I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• NV Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve (Champagne): A bubbles portrait, classically framed. $69 A-
• 2019 Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais Villages Nouveau (Beaujolais): Eschewing bubble-gum for lively, floral fruitiness. $14 B
• 2017 Renato Ratti Ochetti Langhe Nebbiolo (Piedmont): More of the plummy earthiness that you want, with less of the tannic assault that you don’t. $26 B+
• NV Jansz Premium Cuvee Brut (Tasmania): The only devil int he details here is how devilishly tasty this is. $25 B+
• NV Piper Sonoma Brut (Sonoma County): When citrus, peach, and elegance are all that you need, which is, like, every Tuesday, right? $22 B+
• NV Piper Sonoma Brut Rose (Sonoma County): Sexy, *and* it’s a relatively cheap date! $22 B
• 2018 Pfendler Petaluma Gap Pinot Noir (Sonoma County): Big, fruity, too young, and yet… still manages to be classy. $45 A-
• 2017 Dutton-Goldfield Devils Gulch Vineyard Pinot Noir (Marin County): Brash boldness that will one day tame itself into luxurious elegance. $72 A
• 2017 Dutton-Goldfield Redwood Ridge Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): All oft hat red and all of those spices, just in time for the Holidays… $62 A-
• 2018 Cartograph Starscape Vineyard Gewurztraminer (Russian River Valley): A delightfully – and unexpectedly – more citric expression of our favorite unpronounceable grape. $26 B+

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2017 Domaine Jean-Jacques Girard Savigny-les-Beaune (Cote de Beaune): Might be too much lemon curd for the hipper crowds, but that will just leave more for you, after all. $49 A-
• 2018 Viticultori Associati Canicatti ‘Aquilae’ Catarratto (Sicily): Flints, flowers, and… banana? Yep, all in a gulp-ably refreshing mix. $NA B
• 2018 Viticultori Associati Canicatti ‘Fileno’ Grillo (Sicily): It might be performing a Sauvignon Blanc impersonation, but it’s a damned entertaining one. $17 B
• 2018 Viticultori Associati Canicatti ‘Menamara’ (Sicily): A chewy, spicy, passito style red that’s not to be passed up, provided that opportunity presents itself. $NA B+
• NV Fratelli Lunelli Ferrari Metodo Classico Rose (Trentino-Alto Adige): Dried strawberry, rose petal, and a very soon to be very empty glass. $30 B+
• 2014 Secondo Marco Valpolicella Classico Superiore Ripasso (Veneto): A fine, balanced interplay between tangy and prune-y; just right for a just-now pasta fix. $30 B+
• 2016 Travaglino ‘Campo della Fojada’ Riesling Riserva Oltrepo Pavese (Lombardy): There’s something happening here… what it is, ain’t exactly clear… but it’s clearly very, very interesting. $NA B+
• 2017 Bonterra Vineyards Merlot (Mendocino County): Someone remembered that tangy, much to our collective delight. $14 B
• 2016 Gundlach-Bundschu Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma Valley): Just a mere cub for now, in training for its more regal lion status in a few years. $40 A-
• 2018 Two Hands Wines Angel’s Share Shiraz (McLaren Vale): A dollop of manly, a splash of feminine, and a heap of delightful. $33 A-

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2018 Weingut Stift Klosterneuburg Hengsberg Gruner Veltliner (Wagram): Veggies, minerals, and fruit… so basically the entire garden is on display here. $24 B+
• NV Weingut Stift Klosterneuburg Klostersekt Brut (Niederosterreich): Peaches and cream, Austrian style; which means a sprinkling of austerity throughout. $NA B+
• 2017 Weingut Tom Dockner Hochschopf Pinot Noir (Niederosterreich): A raspberry flame – fine, light, transparent, wild, and intense. $NA B+
• 2017 Markus Huber Himmelreich Spatburgunder (Niederosterreich): Tea, fine meats, black cherries, all served up on shining china plates in an old European mansion. $NA B+
• 2014 Barone Pizzini Saten (Franciacorta): Sure you like ’em elegant, but how about elegant *and* yeasty? $45 A-
• 2018 Dominio del Plata Crios de Susana Balbo Torrontes (Argentina): Flowers up in your grill, just the way that it ought to be. $15 B
• 2016 Duckhorn Vineyards Merlot (Napa Valley): Spices in spades, though not all of them are playing nice together… $54 A-
• 2018 Eberle ‘Cotes-du-Robles Blanc’ (Paso Robles): When you need your roundness to be zestier, or your zesty-ness to be rounder. $26 B+
• 2017 Gundlach-Bundschu Estate Vineyard Mountain Cuvee (Sonoma Valley): Presenting juiciness as an overriding directive. $22 B+
• NV Warre’s King’s Tawny Port (Portugal): Ticking all of the main boxes – spicy, powerful, succulent. $22 B+

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format.
 
They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read them), and are presented links to help you find them, so that you can try them out for yourself. Cheers!

• 2018 Troon Vineyard Grenache (Applegate Valley): Hearty and Meaty meet Floral and Lovely. $35 A-
• 2017 Mettler Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon (Lodi): Manly, but with a penchant for fresh garden herbs. $25 B+
• 2017 Mettler Family Vineyards Petite Sirah (Lodi): One of the most potent, palatable, and potential-filled incarnations of this burly grape you’ll find, and for mostly a pittance. $25 A-
• 2017 Mettler Family Vineyards ‘Epicenter’ Old Vine Zinfandel (Lodi): Big, bountiful, and downright bold to behold. $25 B+
• 2018 Mettler Family Vineyards Albarino (Lodi): Tropical, herbal, and, best of all, delightful. $20 B
• 2017 Tongue Dancer “Pinot de Ville” Putnam Vineyard Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): Boldly gorgeous; or is that gorgeously bold? $68 A
• 2018 Adriano Adami Dry Vigneto Giardino Rive di Colbertaldo (Prosecco di Valdobbiadene): Fruity, fun, and fashionably serious. $22 B+
• 2013 Castello di Bossi Chianti Classico Gran Selezione (Tuscany): Plummy, earthy, vibrant, elegant and powerful red in search of a hearty beef stew, serious enquirers only please. $48 A-
• 2018 Vignobles Lacheteau Sur Lie (Muscadet Sèvre et Maine): Add scallops, and a friend, and you’ll be good to go. $9 B-
• Vignobles & Compagnie Reserve des Chastelles Rosé (Tavel): If the song “Lola” were written about a rose, this could be the muse. $10 B-