The bright yellow of mustard flowers and the bright white of calcareous earth brighten a vineyard in Santa Barbara County. Uncommon in California, calcareous earth is rich in calcium carbonate, the primary mineral in limestone, which many believe to offer an ideal set of growing conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. INSTRUCTIONS:Download this image by right-clicking on the image and …

Hello, and welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I post them to my magazine on Flipboard, but for those of you who aren’t Flipboard-inclined, here’s everything I’ve strained out of the wine-related muck for the week. Luciano Sandrone 1947–2023Walter Speller remembers a great of Piemonte. Why no fame for …

  You can access the wines that I reviewed as a text wine list with my complete tasting notes, scores, food matches. If you are a Paid Member, you can add my wine picks to your custom shopping list with one click and access that list on your smartphone to find the stock for each wine in your closest LCBO store. You can also see …

Vineyards in Moldova. Moldova is at last realizing its wine growing potential. Jancis Robinson gives an overview on her website. In Meininger’s, Felicity Carter profiles Chinedu Rita Rosa, who went from working in wine in Nigeria, to business in Bordeaux. Now she is using her experience to help Nigerian wine importers and European producers connect with one another. California winemakers …

To Kalon vineyard To Kalon, a vineyard regarded as California’s crown jewel thanks to its enduring renown for producing world-class, top-scoring Cabernet Sauvignon, has secured its legendary status with organic certification. Blue-chip producers such as Robert Mondavi, Schrader Cellars, To Kalon Vineyard Company and Cliff Lede have all cemented their reputations on To Kalon fruit. But as iconic as they …

Marco Caprai We’ve had the opportunity to taste several vintages of Arnaldo Caprai’s Montefalco wines over the past year in Montefalco, Seattle, and Washington DC. These tastings as well as those of other producers lead us to conclude that this estate, led today by Marco Caprai, shown here, is the region’s torch-bearer for the Sagrantino grape. Textile empresario Arnaldo Caprai …

Premium luxury vodkas The arrival of premium vodka can be traced back to the 1990s. At the time the overall popularity of vodka had gone stratospheric. But it was time to raise the stakes. Led by new brands such as Belvedere and Grey Goose, these luxury spirits came in sleek, eye-catching bottles with high price-tags. And they captured the imagination …

Edinburgh Castle. Ideas for pairing wines with haggis on Burns Night: Syrah / Shiraz Shiraz-Grenache blends Viognier Beaujolais Cru (Gamay)  German Spätburgunder (Pinot Noir) Chilean País There are a few different avenues to explore if you’re looking to pair wines with haggis, which sees its star quality celebrated at Burns Night supper with the traditional reading of Robert Burns’ poem, …

To Kalon vineyard To Kalon, regarded as California’s crown jewel with its enduring reputation for producing world-class, top-scoring Cabernet Sauvignon, secures its celebrity status in Napa Valley. Superstars like Robert Mondavi, Schrader Cellars, To Kalon Vineyard Company and Cliff Lede have all built stellar international reputations firmly on To Kalon fruit. Iconic and historic, yet always open to improvement. The last …

Supple and vibrant, with fresh raspberry and pomegranate flavors laced with appealing notes of black tea and underbrush. Finishes with refined tannins. Drink now through 2029. 6,037 cases made. Source : 405a1e87b4895839350a486044f67044

An easy-drinking red, round and creamy on the palate, with a well-spiced mix of cassis, baked black fig, delicate dried thyme and smoke. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz and Petit Verdot. Drink now. 35,089 cases made, 1,313 cases imported. Source : b802a2dffedd29f5cebd99054169a5de