We figured we’d follow up last week’s review of Australian Pinot Noir – a seemingly unusual red varietal for a region typically characterized by warm weather – by selecting for today’s Weekday Wine a bottling of an unusual white varietal from the same place: Riesling.  
Much to our liking, the 2007 Pewsey Vale Eden Valley Riesling was light, crisp (though mostly toward the back […]

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This is the kind of Pinot Noir that we love, with its gorgeous, light intensity, ruby color that masks a hefty body and bright, earthy aromatics.  The nose reminded us a lot of Beaujolais Nouveaux, with its unmistakable wet forest and berry scents, but that likeness ended when we sipped and felt the impressive, full-sized texture and palate-cleansing burst of acidity in our mouths.
Frankly, […]

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On Sunday, we visited a winery in the Stag’s Leap district of Napa whose Cabernets were out of this world — we’re talking layers and layers of interesting scents, including coffee, tobacco, chocolate, caramel, smoke, and molasses.  The catch was, of course, a hugely steep price tag, which meant that we would return home empty-handed. 
On the bright […]

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This week’s Weekend Wine comes from Barbera d’Asti, which is located in the northwestern corner of Italy in Piedmont. 
In our glasses, we found in the Icardi Barbera d’Asti Tabaren 2005 a mixture of dark cherry and chocolate aromas and a beautiful ruby color.  Though the wine was very light on acidity, it had just enough tannin to sustain good structure. 
We liked, in particular, the mellowed and filling mouthfeel, […]

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We’re huge fans of Syrah these days.  Recently, we drank a privately produced bottle of an Israeli version, and it was off-the-charts delicious.  That prompted us to seek out more of the varietal for today’s posting, this time from France. 
Why France, you ask? Well, we’ve found that Syrah from warmer climates in the $10-$20 price range have a tendency to be a […]

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When we opened our bottle of Le Roc Cuvée Don Quichotte 2002 – a 50-50 mix of Syrah and Négrette – the other night, it took us about a split second to recognize the scent of one of our favorite foods: black olive.  So that had my interest piqued from the get-go.
What delighted us even more, though, was when the aromas emanating from our […]

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The Ercavio Blanco Mas Que 2006 is yet another wine that’s perfectly suited to drinking chilled on a hot summer (or late spring!) afternoon, which seems appropriate during a week when the temperatures are quite a bit above normal here and in the Northeast U.S. – New York, Philly, and D.C., we feel for you!
The Ercavio, which hails from the La […]

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Yesterday was darn near perfect as June afternoons go.  An old colleague and friend invited us to watch the San Francisco Giants take on the New York Mets at Pac Bell Park.  Our car’s thermometer read 66 degrees as we drove over to the stadium, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. 
The only hiccup of the […]

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