“Picpoul de Pinet?,” says a woman doubtfully, picking up a green tinted bottle under the “staff’s favorite” sign at a trendy Manhattan wine shop. Though the label is hip and modern, reading "PIC" in giant red block letters, it appears to have the appellation's ancient coat of arms branded on
Howdy. I'm delighted to introduce myself as Palate Press' first columnist. I've been writing about wine for more than a decade, as a freelancer and as a staff writer for a couple of publications, but what I haven't written about before today is that I also spent a little over
A nice offering from Down Under. Nose is stubbornly tight at first, but then yields notes of cassis, cedar, and green pepper. Generous fruit on the palate, with restrained tannins and overtones of juicy blackberries and chocolate with oak floating throughout. Finish is clean, albeit not languorous. Have it with
The most common question I am asked by people is: “When do I need a wine cellar?” There are several different thoughts on this. If you are the type of person that buys wines on a bottle per bottle basis, a wine cellar is not an investment for you. But
A large, loping dog greets me at the gate, followed in short order by a woman in work gloves on a four-wheeler who casually asks, “Can I help you?” “I’m Lisa,” I tell her, “the enology student from Oregon who e-mailed you a few weeks ago.” “Oh, yes!” she replies,
Unfined and unfiltered. A minty nose, with a certain earthiness. Later, cocoa and vanilla notes come out. Lots of dark, sweet plummy fruit with hints of strawberry. Nice, strong, integrated tannins. A warm, buttery finish. It’s the wine I kept sipping with a steak dinner. Recommended. BSE WHO: Amapola Creek
Take a look at all the wine bottles on the shelves, the next time you are in a grocery store, at Costco, or even Target. The vast majority of the bottles are impeccable, with rarely a splotch, splash or nick on any of the labels. I cannot help but be
When I visited Navarra a few years ago, I went home raving about the rosado (rosé) wines made from garnacha (grenache). This time, I found a whole new sphere of great red and white wines, made from both indigenous and-read more-