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Review: Santa Cruz Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (2023)
This dive bar is better known for birria tacos–and for bad decisions involving tequila–than it is for wine. But I really want a glass of red wine with some carne asada, so here goes nothing. Santa Cruz Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is sitting in mini bottles, next to vials of beer salt and a frozen-drink machine…
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Costco Advent Calendar Wine #17: Cielo d’Oro Carménère (Chile)
Carménère is one of those wines that people either flee from or embrace. Appreciating this long-banished Bordeaux grape takes practice. (Or blending!) Dark red in color, full of chewy tannins, and often packing intensely vegetal flavors, it’s not likely to be selected as anyone’s house wine or wedding-table tipple. In fact, this is the first…
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Merlot Thursday: Morpho Helena Merlot (2024)
There are at least three places where wine just tastes better: In the vineyard, in the cellar, and in the middle of the ocean. The latter place is where I am this #MerlotThursday, onboard the Enchanted Princess and cruising across the Gulf of Mexico. The house wines on Princess Cruises are a mixed bag and…
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The wines of South America (Total Wine class review)
Last night, my ass was in class for “Exploremos América del Sur” (Let’s Explore South America). This two-hour workshop is occasionally taught at Total Wine and focuses on the wines of Argentina and Chile. I tasted ten South American wines (four whites and six reds) from Total Wine’s Winery Direct lineup. In this post, I…