I was saving a bottle of 96 Helena View Cabernet for a special occasion. I have been tempted to pop it open in a drunken stupor, but managed to hold back. Until last night. I opened this bottle of Helena View. Only 100 cases made. Autographed by the wine maker with a comment, “Enjoy in [More]

The best summer wines and awesome wines for food are pink wines. Rosés can be dry to bone dry, come in a clear bottle, and are great on a summer day. I recently drank one of the most unique, one from Sancerre. It smells and tastes like Sauvignon Blanc, but it is 100% Pinot Noir. [More]

After my adventures in Austria and Germany, which were both informative and intoxicating, I wondered why I hadn’t gone back to Alsace for Riesling. Alsatian Rieslings are lovely. They make a dish there which is basically pig in a pot…and I’m not talking about the tenderloin. They put pig ear, feet, snout, and all the [More]

I went to Green Zebra, the new veggie place opened by the guy from Spring; it’s on 1400ish Chicago. The food was excellent. Very clean, pristine, fresh, flavorful (and I’m sure costly) vegetables. They got their liquor license, but told me there was a 20 buck corkage fee, which did not seem so bad considering [More]

This wine is made by the son of a well-known producer in Orgeon, Andrake. It is about 15 bucks and has a very uniuqe aroma of gingerbread and a little nutmeg. Very unique flavor as well. And when I say “unique” I mean kick-ass!!!

Well, I felt a little bad about my dismissing of German Rieslings, so I thought I would try one. I specifically got one labeled “Trocken”….dry. It was a mega-famous producer from the Pfaltz, (Weingut) Muller-Catoir. 2000. It had mind-blowing acidity; bracing, lively…wow. And just a tiny, little kiss of sweetness at the end. Even for [More]

You cannot drink wine you drunkenly forgot in the freezer and then thawed out. Luckily it was only a 6 dollar bottle. I did taste it, just for kicks, and out of drunken desperation, and it was truly bad. Next time if I want to quickly chill a bottle of wine, I’ll just open it [More]

Another thing I should comment on is the url for the site: http://vouvray.blogspot.com. Vouvray is a region in the Loire in France where incredible Chenin Blancs are made. They can be dry to sweet, still to sparkling, and young to old. They are so lovely. The first case of wine I ever bought was a [More]