How many wine appellations are there in Italy? More than 300. There are so many that most Italian people don’t know about all of them. For context, the law which established the “appellations of origin” for Italian wines was published in 1963. A few years later, in 1966, the very
The stand-out sensory experience from a recent week in Barcelona came courtesy of a nameless red vermut at a natural wine bar. It showed up in the customary regional fashion, with a citrus peel over a big ice cube, looking far more like sangria than fine wine. At €2.50, it
The color is gold, giving the appearance of a much older wine. It seems oxidized at first, but blows off quickly. Honey, caramel, lime peel, and smoke show on the nose. On the palate it is on the sweet side, like a Spatlese, leaning toward Auslese. Honey, lime zest, and
I was in Cognac one hot summer day, trying to make conversation with a producer who spoke about as much English as I do French, and the situation was getting sticky in every way when he suddenly asked me whether I had been to Scotland. Yes, I had. Well, then,
This is a beautiful wine. Melon and lemon custard aromas are so delicious you might forget to drink. But don't. Layers of flavor pile in, one after another. An initial lime citrus zing leaps to creamy lemon custard, then ripe melon, then back to a zing with some pineapple, with
While we’ve heard that pizza is universal, we didn’t realize they were making wines to pair with it in places like…Moldova. And if you haven’t checked out this country’s wine website, just google “Moldova: Who Knew” and you’ll find yourself racing cars through underground wine vaults, singing sweetly with Norwegians,
It's been said that you shouldn't trust a vigneron if they don't have soil under their fingernails. By that notion, I'm not sure what to make of Waterkloof's head winemaker Nadia Barnard when we meet at their commanding property in the windswept hills near Stellenbosch. Not only are her fingernails
Three very reasonably priced wines make for great pairings with cool weather Fall barbecues. Each of the wines offers slightly more depth and complexity than you might expect at this price range afer a few years of bottle age. 2013 Bodegas Aletta Garnacha, Campo de Borja DO Old vines grown