Challenged with pairing wines this Thanksgiving? Though turkey day is regarded as a most traditional American holiday, increasingly it is celebrated in the U.K., and foodies flock to gastronomic restaurants with highly educated sommeliers that are increasingly attaining the Master Sommelier level. Turkey is a traditional main dish for Christmas
PREFAZIONE I am blessed back here in the Washington DC area with what I consider the best local wine shop. Schneider’s of Capitol Hill is literally a couple of blocks from the Capitol. I cannot say the Red State lawmakers-read more-
A wine so rich, and so expressive of the essence of the region I told John Matta it should be called “Eaux de Tuscany” (the French not withstanding). Deep, dark purpose, almost opaque, with a nose of smoke and truffles.-read more-
Again, we tasted a slightly younger wine at the estate than the vintage currently available (2006). This is a bright, youthful wine but with plenty of weight nevertheless. Cherry, pepper, and earth come through on the nose. Chocolate and berry-read more-
The ’09 is not yet released, but is an absolute stunner. Tasted at a lunch with several of Olivier’s wines, so used the ’07 (an exceptional year in many regions of Italy) as a comparison benchmark. The ’07 was made-read more-
I first tried Pleiades, the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink blend made by legendary and idiosyncratic Marin County winemaker Sean Thackrey, back in 2003. On a visit to Chicago, a sharp salesman at House of Glunz, Chicago’s oldest wine store, easily filled my request-read more-
A blend of 50% Montepulciano, 25% Aglianico and 25% Sangiovese, the first two from Suisun Valley. Mikael Wargin fermented the three varieties as separate lots using different yeast strains. He then blended and aged them a total of 8 months-read more-
Grown in Carneros and blended with about 10% Sangiovese, started with aromas of pepper, a mélange of oak and dill with briary, jammy fruit. Lighter in the mouth, the flavors were dominated by oak. The wine finished with light red-read more-