So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
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 with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 77 H.M Borges Bual Vintage Madeira (Madeira): Whiskey shots and stogie puffs; and you'd better like them big, bold, and bombastic. $265 A- >>find this wine<<
• 14 Roco Gravel Road Pinot Noir (Oregon): Pacific NW earthy charm, dressed up in fairly dark fruit, and very dark toasty-wood spices.$30 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV Tommasi Prosecco Tenuta Filodora (Prosecco): A surprise; like, a Playboy Playmate jumping out of your fake birthday cake surprise. $16 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 11 Elyse Winery Howell Mountain Zinfandel (Napa Valley): Perky, peppery, persistent;and while not profound, it is proudly delicious. $33 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 14 Ernest The Farmer Green Valley Ranch Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast): What he's farming are white flowers & some damned fresh lemons. $45 A- >>find this wine<<
• 13 Albert Mann Riesling Grand Cru Furstentum (Alsace): Jasmine, honey, blood orange peel, slate, dancing, then dropping the mics. $41 A- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Josmeyer Riesling Grand Cru Brand (Alsace): A young, egg-from-an-endagered-species kind of white. Handle gingerly, & patiently. $65 A- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Paul Blanck Schlossberg Riesling Grand Cru (Alsace): Even at this price tag, almost a bargain of a flinty, exotic-fruited wonder. $33 A- >>find this wine<<
• 14 Domaine Roger Lassarat Saint-Veran Cuvee Plaisir (Maconnais): Well, now! My goodness! Aren't you just the perkiest little thing! $18 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 13 Alcance Vigno Old Vines Carignan (Maule Valley): Maybe a touch too modern of a coating, but that core is deliciously authentic. $35 B+ >>find this wine<<

I will probably never fully comprehend the logic behind scheduling #SangriaDay in December, while #RedWineDay is in August. But August 28th is Red Wine Day, and I was asked to provide a few red vino picks on that day for a live segment on Fox 29’s Good Day Philadelphia.

Yes, Lorelai (and owl puppet) got to join in the fun

For those of you who don’t spend much time behind a camera, these TV spots are usually frenetic, fun, fast-on-your-feet affairs. I have, of course, a huge advantage in these scenarios: I’m talking about a product that pretty much no one hates, and almost everyone is more than a little anxious and happy to learn more about and discuss.

As I like to say not infrequently about the wine world’s penchant for attracting happiness: we’re not exactly selling coffins here.

Personally, I think that  was most excited to bring my daughter Lorelai, who at first (presumably from never having known her father not to do things like play music on stage or appear in videos) seemed completely nonplussed over the entire thing. Our initial conversation went something like this:

Me: “Hey, toots, I’m going to be on TV; do you want to come to the TV studio with me?”

Lorelai, not looking up from playing a game on her iPad: “Not really.”

Me: “We get to ride in a limo.”

Lorelai: “What?!?? Yeah. I wanna go!!”

Anyway…

…Below is a video recap of the brief segment. Long story made short, the wines that were supposed to be featured had trouble arriving on time (because, well, Pennsylvania), so at about 4:45AM the day of I found myself pulling some PA-available wines from the basement sample pool:

• Under $10 – Bodegas Faustino VII Tempranillo, Rioja
• Under $20 – Cantele Negroamaro Salento IGT, Puglia
• Under $30 – Francis Ford Coppola Director’s Cut Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley

Good Day Philadelphia Aug. 28, 2016 – #RedWineDay

Oh… for the record, Lorelai reported that the limo ride exceeded her expectations.

Cheers!

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
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 with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 13 Tommasi Valpolicella Ripasso (Valpolicella Classico Superiore): Think of this as perkiness, with an extra bit of muscular oomph. $28 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 14 Tommasi Rafael Valpolicella Classico Superiore (Veneto): Just peppery-red-fruity-perky-pizza-sauce-friendly deliciousness. $18 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 15 Chateau Saint-Maur Cotes de Provence Cru Classe Rose (Cotes de Provence): Hip to the rose hip, the citrus, & being a little fleshy $25 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Domaine Loew Riesling Muschelkalck (Alsace): Grapefruit, tangerine, orangle peel, herbs, flint, & all of the fat totally trimmed. $23 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 12 Famille Hugel Estate Riesling (Alsace): You're ok with some flint and mint, right? Because if not, I'm totally having yours, bro. $40 A- >>find this wine<<
• 13 Meyer-Fonne Riesling Reserve (Alsace): Fragrant, flinty, fruity, and rather openly flirtatious; which, of course, isn't a problem. $22 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut Rose (California): Sexy enough to turn heads; expect an open bottle to empty far, far too quickly. $27 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut (California): A reasonably-priced way to get a more than reasonable amount of brioche into your glass. $27 B+ >>find this wine<<
• 10 Broccatelli Galli Antigniano Montefalco Sagrantino (Montefalco): Thickly tight as the bramble that its scent so readily invokes. $NA B+ >>find this wine<<
• 14 Martin Ray Dark Star Hill Pinot Noir (Green Valley of Russian River Valley): Dark, & a star, though it needs time to show it. $55 A- >>find this wine<<