I have a confession. I had never tasted Madeira until now. Oh. My. Goddess. I am in love with this fortified wine. I have missed out on so much, but trust me when I say I will make up for it now. Madeira – The Island, A Very Brief History You can not talk about the beverage until you talk about the island. So, the first thing to know is that Madeira is an autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago comprising four islands about 300 miles off the northwest coast of Africa (Morocco). It was found uninhabited in…
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Since 2019, Gary and I have worked with some fantastic wineries in Napa, Sonoma, Santa Barbara, Lodi, California, and Willamette Valley in Oregon. We host tastings and do what we can to promote small direct-to-consumer wineries. This past year, we learned that two of our favorites have or are closing, and we want to say goodbye. So, we wish these two wineries a fond farewell: Methven Family Vineyards I met Laura Lee, the then-general manager of Methven Family Vineyards, in 2019 at the Gamay seminar for the Willamette Valley Wine Writer’s Education Tour. We immediately bonded over their Rosé of…
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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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My sister went on a hiking vacation with some friends in Serbia. I know! While not a wine drinker or any alcohol (she is allergic), she still brought me home a bottle of wine. The group went to a wine tasting, and so she bought Gary and me a bottle of Živanović Probus. This was the favorite of the group, so my sister went with their recommendation. She told me it cost the equivalent of $7.00. Not a monetary risk for sure, but she still hoped we’d like it. It was delicious and perfect for the warm spring day we…
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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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The last winery visit during our Sicily adventure was to Caruso e Minini in Marsala. This is a relatively young winery that was created when fourth-generation winemaker Stefano Caruso partnered with Northern Italian marketer extraordinaire Mario Minini to create this brand that now exports mostly indigenous Sicilian varieties, including Grillo, Catarratto, Grecanico, Inzolia, Zibibbo, Nero d’Avola, Frappato and Perricone as well as some international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Merlot. Today, the company is helmed by Stefano’s two daughters, Giovanna and Rosanna. I am a huge fan of their wines. In addition to the Perricone, I have enjoyed…
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The Weekly Pour is the culmination of the micro posts on Strong Coffee to Red Wine. Each week subscribers will be notified via an email that posts are available to read and enjoy. This does not apply to folks using another RRS feeder. Contesa dei Venti 2020 Vittoria Doc Nero D’Avola Sicilia Last October in Sicily, on our visit to Donnafugata, we had the good fortune to have Tommaso Bellisola, the Senior Hospitality Manager at the Vittoria tasting room, lead our tasting. His depth of knowledge and his passion for Donnafugata wines was a perfect match for our needs. Contesa…
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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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