Much bigger and more tropical than the European pinot gris and pinot grigio wines I’m used to, this wine was a surprise to me. It begins with sweet florals that continue onto the palate, morphing into honey and honeysuckle. As the wine opens it shows hints of citrus along with
Santa Barbara County’s pioneering winemaker Richard Sanford has been known for his unexpectedly wonderful wines for many decades. He was recently honored as 2020 vintner of the year, a visionary in planting and producing wines in what is now called the Santa Rita Hills AVA [aka Sta Rita Hills]. His
When I opened this wine before dinner I found it way too easy to drink. There’s an appealing lively acidity that makes you keep wanting another sip, and another. Then I remembered I had opened the bottle to review the wine, so here’s a description of what’s in the bottle:
“Volcanic wine” is an important new subset of vital wines. Grapevines grown on volcanic soils can impart more complexity to many aspects of the finished wines, from aromas and flavors to structure and overall quality. This red wine is from one of the new, well-known volcanic wine growing regions in
The wine has an earthiness in its aroma and tannins, a vigorous structure and fruit-forward, ripe dark plum flavors, with lively acidity throughout. Grapes for this wine are harvested by hand, and the vineyards boast drip irrigation for water conservation. Incidentally, this location also has a hotel, olive groves, and
This richly textured wine is released after 30 months in oak and a further twelve in bottle. The wine is mature now, and a pleasure to drink. It is made by a cooperative in the Alentejo region of Portugal that was founded fifty years ago. This is a classic blend
The label on this bottle is made of cork, because it comes directly from the Portuguese region of Alentejo which has cork forests that are known for their biodiversity and ecological balance. While this family-owned winery works within the region’s increasingly rigorous sustainability requirements, they still produce a very traditional
Made by a large, innovative, family-owned company with organically certified grapes from their own vineyards. Most Portuguese white wines are blends that may vary slightly with each vintage, and this is no exception, though the main varieties in this wine are listed: antão vaz, viosinho and alvarinho. The wine has