A while ago I was having a phone conversation with a winemaker. I remarked on a Chardonnay (made by said winemaker) I enjoyed with a listed ABV of 14.5%*. The dialog about wine alcohol levels went something like this: Me: “I really dug that Chard, was surprised it was so good with the alcohol that [More]
Greetings from the Newark Liberty International Airport, good ol’ EWR. I’m waiting to board a flight to Lisbon then Porto for a media trip sponsored by Symington Family Estates. It’s my first visit to Portugal in (gasp!) six years. What will I be doing while I’m there? I’m glad you asked. My first full day [More]
I was invited to attend an Aussie wine seminar (thanks, Wine Australia!) and I didn’t know what the topic was until I sat down. I was delighted to see I’d be undertaking a comparative (blind) tasting of Australian Chardonnay. Since it was put on by Wine Australia, a bunch of the wines were going to [More]
I’m grateful when I get to go to big wine trade tastings, but they can be overwhelming. One hundred-plus tables, many of them crowded with clamoring masses, yearning to drink taste free. My advice is to go in with a battle plan. Study that spiral-bound playbook you get on arrival! But sometimes it’s dumb luck [More]
After a comparative Australian Chardonnay tasting (stay tuned ) I shoveled in as many little sandwiches as I could and contemplated a walk-around tasting put on by Wine Australia. I was hovering near the Wine Dogs Imports table and, since they are a friendly lot, decided to check on a familiar label. I’ve had the rosé [More]
My recent conversation with Rodrigo Soto got me thinking about Chile. So it was quite serendipitous that not long after I wrote about it, I got to speak with Michael (“Schach”) Schachner. He reviews the wines of Chile for The Thuse and we had a lively discussion about the state of the country’s wine industry and what’s [More]
While on a trip to Ireland with my mom (and about two dozen other folks) we toured around via bus. The itinerary was flexible enough that I got to explore on my own. So I used a few pockets of time to check out two Dublin wine bars. (Thanks to Lauren Mowery for the intel.) A [More]
Hey, I’m taking off for a week-ish trip to Ireland! I’ve never been and I’m going on a sojurn with my mom. It’s one of those package tours (“Taste of Northern Ireland & Dublin”). So I’ll be with dozens of people I’ve never met before, which is exciting. Where I’m Going Dublin (duh) Belfast Derry [More]
