Blog Index
Richard Betts
Playing It Safe in Italy
Posted: 03:24 PM ET, 05/28/08
I have recently returned from another really lovely trip to Italy. We spent more than a week in the Val d’Orcia, which lies to the south of Montalcino and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. All in all, it was a really welcome break and super time spent with family and good friends. Read more
James Laube
Reflecting on Different Interpretations in Film and Wine
Posted: 01:31 PM ET, 05/28/08
Filmmaker Sydney Pollack was one of the first artists I heard discuss his works in person—what he intended to portray on the big screen and how they were interpreted.
Pollack, who died yesterday, directed and starred in many great films, among them They Shoot Horses Don’t They, Jeremiah Johnson, Tootsie and Out of Africa. Read more
Kim Marcus
Douro Thunderclap
Posted: 12:37 PM ET, 05/28/08
The descent into Porto began with a bolt of lightning and a thunderclap. I know that airplanes can survive lightning strikes, but I still wonder. It’s an inauspicious beginning to my third trip to the Douro Valley of Portugal.
I’m curious as to how many of you have tried a Douro red. Read more
James Laube
Shiners Are a Secret Part of the Wine Business
Posted: 02:28 PM ET, 05/27/08
Shiners are a big part of the wine business. But most people have never heard of them, even though they drink shiners all the time. That’s because shiners get a complete makeover and these otherwise often undistinguished wines are disguised by their labels. Read more
Harvey Steiman
There Won't Be Another
Posted: 12:37 PM ET, 05/27/08
When word reached me in Australia that Robert Mondavi had finally succumbed to the ravages of time, I lifted a glass or two to his memory with a few Australian friends. But I held off writing about him, in part because I was traveling, in part because I wanted the news to sink in first. Read more
Harvey Steiman
Hunter Sémillon, Part Two
Posted: 11:11 AM ET, 05/23/08
In my continuing effort to understand Hunter Sémillon (see Hunter Sémillon, Part One, previously), I sat down with winemaker Phil Ryan to taste through two of the region's most venerable examples, from Mount Pleasant. The winery makes several levels of Sémillon, and we were focusing on the top tier: Elizabeth, a blend of the better lots from several sandy-soil vineyards, and Lovedale, a single-vineyard wine on calcareous soil from vines planted in 1946. Read more
Harvey Steiman
Hunter Sémillon, Part One
Posted: 11:51 AM ET, 05/22/08
"Enjoy your rusty rainwater," said the South Australian winemaker. I had just told him I was off to Sydney, where I was planning long vertical tastings with the two leading producers of Hunter Valley Sémillon. South Australia doesn't quite understand a wine like Hunter Sémillon, which is the polar opposite of South Australia's big Barossa Shiraz, heady McLaren Vale Grenache, vigorous Clare Valley Riesling and mouthfilling Adelaide Hills Chardonnay. Read more
James Suckling
Thoughts on 2005 Barbaresco and Nebbiolo from the Tasting Room
Posted: 11:01 AM ET, 05/22/08
I am impressed. I have to say it. But I have tasted most of the top 2005 Barbarescos, and the wines are much better than I anticipated. I don’t see a lot of difference between 2004 and 2005. The two vintages produced aromatic and delicious Nebbiolos with lovely perfumes of ripe fruit and flowers and refined palates of strawberries, fine tannins and fresh acidity. Read more
James Molesworth
A Sit Down with Paul Hobbs
Posted: 10:00 AM ET, 05/22/08
I sat down earlier this week with Paul Hobbs, the California-based winemaker whose eponymous California wines rate highly with my colleague James Laube. Hobbs is a busy man, as he works both sides of the equator.
Hobbs has found a second home in South America, where he wears many different hats: He consults with a number of Chilean wineries, including Viña San Pedro, Odfjell and MontGras, and while in Argentina he works with Bodega del Desierto in Patagonia and the newly created Finca Las Divas in Mendoza. Read more
Maynard Keenan
Vino Las Vegas, Part 3: The Aftermath
Posted: 06:20 PM ET, 05/21/08
Fate smiled upon me and even though I gave away my Wine Spectator Grand Tour ticket, I was able to attend the Las Vegas event. We moved the Tempranillo planting to May 1st and 2nd, rather than the 3rd, due to an almanac miscalculation. Read more
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