First, Prosecco is a place that the grape Galera is named after and I didn’t really go to Prosecco. I went to Conegliano Valdobbiadene DOCG. Sound confusing… Yes it is! Ok, so recap is. Prosecco is a village within the DOC growing area of Prosecco. But everyone calls the wine Prosecco which is what they used to call the grape Galera but now you can only call the wine that. Even more confusing is that […]
Jerez the Region Jerez is located in Southern Spain in the Provence of Andalusia. Jerez is the name of the city that gives it’s name to the style of wine Marco de Jerez is the official designation of the region . Jerez is a 15 minute drive inland for the Atlantic Coast. The wine region is made up of the “Sherry Triangle” this being the cities of Jerez -Largest and most inland- El Puerto de […]
I strongly believe that if you are a wine professional or think you want to be, you should know what it is like to drag a bucket of grapes up and down steep hills at the crack of dawn. To respect the product and the people who make it we as Sommelier, buyers, waiters and wine lovers should understand the love that must go into making wine at a small estate. I asked my team […]
Washington State is a unique place to produce wine. Much of the world if asked would think of the only the rainy, green Seattle area; home of Amazon, Microsoft, killer whales and ferry boats. However the majority of the State of Washington is more like Southern Spain. A dry and arid high dessert, rolling hill and grass covered plateaus. This is cowboy land! Think of the scenery form an old western movie and you have […]
Vermouth is amazing! Good for you, interesting and possible to make at home, even if you live in a city. I plan to collect the herbs on my jogs to make my own local Vermouth using wine and herbs from the Rhein.
This Summer I had the pleasure of joining the Douro Boys, a group of like minded quality Port and still wine producers on a trip through the Douro Valley of Portugal. This is a region of epic beauty and rugged steep hills, think Mosel Valley but really really dry! It is breathtaking how man has shaped such a demanding place, the river and the banks. The river was widened and made calm and free of […]
Le Soula – Terroir d’altitude I came across Trigone at a shop called Vino Versum on Kaiserswerther Str. in Dusseldorf. The owner Mathias also imports and sells wine restaurants. We chatted about what he imports and where his wines come from, and he is a big fan of older Bordeaux and Southern France. That is how I ended up with this bottle of Trigone.
When it comes to American wine Quilceda Creek is iconic, receiving insane recognition from the worlds best know wine writers. The Golitzin family began making wine at home in 1978. The winery is located in the outskirts of Snohomish a rural town on the western side of the Cascade Mountains in Washington State. The grapes are grown on the Eastern side of the mountains in the dry semi dessert landscape. I was fortunate to visit […]
Bacon and blueberries! With a little fresh thyme and black pepper jump intensely out of the glass and straight into the nose. Lively acidity and moderate tannins. This wine is super fresh Syrah with a lovely anise finish. Great with BBQ steaks on a hot day with a slight chill on it.
Made in the classically Tuscan town of Panzano, an area rich with galestro, the limestone rich marl soil. Candialle is a small estate at 35 ha, only 11.5 of them planted with vines. The rest is forest and olive trees. They work closely with Spevis the local organic viticulture research group and local wine making organizations to help support organic viticulture at independent wineries. The winery was founded in the early 2000’s by and international […]