grape: Cinsault. Ths guy is usually part of a blend, especially popular in Chateauneuf du Pape and in the Languedoc, but rarely made on its own. Worth seeking out though. producer: Michael David. They also make 7 Deadly Zins, which a ton of people have tagged me while drinking. country: USA region: Lodi, CA. Lodi’s mostly known for Zin … 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
Wine tasting is exhausting work. Just look at us. This was at Ernesto Catena, this amazing vineyard in the Uco Valley in Mendoza. All we wanted to do was stay in these hammocks, sparkling Malbec in hand, and doze off into siesta land. Alas, we had lots to do! First up, lunch. We devoured these … Continue reading
1 duck, duck, grapes The guy and his son who own Renacer are both named Patricio but their nickname is Pato which means Duck. Obviously, they gotta have some ducks at the winery then. 2 they make an amarone style wine in argentina Renacer’s Amarone-style wine is called Enamore (a near-anagram for Amarone). Amarone is from … Continue reading
Touring Catena’s Adrianna Vineyard was awesome. They showed us the different soils that make two of their Chardonnay’s. One is called White Stones because there are tons of white stones in it (easy enough…); the other is called white bones because sea animals used to live in it and their shells (“bones”) now feed the … Continue reading
On our first day in Argentina, we went to Nieto in Luján de Cuyo, which is in northern Mendoza. They make a ton of Malbec (obv, since that’s what Mendoza is known for) but also some good Bonarda and Torrontes among a few others. One cool thing was to see how they train some vines … 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
Most winemakers try to figure out what’s the best kind of grape to grow in each particular vineyard. Terra Noble in Casablanca was telling us that’s what they’ve taken pains to do, taking into account the climate, soil, slope and everything else that goes into the concept of terroir. “Everything in its right place,” they … 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
Despite the fact that I’m grapefriend and just landed in Chile for an amazing wine trip, my first meal was at the Mercado Central which is a humongous fish market in Santiago that provided us with a non-wine highlight. The building was built around 150 years ago and has amazing iron work. We walked around … Continue reading
