As you enter summer’s pink zone, here are a few tips to expand your palate. 1: rebel against the rules Méditerranée IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) is the term for an area that covers Provence but also includes some of the Rhône Valley and Corsica (love their rosés). 75% of the region’s wines are rosé and … Continue reading
Swifties know that Taylor is a grapefriend, but looks like her boyfriend is getting into the grape too. Travis Kelce recently gave his mom Donna two bottles of wine for Mother’s Day: a 1988 Leroy Les Beaux Monts and a 2018 Pomerol. Let’s assess, shall we? The Leroy is a Vosne Romanée: A rich, refined Pinot Noir from Burgundy. … Continue reading
As the rosé trend settles in, you pretty much can’t go anywhere without seeing Whispering Angel on a wine list. The producer Chateau D’Esclans recently detailed their history in The Book of Rosé: The Provençal Vineyard That Revolutionized Rosé. The lengthy book is packed with beautiful photos and lots of history of Provence, owner Sacha Lichine’s vision, … Continue reading
I was recently inducted into the Ordre des Compagnons du Beaujolais. Created in 1948, the organization celebrates wines from the Beaujolais region. The ceremony involved a lot of Beaujolais drinking and one moment of guzzling from a tastevin which then had to be held above your head to prove you finished it all. This year, they toasted the 100th anniversary … Continue reading
We’ve already had our first Heat Dome, and I immediately started popping frosty rosés. Here are a few favorites to kick off your summer and keep you cool: Want to be the first to get the monthly newsletter recommendations? Woo hoo, sign up here! Continue reading
Went to an interesting wait-staff education session the other day, where Catena taught the staff about the lighter bottles they’re using in their Vista Flores Malbec. Who knew the weight of a bottle contributes most to the energy suck in the winemaking process? But 60% of carbon emissions come from the weight of the bottle. The average bottle weighs 550 grams, … Continue reading
Rosé is so associated with sunny days, and Domaine Carneros just released a wine primarily produced by the power of the sun. They installed 400 solar panels in the winery 21 years ago, the largest collection of any winery in the world. This Solar Microgrid prevents the generation of 494 metric tons of CO2. It also helps make some good wine. … Continue reading
Healthy soils maintain the natural ecosystem in a vineyard, nurturing the vines to express their true nature. Viñedos Organicos Veramonte develops self-sustaining vineyards to stimulate and regenerate the life and biodiversity of the soil by using natural compost and cover crops in between vineyard rows to improve soil structure, reduce erosion and fix nutrients. As head winemaker Sofia Araya says, “We need to … Continue reading
Now that she stepped down as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern had time to get married to her longtime partner Clarke Gayford. They had their festivities earlier this year at Craggy Range, a gorgeous vineyard I visited when I was in NZ. They only produces wines from a single vineyard, which is sort of ironic … Continue reading
Usually I like to educate people about styles and grapes you can then go find on your own, since finding a specific bottle can be an issue depending on what your local wine store happens to have. But lately I had a bunch of good reds under $30, which can be hard to find. And … Continue reading
