My throat is finally healing and I was able to sneak in some wine-drinking in Chicago. Went to one of my favorite places to eat there: avec (http://www.avecrestaurant.com/). Lots of small plates and a quirky, inexpensive wine list. Drank a couple of very food-friendly wines: an Italian cab franc (2003) and a Spanish grenache/syrah (2004). [More]

I have had a horrific cold/flu that has me stuffed up and with a sore throat. There have been so many great wines open around me and I can’t even enjoy them. They are like nails and battery acid on my throat. I think my ideal drink would be a hot toddy right now. So [More]

Got a chance thanks to two of my colleagues having birthdays on the same day to drink two memorable wines 1983 Cheval Blanc2001 Dagueneau Silex I haven’t really had an older Bordeaux let alone an older Cheval Blanc. The 1982 is a legendary vintage, but this was no slouch. Probably right at its peak; had [More]

When I think of California wines, I think Cab, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, etc. The usual suspects. I recently tried a great wine made from Spanish/Portuguese grapes: 62% Tempranillo26% Touriga Nacional8% Souzao Souzao-wha? The wine is the 2003 Murrieta’s Well Zarzuela and it’s from the Livermore Valley. Just when you think you’ve seen it [More]

I had something strange happen; I drank I wine that I had not had in many months that I had really liked, and found myself not liking it so much. It was the 2001 Maculan Brentino, an Italian Cab/Merlot blend. I didn’t remember it having so much new oak and extraction. I have to say [More]

I drank one of the finest whites I have had in a while; it was a 2004 Verget Pouilly-Fuisse. It sees a little bit of oak (mostly old oak) but has a purity and clarity that is the hallmark of great White Burgundy. And as my coworker, Jeff, said: RICHNESS. Wow.

This may be the finest Champagne I have ever had. The best part about it was that is was NOT cold. It was cooler than room temperature. You could really taste this Champagne at that temperature; if it is iced down, you get nothing but bubbles. Champagne truly is one of the finest wines in [More]

Well, I drank another stunning wine from Bierzo, the grape being Mencia. 2003 Decendientes de J. Palacios Petalos del Bierzo Stunning. Bierzo is in the upper left-hand corner of Spain, practically right above Portugal. The vineyards are usually fairly high-altitude, so these wines aren’t all roasty and pruney like other Spanish reds from the south. [More]