* New Ownership * As most of my Charleston following know, Gary and my journey creating this blog, our in-person and virtual wine tastings, and now our wine concierge services started when Gary began his three-year stint working at The Wine Shop of Charleston. We recommended and sent many of you there to purchase wine. If Gary was there when you came in to shop, or it was one of the previous owner’s good days, all was grand. But if it wasn’t, many of you had an unfortunate encounter with her that left you bewildered or annoyed. Thus you found…
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I ended the last post here. If you missed the previous post, you could get caught up here. If not, let’s get on with the weekend getaway. Burntshirt Vineyard – Our Second Stop Since we went to a brand new winery first, it only made sense to go to an older established winery next. Burntshirt Vineyards is one of the older wineries in this region of western North Carolina and currently holds the distinction of being the 2020 North Carolina Vineyard of the Year. Burntshirt Vineyards got its name from Burntshirt Mountain. According to their website, “Mountain lore has it…
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Since the beginning of the pandemic, we, like everyone else, had to cancel all of our vacations, work trips, and weekend getaways. It did not matter where we were going. It just mattered that we were getting out of town. But for months which feels like years, we stayed home for the benefit of society as much as for ourselves. This past weekend we were supposed to be on a New York City getaway with seven friends to wine, dine, and see a couple of Broadway shows. That, of course, did not happen. We have been diligent about mask-wearing, hand…
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New Fall Releases from Acquiesce Winery: A Virtual Tasting Thursday, September 17, 2020 * 6:30pm – 8:00pm EDT Order must be placed by August 30th at 6pm EDT Please join Rick Dean and Gary Link along with a special guest appearance by Sue Tipton, the winemaker, and co-owner of Acquiesce Winery and Vineyard. This is a virtual tasting that any white wine drinker must attend and experience new wines that will make your palate explode with joy. Featuring these four world-class, estate-grown Rhône style wines with amuse bouche pairings About the winery Acquiesce Winery located in the Lodi Appellation…
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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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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 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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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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