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Category: Wine Review

Ramey Wine Cellars: Another Level

Ramey Wine Cellars recently hosted me and my friends Amber & David, @winetraveleats Allison Levine, @plsthepalate, and my new friend Erin Hunt Moore @erinelisa. Over the past couple of days, I have been listening to my recording of the tasting, and it brought me right back into the tasting room. Ramey is family-owned and operated. It was such an enormous treat tasting 5 of the current 2018 Single Vineyard Chardonnay releases along with their 2017 RRV Pinot Noir, the 2015 Rodgers Creek Vineyard Syrah, the 2015 Annum Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2011 Annum Cabernet Sauvignon. We tasted nine wines. In…

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Under $13 Wine Challenge

A fellow beverage writer and consultant, Justin Koury of Bevfluence, put out the challenge of finding and tasting at least 5-6 wines that sell for under $13.00. This sounded like fun. So, we were definitely up for this challenge. Several other blogger friends also accepted the challenge. I was looking forward to what we each found. Each of us was assigned a different retailer that are regional or national chains. Additionally, I added a requirement to not buy national grocery store brands like Barefoot, Cupcake, Apothic, and others. Bottles, Mount Pleasant, is a 15,000 square foot “beverage superstore.”  There are…

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Oregon Wine – It’s In My Glass

I used to drink a lot of Oregon Pinot Noir back in the day. And then I lost interest. Either my palate changed, the wines that I was drinking changed, or perhaps both. But I completely stopped drinking Oregon until my WWET Willamette Valley experience.  And now, I thank my lucky stars that I had this opportunity. That trip re-introduced me to the region with a fresh set of eyes and ears- not to mention a more educated palate. After the trip, I have continued my wine tasting journey of Oregon wine. As such, you will hear a lot more…

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White Wine of Note: Albariño

Should I ask most general public wine drinkers, their favorite white wine, one answer will undoubtedly be, I only drink red wine. Although I used to be that person, it puts a frown on my face because I now know what those red only drinkers are missing. The next four replies will be, in no particular order, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling. And the frown will still be hanging on my face because there are so many others that make beautiful, affordable white wines. Janice Robinson, one of the most widely known wine writers in the world, lists…

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Pinot Gouges from Native Flora

Before we get to the Pinot Gouges (pronounced pea-no gooj-zz), allow me to share. As you can tell from the subject matter from my blog posts since March, we have been writing mostly about wine as I have not been cooking, baking, or otherwise doing more than boiling a hot dog or melting some cheese on Dorritos. Clearly, the latter two listed are not blog-worthy. In contrast, others are cooking up a storm and creating like never before. I am microwaving precooked bacon or precooked hamburgers. It seems that the stress of the pandemic has affected the creative, adventurous part…

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Balverne Wines – Summer Wines

But before I talk about these two Balverne wines, I want to talk about tasting notes and their value or lack of value to a wine consumer. Within the wine writing community, you will find tasting notes widely used to talk about wine. Many wineries also put their tasting notes on the technical sheet used for “trade and media.” These notes can allow for writing about the wine without ever tasting it. They may also provide insight into the wine for a wine buyer. Although I do not know any buyers that buy wine without tasting it first. So what…

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Summer Season of Rosé 2020

Summer Season of Rosé 2020 and I love it! This summer has been a real bummer. Travel is restricted. Face masks hide smiles. Eating at restaurants is just not the same without the hustle and bustle. But there is one thing still happening – Summer Rosé Season. The ‘Rona has put a kibosh on much of summer life that seems like it will not end. But no matter what, there is always summer rosé. And this season, we once again have a full refrigerator of just these wines. As a refresher: Rosé wine is primarily* made from red wine grapes…

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Smith Madrone Vineyards and Winery

Legendary Boutique Napa Valley Winery I first met Stuart Smith, Founder and Managing Partner of Smith-Madrone Winery at WWET 2018 in Napa Valley. He was a presenting winemaker at a couple of seminars sharing his POV, his wines, and his history in the Valley. If you are from Napa, I will venture that you know Stu, as he is known. After the conference, Gary and I stuck around for a couple more days. We intended to make our way up Spring Mountain, where the winery resides. But the road can be treacherous during inclement weather, and the clouds were not…

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