View of the Valley from Spring Mountain We’ve been reviewing Stu and Charles Smith’s wines for some time.  Last year’s article reviewed wines mostly from the 2018 vintage and also discussed how the Smith family fought the Glass Fire of 2020. You may wish to link to last year’s article for more on the vineyard and its history.  In this …

What’s New at Napa Valley’s Dry Creek Kitchen? Over the two-decade run of Charlie Palmer’s Best of Award of Excellence winner Dry Creek Kitchen, the Sonoma County restaurant has seen a few touch-ups to its dining room in downtown Healdsburg, Calif., but nothing like the facelift that debuted this fall. Among the noteworthy transformations is the relocation of the wine …

The post Big Sights Set On Big Skies (Favorites From the 2023 CO Governor’s Cup Wine Competition) appeared first on 1 Wine Dude. As I gear up for the 2023 Wine Future Conference, here’s a quick-hit post to highlight my favorites from the recent 2023 Colorado Governor’s Cup Wine Competition, at which I once again had the pleasure of judging …

Pfalz producer Frank John (seated) with wife Gerlinde, son Sebastian and daughter Dorothea (poster). Sekt, but the serious version Sylvia Wu Sekt – Germany’s term for sparkling wine – has long held a reputation as a bulk-produced, easy-drinking category. Though this may be true for the vast majority, the real interest lies in the proportion (said by the German Sekt …

In the vines with Thierry Navarre, pioneer of local varieties in St Chinian’s cru of Roquebrun. St-Chinian 2021 vintage rating:  4 / 5 St-Chinian 2020 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5 If there’s one thing to remember about St-Chinian (beyond the fact that its reds, and increasingly whites, are of exceptional quality), it would be the two terroir heavyweights of the …

Co?rdoba, with its great mosque dominating the city, has no less than four UNESCO World Heritage sites. It’s a global icon, and the bars that cluster its streets serve wines from bottles labelled ‘Fino’, as well as ‘Amontillado’, ‘Oloroso’, ‘Palo Cortado’ and ‘Pedro Xime?nez’. Clearly, we are drinking Sherry then… Well no, not at all, for we are in DO …

Faugères vineyards, looking northwest towards the village of La Liquière, and beyond into the foothills of the Haut-Languedoc Regional Nature Park and eventually the Massif Central. Faugères 2021 vintage rating: 4 / 5 Faugères 2020 vintage rating: 4.5 / 5 In the foothills of the Cévennes mountains, with vineyards dotted across dips and slopes between 150m and 400m altitude, Faugères …

For centuries, Florence has been a magnet for travellers from all over the world – and while most come for its unrivalled Renaissance architecture, few leave without embracing the wine scene. The connection between the two is surprisingly deep-rooted, Tuscan wine producers having financed, built or owned some of the grandest palazzi of the historic centre. Florence’s stunning 13th-century cathedral, …

There’s a sturdiness to this white that supports the plump core of green pear, peach, verbena and warm hay flavors. Broad and modern, this is very well-built and serious, with pretty perfume, fresh and dried flowers, lemon oil and pickled ginger accents on the palate. Generous oak is well-integrated, with just a kiss of salted butter at the close. Drink …

The core of this rich and succulent red oozes with ripe huckleberry and marionberry flavors that show hints of sage, dried bay leaf, cigar box and spices, with plenty of white pepper and fresh cracked black pepper on the finish. The tannins are firm and muscular, but never get in the way of the rich flavors. Drink now through 2033. …