Yearly Archives: 2015
Un-Cruise Adventures: Guest Host on a Wine-Themed Voyage
I am leaving shortly to embark on an excellent journey with Un-Cruise Adventures along the Columbia and Snake rivers. They have tapped me to be a guest host on a wine-themed cruise. I’ll be on this boat, the S.S. Legacy: Un-Cruise Adventures has put me in charge of a daily wine program of my design and I [More]
Exploring Mount Etna Wines via Planeta
Is there a more exciting wine region in the world right now than Sicily? And, within this island, anything cooler than what’s happening in the area surrounding Mount Etna? No. It was a pleasure to be invited to a lunch given by Planeta, whose six wineries ring Sicily. Our special guest was Alessio Planeta and our focus [More]
Haywire The Bub: Easy-Opening Sparkling Wine from BC
As you well know I am a fan of sparkling wine in all forms, from the humble to the sublime. Recently had a friend/hero bring back (per my request) a bottle of Haywire The Bub from British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. It’s a single-vineyard (Secrest Mountain) vintage-dated bottle (2012) that I love for many reasons, which [More]
Sweet Wine from Sicily: The Scintillating Donnafugata Ben Ryé
I may retire the phrase “dessert wine” on this blog. Because it compartmentalizes a wine like the Donnafugata Ben Ryé to occasions when dining out and ordering something sweet to eat at the end of the meal. Don’t get me wrong, I love dessert and have nothing but respect for pastry chefs. (I actually did an internship [More]
A California Chenin Blanc That’s a Rare Creature
I really dig these Forlorn Hope wines from California. All the ones I’ve had have been satisfyingly weird thrill-seekers. The latest I consumed (with pleasure) is no exception. 2012 Forlorn Hope Story This is a California Chenin Blanc from a vineyard called…wait for it…Story. It’s located in Amador County, which is way east of Napa [More]
Brunch Cider: Domaine de la Minotière
I know Sunday’s a few days off but I’m already thinking about brunch. Why? Because of this cider from Domaine de la Minotière in Normandy. (Or rather, cidre.) It was part of a small cache of French cider sent to me as samples by Winesellers, Ltd. (Thanks!) Domaine de la Minotière Cidre Fermier Bio Doux What [More]
Detecting Winemaking Differences By Comparing Bottles: TEXSOM Seminar
One of numerous fascinating seminars I attended at TEXSOM was “Tasting Focus: Distinguishing Winemaking Choices” led by Master Sommeliers (MS) Matthew Citriglia and Geoff Kruth. Wines were compared in contrasting sets of two. First up? Lees. Lees are the dead, spent yeast cells and other leftover solids that, when in contact with a wine prior to [More]
