You wouldn’t know it by looking at his relatively clean-cut appearance now, but Caprio Cellars winemaker and owner Dennis Murphy used to be in a heavy metal garage band. In fact, I give him mad props for instantly and authoritatively identifying who Eddie was during our recent Zoom tasting (as in tasting over Zoom, not…
Category: crowd pleaser wines
Wine In the Time of Coronavirus, Part 47: Volcanizing (Donnafugata Mt. Etna Recent Releases)
At this point, it might feel as though I’ve written too often about the irrepressible Sicilian producer Donnafugata. Seriously, just check the archives… it’s getting a bit ridiculous… Not that they don’t deserve it, mind you. After all, they’ve hosted me a handful of times both in Marsala and Pantelleria, and without a doubt are…
Wine In the Time of Coronavirus, Part 45: Bread-and-Butter (Chalk Hill Chardonnay Exploration)
Like this author, Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards was born in 1972, predating the official indoctrination of the Chalk Hill AVA. And thus forevermore Chalk Hill wines will slightly confuse would-be wine buyers who, upon picking up a bottle, wonder why the name Chalk Hill is listed twice on the label. You know, the way that…
Wine In the Time of Coronavirus, Part 44: Feedin’ Time (Dining In with Napa Valley’s Black Stallion)
One thing that the Covid pandemic has done to us wine media types is essentially shut down the whole “visit a producer in person and break bread over wine and dinner” thing that the wine business loves to do. That’s especially true of the Napa Valley wine business. And they must be jonesin’ for media…
