The … Continue reading
