Drinking all-American today – you gotta! Domaine Carneros is an awesome sparkling producer, and Blanc de Noir rules. Frank Family and Landmark both make great Chardonnays – full bodied but not overly oaked, perfect for all the yummy rich foods on the Thanksgiving table. Tag me @grapefriend on Twitter or Instagram – everyone’s pics up … Continue reading
Catching Fire, the second Hunger Games movie, comes out today. Last year I did what kind of wine each district would make if they were allowed to let their grapefriend flags fly, but let’s now take a look at what wine grape best fits each of the main characters. Fittingly, this study came out saying … Continue reading
What do you drink when you’re out and just grabbing a glass? Everyone has their go-to’s. I know people who don’t even look at the wine list and just order “Pinot Noir” or “Sauvignon Blanc” – something that drives me crazy and was part of the reason I started this whole blog. I know a … Continue reading
grape: Nebbiolo. This is the grape that makes up Barolo and Barbaresco, thought of as two of the best wines in Italy. producer: Matteo Correggia. This guy made great wines which helped Roero get international recognition. He unfortunately died in a tractor accident in 2001 when he was only 39, and apparently a lot of the top Roero … Continue reading
They say that 80% of what you taste comes through what you’re smelling. I often smell a wine more than I taste it (at least at first) to get as much from the wine just through smell – I love picking out what fruit I’m smelling, how much and what kind of earth and mineral … Continue reading
A fall palette for the palate. Love a label that matches the season’s colors. And I love this wine. Pinot is SO freaking perfect for fall. What’s everyone drinking tonight? Hope good stuff. Continue reading
Perrier-Jouët Belle Epoque Champagne is amazing. Match it with the incomparable food at Le Bernardin and it’s just complete insanity. We started out with some 2002 Blanc de Blancs (made only with Chardonnay grapes). This is only the fourth time they’ve ever even made a vintage Blanc de Blancs. Most people go crazy for BdB’s, … Continue reading
It was the wrong day to wear a dress. We got to the coastal Leyda Vineyards in San Antonio, Chile and the morning fog had become the afternoon fog so it was freezing. Usually fog dissipates by noon but it hadn’t. We started to chat about the Pinot, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc they specialize in. … Continue reading
I love a good truck ride through a vineyard. Today: Viña Ventisquero in the Apalta Valley. Our rickety truck provided us with insane views and dust in every crevice of our bodies. (I kept singing that Kings of Leon song “dusty, oh dustyyyy” in my head the whole time.) Sergio the winemaker showed us how … Continue reading
It’s harvest time all around the land (well, the northern land), and Stoller Wines in Dundee Hills, Oregon, was busy picking their Pinot Noir and Chardonnay when I was there last weekend. It’s an amazing time to visit a winery, and here are just a few reasons why: 1 They play Eminem in the tank … Continue reading
