During a recent dinner on Log Haven restaurant’s beautiful patio, my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful bottle of wine to complement the spectacular views and cuisine there. Surrounded by waterfalls, streams, mountains, wildflowers and more, we selected a bottle of Marjan Simcic Pinot Grigio 2020 ($19.18) from the restaurant’s excellent wine list. Marjan Simcic makes wonderful … [Read more...]
A Dissonant Wine
California’s Blackbird Vineyards is primarily and justifiably known for its outstanding red wine portfolio. In particular, the winery’s world-class, award winning Merlot, which has been lauded by top wine writers such as Stephen Tanzer, Robert Parker and James Laube. The Oak Knoll District - Napa’s fourteenth AVA (American Viticultural Areas) - is similar in soil composition … [Read more...]
A Telleira Godello: A Bright, Refreshing, and a Vibrant White Wine
My wife often enjoys purchasing wines that she knows little or nothing about, based on interesting wine bottle labels. That’s how she came to bring home a Spanish Godello wine called A Telleira last week. She loved the quirky label. As it turned out, we both loved the wine, as well. Godello is a white grape variety grown in Spain’s northwest, particularly in Galicia. Wines … [Read more...]
Quinta Da Boa Esperança Branco
My wife gets a kick out of trying out wines she knows nothing about, so this week she came home with a bottle of white wine from Portugal called Quinta Da Boa Esperança Branco 2018 ($13.99). Portugal is best known, of course, for its Port, and also for its popular Vinho Verde. White wines from Portugal don’t take up a large portion of the wine market, but are increasingly … [Read more...]
White Wine You Will Fall in Love With at the First Taste
My loving wife likes to surprise me by bringing home bottles of wine that I’ve never heard of to try. And, she knows that while I like all Rhone wines from France, I’m especially fond of the white wines from that region, such as Châteauneuf-du-Pape blanc. Well, a domestic (California) Rhone-style white wine caught her eye at the wine store - a wine called The First Date, … [Read more...]
A perfect and Inexpensive French White Wine for Mother’s Day
If you are looking for a very tasty, but inexpensive French white wine to sip on the patio or perhaps enjoy with Mother’s Day dinner, I’ve got a great one for you. On sale this month in Utah for a mere $9.99 (normally $11.99) is JP. Chenet Reserve Chardonnay-Viognier, from the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. The wine comes in an unusually shaped bottle, baptized … [Read more...]
CVNE Rioja Monopole 2020
The Rioja wine region of Spain is especially known for its red wines. But, with 567 wineries, 14,800 grape growers, and the largest number of wine barrels in the world, Rioja makes more than just its famous tempranillo-based red wines. Indeed, the most widely planted white wine grape grown in Spain is called Viura in Rioja, and is also known in other places as Macebo, … [Read more...]
Prisoner Wine Company Blindfold
The Prisoner Wine Company is a Northern California wine producer that has always intrigued me. That’s because they make such intriguing wines. But I always find their marketing and their commitment to social justice fascinating. According to the winemakers, “Our brand name and namesake wine, The Prisoner, were inspired by the classic sketch Le Petit Prisonier by 19th … [Read more...]
Valley of the Moon Pinot Blanc-Viognier
I really love wines made with Viognier, a grape varietal that lends gorgeous floral aromas and flavors to wine. Wines that have Viognier in them - either a lot or a little - typically offer up perfumed scents of fruits like honeysuckle, peach, tangerine, mango and apricot. Recently I came across a very nice wine that blends Viognier and Pinot Blanc grapes from Sonoma County: … [Read more...]
Salwey Pinot Gris 2016
Near the top of the list of my favorite wine varietals is Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Grigio or Grauburgunder). The grape gets its name from its typically grayish-blue color. I’m especially fond of the slightly spicy versions of Pinot Gris that are plentiful in Alsace and, to a lesser extent, in Germany. These are edgy wines with lots of minerality. Recently, I came across a … [Read more...]