Wine Recommendations

“We’re all about the utmost hand labor,” says Mark Pisoni of his vineyard management during a recent Zoom tasting I did with him, his brother Jeff Pisoni, and Jeff’s wife, Bibiana Gonzalez Rave. But first I need to clarify the family connections here. Brother’s Jeff and Mark are the son’s of the...

Bordeaux has many expressions. For Saint-Émilion it’s the ability for longevity in the wines. True, most wines are made to drink now, and then there are wines like Les Cadrans, which have the ability to be enjoyed now, or held on to for several years. The 2016 offers soft and subtle fruit of...

We give credit to England for bringing Port to the world. But the British have also had a long tradition with making wine, and sparkling wine, dating back to the ubiquitous Romans who seemed to plant vines everywhere they went. There were also active recorded vineyards during the time of Henry the...

Wine history in the country of Georgia, which borders Armenia, goes back about 8,000 years. For JSC Teliani Valley winery, it all started in only 1997, but they carry on a proud tradition. The Rkatsiteli grape is ubiquitous in this part of Georgia and it’s believed it has been planted for several...

The Symington name in Portugal is synonymous with Port. But like any family they want to branch out beyond what they are known for They have long made a red table wine (not sweet) and decided to produce a white table wine. In 2017 they purchased a 511-acre property, Fonte Souto, in southern...

Port is one of those wines where people seem loath to admit they like sweet wines. But Port is not merely sweet wine: this is where the misunderstanding come into play. True Port is about the right grapes aged specifically for the right amount of time to produce a sensuous experience. Though...

In the heart of Pomerol, this Chateau is planted to mainly Merlot, and Le Plus, their top tier wine is 100% Merlot with an aging protocol of 100% new French oak aged for 33 months. It is worth the wait. The average age of these Merlot vines is 70 years, and that is reflected in the glass. This...

“I want to capture the essence of place,” winemaker Theresa Heredia tells me regarding her diverse portfolio of Pinot Noir. Theresa joined Gary Farrell Winery in 2012. Prior to that she worked at Joseph Phelps’ Freestone Vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, and Domaine de Montille in France. On this...

In the realm of Riesling a new generation of female winemakers is taking control making everything from traditional Riesling (“It’s our DNA”) to non-traditional Chardonnay, even obscure indigenous varieties like Schreube, and Gelber Orleans. These women reflect a new paradigm of German grape...

After generations of grape growing in and around Bolgheri, less than 6 miles from Italy’s Tuscan Coast, the Pellegrini family launched their own winery in 1996 - Aia Vecchia. And it is in Bolgheri that the “Super Tuscan” wine developed its stronghold. The 2017 Sor Ugo is named after Ugo, the first...