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Category: White wine

Laura – Make the Drive to Summerville

 Charleston is a food town, so you do not have to go far to get great food. Summerville is only 30 miles from where we live, but it might as well be Iowa. We very rarely ever go there. Summerville is a suburb; like most suburbs, there is no reason to go if you live elsewhere. That is until Laura opened. In the Spring of 2022, French Master Chef Nico Romo opened Laura, a rustic Italian restaurant celebrating his maternal grandmother- Laura’s heritage, culture, and foods. This is his third restaurant in the area, The first two being Nico in…

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Ketcham Estate – A Lunch Tasting

Allie Ketcham comes to Charleston. We meet for lunch and sample three wines. Recently, Gary and I had the opportunity to meet up with Allie Ketcham, owner of Ketcham Estate—a woman-owned winery with a female winemaker in the Russian River Valley. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ketcham Estate, a very brief history Mark Ketcham’s (1955-2020) dream of owning a vineyard and making wine began in the year 2000 with the purchase of 17.5 acres (13 planted to vine) in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Four years later, he founded Ketcham Estate. Mark was a hard-core fan…

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More, More, More… WIMG!

… how do you like it? More, more, more. Well, that is a throwback to the disco days of my youth, 1976. When it comes to sharing wine, it’s always more. Corte Gardoni, Bianco di Custoza Greoto 2021, Veneto, Italy This barrel-blended white wine from Corte Gardoni is scrumptious. This northeastern wine region hangs north over the city of Venice and spreads west just past Verona. Well-known wines from this region include Prosecco, Soave, Valpolicella, and others. I chose this wine for an Italian tasting I did in June. This white blend starts with 40% Gargenega (the lone grape in…

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WIMG – July – What’s been in My Glass!

Since the last wine tasting we hosted on June 10th, we have been tasting, sampling, and drinking a variety of wines. It is a tough job, but someone has to do it. So wimg? Let’s dig in, shall we? WIMG (If you forget, this means:  What’s in my glass?)   Celler del Roere Vermell 2019, Valencia, Spain Pablo Calatayud of Celler del Roere transformed an ancient wine cellar on their property into a gold mine. Centuries-old amphorae remain embedded in the earth, and after being cleaned up and some repaired, they can still hold and age wine the way it…

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Often, Not A Lot… #1

I don’t drink a lot… I drink often. Part One New Discoveries T. Berkley Wines from Calistoga, CA, makes wine from two grape varieties, Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc. Ophelia is his entry-level Cab Franc retails for about $39.99. Sadly 2019 vintage, as well as the 2020 vintage, are already sold out. But 2021 is hitting shelves now. It has only been “in bottle” since August, so I might be inclined to buy and sit on it for about a year as it will only get better and better. The T. Berkley 2019 Oak Knoll Cabernet Franc was just released,…

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Chardonnay – Both Maligned & Loved

As one of the world’s most popular wine grapes, I feel bad for Chardonnay. Opinions of the wine are intense and quite polarizing thanks to California winemakers’ style choice back in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wines, back then, were flamboyantly big, bawdy, and voluptuous. They were heavily oaked, and in the case of Chardonnay, they were also heavily “buttered.”  Some wine critics praised the choice, so the crowds dutifully followed. But these wines were the antithesis of the more restrained Burgundian style, and that’s when the maligning began. As the California trend continued, sadly, the market was flooded…

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Rick’s Pick – Wine of the Week

This post, Rick’s Pick – Wine of the Week, is something new that I am trying to get me back to posting more often. So, let’s begin. Over the New Year holiday, a new friend brought a bottle of 2020 Champalou Vouvray to the festivities. After my first sip, I knew I had to buy this wine and keep it in my rotation. This post will also be a mini-lesson for those unfamiliar with French wine regions and bottle labels. A Bit About Vouvray Wine from Vouvray is made from the Chenin Blanc grape. Vouvray is an AOC (appellation d’origine…

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Congratulations Acquiesce!

Wow! Congratulations to Sue and Rodney Tipton of Acquiesce Winery and Vineyards for your honors and awards at the 2022 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The world’s largest wine competition of North American wines. The competition was held earlier this month, and Acquiesce Winery & Vineyards walked away with an astounding array of achievements. This year, well over 5,000 wines entered from the USA, Canada, and Mexico (who knew that wine is made in Mexico?) Not only is it the largest in North America, but it is also highly regarded by wine professionals around the world. Wine Competition? Just what…

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