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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #9: Ryokō Futsu-shu Sake (Japan)
Let me begin by saying that I am sorry for my sake ignorance. I do not know very much about sake, nor have I yet learned to appreciate it. Sure, I’ve sipped premium versions at trade tastings and such, and I’ve approached them with the same curiosity I’d extend to any other beverage. But at…
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Merlot Thursday: Mouton Cadet “Les Terroirs” Bordeaux Rouge (2023)
Welcome to another #MerlotThursday, where we make a weeknight meal of a bottle of Merlot! (And usually some food, too.) Today’s wine is from the Mouton Cadet line of daily drinkers. The story of this label goes back to 1930, when a disastrous harvest resulted in wines that Baron Phillipe de Rothschild decided were not…
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Flâneur Wines tasting at The Wine Authority (Richardson, TX)
We caught the Flâneur tour for sure at The Wine Authority last night. Who can resist a parade of premium Willamette Pinot passing though town? As a special treat, Flâneur founder Marty Doerschlag was behind the bar, answering questions and opening bottles of these beautiful wines. Established in 2013, Flâneur Wines makes organically farmed Willamette…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #8: The Conductor Chardonnay Pays d’Oc (France)
What if wine was more like groceries? What if it was just another foodstuff–a staple of shopping lists and a part of healthy adults’ daily diets? Many folks, particularly those in the wine industry, believe that would be a good thing. The United States has one of the lowest per capita wine consumption rates of…
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What Is This Thing? Fratelli Alessandria Barolo Chinato (NV)
It’s a wide, wide world of wine out there and there’s no way to taste it all in many lifetimes. I’m basically resigned to that fact. But even so, a completionist impulse lurks within the heart of every wine lover. So if I see something novel on a wine list or back bar, you can…
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Merlot Thursday: Tenuta Campo al Mare “Baia al Vento” Bolgheri Superiore (2019)
I hope I never stop encountering wines that defy description. Variety is the spice of life, they say. And that nagging side-brain itch you get when you’re trying to describe an aroma that just won’t let itself be assigned to any normal noun or adjective? I’m trying to learn to love that feeling, that little…
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Review: Tiziano Pinot Grigio delle Venezie (2021)
This pretty Pinot Grigio is named for the Venetian painter Titian–but is it a masterpiece? Let’s pour a glass of Tiziano and ponder its dimensions. Medium yellow in the glass and giving off aromas of apple and citrus blossom. Faint stone fruit, too. The palate is mostly apple and ripe pear. I taste hay and…
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Review: Grand Enclos du Château de Cérons Graves Rouge (2016)
Buying premium Cabernet at a steakhouse is a bit like buying a phone charger at an airport. If you gotta have it, then you gotta have it–but there are way better times and places to make that particular purchase. As a price-conscious wine lover, I try to maneuver around the restaurant markups while still treating…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #7: Queen’s Gambit Zinfandel (California)
I’m ripping into the Costco advent calendar early, like a naughty kid at Christmastime. Except my advent calendar is full of wine instead of candy, and there’s no grown-ups here to scold me. Today I’m pouring up Bottle #7, “Queen’s Gambit.” But is this California Zinfandel fit for a queen, or should it be banished…
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Merlot Thursday: Château Gaby “Silver Label” Canon-Fronsac Bordeaux (2014)
For this #MerlotThursday, I hopped the (metaphorical) pond back over to France for a Bordeaux break. The venue is Winestein’s Tasting Room in Grapevine, where I’ve landed after a long and exciting afternoon of trying out Texans wines. The wine is Château Gaby “Silver Label.” (It’s the second wine from the Château. The “Gold Label”…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #6: A Seaworthy Tale Grüner Veltliner (Pannon, Hungary)
Grading for the 2025 advent calendar has been a bit harsh so far, with this year’s class of bottles struggling for a C average. But that was not my intention when I first carried that colorful cardboard box over the threshold. Believe it or not, I’m not a wine snob out to savage every bottle…
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Cabernet Sauvignon: The King of Grapes (Total Wine class review)
Born by happy accident in 17th-century Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon is now the world’s favorite grape. Almost every wine-producing country grows a bunch of it, and almost everybody likes it. It’s no wonder that Total Wine’s “King of Grapes” class always fills the room. “Always”? Yep, this is the third time I’ve taken “King of Grapes”–but…