2013 AXR Winery Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley
I received this sample in November, 2017, as part of a large, unsolicited shipment of California Cabernets made by consulting enologist Jean Hoefliger. The…
2019 Ciavolich Fosso Cancelli Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
Ciavolich’s Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is hand-harvested, de-stemmed, crushed, and given 24 to 36 hours of maceration to earn color. Winemaking, with ambient cultures, follows the…
Reading List: January 16, 2022
Seed saving, heritage foods, regenerative organic agriculture, and who owns the term “Gruyère”
Terranoble Carménère CA1 Andes and CA2 Costa
Terranoble’s Andes and Costa bottlings are part of an experiment to produce wines that showcase terroir. The Andes bottling should be warmer and friendlier,…
2019 Breaking Bread Grenache Redwood Valley Mendocino County
Winemaker Erik Miller sources Grenache from grower Alvin Tollini in Redwood Valley. The gravelly site, planted in 2002, is dry-farmed. At the winery, the…
2020 Birichino Vermentino Mahoney Ranch Vineyard Los Carneros Napa Valley
Birichino’s Vermentino, sourced from Mahoney Ranch in Los Carneros, is shiny yellow with a quiet perfume of laurel, grass, and lime peel (this melange…
Reading List: January 9, 2022
Food, wine, farming, tradition, modernity — and how we talk about it all
2020 Olivastri Marcantonio Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo
Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo is not quite red, not quite rosato, and takes well to a chill. For their bottling, Olivastri ferments the grapes with temperature…
2019 Flowers Vineyards and Winery Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast
The Flowers Sonoma Coast Pinot noir is fermented with ambient cultures, and the wine spends ten months in French oak, 18 percent new, before…
2019 Flowers Vineyards and Winery Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Flowers’s Sonoma Coast Chardonnay is sourced from a mix of vineyards, including the estate’s own Camp Meeting Ridge. The wine spends 11 Months French…
2019 Montinore Estate Pinot Gris Willamette Valley
Montinore farms organically and biodynamically. Fermentation for this wine is conducted in stainless steel with a mix of cultures, some inoculated. The wine ages…
Gosset to Ring in the New Year
On a sweeping tour of France in 2017, I had the good chance to visit Gosset at their gracious facility in Épernay, tasting their…