Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

If your local wine shop is like mine, you've noticed that the Portuguese wine section grows larger every month. Wines from Portugal are becoming more and more popular. At the heart of this surge in popularity is the Douro wine region, known for centuries as the home of Port wines . Today, the Douro Valley is also famous for its excellent unfortified wines, particularly reds.

We recently asked our panel of wine experts to recommend a wine to pair with roasted chicken. While a variety of recommendations came forth, the clear winner of the day was New Zealand's Spy Valley Pinot Noir as two of our experts independently suggested this gem of a wine. I would recommend a Pinot Noir. Pinot is a great match for fowl. The roasted qualities of this preparation call for one that is perhaps a bit smoky or has some toasty oak notes (within reason). I am going to recommend a Spy Valley Pinot Noir from New Zealand .

Germany’s second most well known wine region, behind the Mosel Valley, is certainly the Rheingau. Guided by the Rhine River, the steep slopes march down to the river itself like little lines of obedient cadets. Rudesheim is the most well know town within the region, the center of tourist activity where the train and the ferry land at its doorstep.

Some of the great wines in Italy, and the world, hail from Tuscany. Other articles have discussed Super Tuscans , and some of the great wines based on the Sangiovese grape including Chianti and Brunello di Montalcino . In this article, another great Sangiovese based wine is explored: Vin Nobile di Montepulciano. The name of this wine can be confusing. Long ago these wines became the chosen wine of nobility hence the Nobile part of the name.

In December 2008, the Navarra DO will celebrate the 75th anniversary of its first constitution. Of course, Navarra has been producing wines for much longer than 75 years. In fact, archaeological finds from the second century B.C. include Roman-era earthenware wine jars. Perhaps the DO should be celebrating its 2,075th anniversary instead.

In the region of Campania (see related article on Lacryma Christi ) there is red wine that is worth knowing about and which merits acquisition. This wine, named Taurasi, is made from the Aglianico grape, the same grape discussed in the article on Aglianico del Vulture from Basilicata. Indeed, the Aglianico grape is utilized over much of southern Italy. For reasons which will be explained below, the Aglainicos from Campania are some of the best made anywhere.