I think sours will be the next IPA! There I said it. And not a moment too soon (pretty sick of IPAs)! Ever had a sour? It’ll definitely be one of your more memorable firsts. Funky! Some of you will stop after your first or first five, pucker, make a face, and never venture into…
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The 2013 Wente Louis Mel Sauvignon Blanc is sourced from Wente’s estate-grown “Louis Mel” vineyard in California’s Central Coast (for you specific folks, that’s the southern part of Livermore Valley). Who the hell’s Louis Mel? Well he was this French dude with two first names that came to the U.S. in the 1870’s. Instead of becoming…
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The 2013 Wente Riverbank Riesling is sourced from Wente’s estate-grown Riverbank vineyard in the “Arroyo Seco Cone”. This funnel-shaped geological anomaly in the Arroyo Seco appellation was formed by eons of its eponymous creek/river flow cutting a deep ravine, the southern edge of which enjoys deep rocky soils where Riesling thrives. The significance of Wente…
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Antxiola (pronounced ahn-cho-la) comes to us from the Errasti brothers, owners of Bodegas Zudugarai in Spain. It’s a Txakoli, a very dry, slightly-sparkling, hard-to-pronounce white wine (it’s pronounced chock-o-lee) made with the Hondarrabi grape. Antxiola Hondarrabi 2012 is made with both types of Hondarrabi – 90% Zuri (Basque for white) and 10% Beltza (Basque for…
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I had a meeting at one of my favorite Chicago wine bars recently – BIN36 – and I wanted something “outside the box” – not my usual reds or whites or sparklings or rosés. I said “bring me something weird”! Enoch Shully, BIN36’s beverage guru, did not disappoint. He brought me something from his native…
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From the old farm-house (La Vieille Ferme) to your table comes this rose-colored, almost neon pink dry rosé from Jean Pierre and François Perrin (of the “5 generations of winemaking” Famille Perrin) – the La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2013. The nose is farm stand raspberries. Expecting a sweet sip? Nope – dry! Opening up with…
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Yes, another celebrity wine! Everyone from Lady Gaga and Fergie to Drew Barrymore and AC/DC has their own wine these days. Most wine drinkers are a little skeptical of wines that are produced with a celebrity’s name attached to them. And rightfully so when the association is just that – name only. Now it’s Brad…
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