Combining the pleasantly mineral and grippy character of Carignane with rounder notes from five other grape varieties, this inexpensive offering from Bonny Doon is rather easy-going, despite the contrarian attitude implied in the name (which also refers to Contra Costa County, where most of the grapes come from). That contradictory
I am generally skeptical of the notion of signature grapes, but in the case of the Finger Lakes, it would be hard to contest that riesling is really what makes that region go round. It is well-made all around the-read more-
I first tried Pleiades, the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink blend made by legendary and idiosyncratic Marin County winemaker Sean Thackrey, back in 2003. On a visit to Chicago, a sharp salesman at House of Glunz, Chicago’s oldest wine store, easily filled my request-read more-
Alice Feiring has become a bit of a controversial figure in the wine world, through her advocation of natural wine in its strictest (yet perfectly sensible) definition: nothing added, nothing taken away. In the last couple of years, the anger-read more-
Blenheim Vineyards, located high up on the hills surrounding Charlottesville, Virginia, is owned by Dave Matthews, leader of the famous musical band that bears his name. But don’t let that distract you from the wine. When I visited the winery,-read more-
When I visited the Finger Lakes for the first time last year as part of the second annual TasteCamp, Wiemer Vineyards was certainly one of my favorite stops. Fred Merwarth, the talented winemaker who took over from the founder a-read more-
To say that I expected a 2000 sparkling wine from Massachusetts to be a) a current release and b) awesome would be lying. But when I recently had the chance to taste this Westport Rivers offering, thanks to Ablegrape founder-read more-
I have to thank the slow process of getting wines to the Société des alcools du Québec, literally the Québec Alcohol Corporation—the wine and spirits monopoly in Québec—and the little-known status of Finger Lakes wine in the province for the-read more-