The Barolo Zone by the numbers
The raw data presented in Masnaghetti's Barolo MGA provides an opportunity for a more detailed comparative analysis of the Barolo subzones. I attempt such an analysis in this post.MethodologyThe...
View ArticleElvio Cogno's Barolo Ravera Bricco Pernice and Vietti's Barolo Ravera: The...
The Antonio Galloni celebration of Barolo is held annually in New York City and consists of (i) a gala dinner and (ii) a Masterclass tasting of 15 Barolos on the day after the dinner. This year's...
View ArticleAzelia and Massolino: The Nuances of Margheria Barolo
Friday night of the La Festa del Barolo is normally a rollicking affair where Barolo lovers and producers share their favorite vintages of (for many) their favorite wine. Saturday is a more sober...
View ArticleCeretto, Brovia, Roagna, Cordero di Montezemolo, and Poderi Colla: Barolos...
The Antonio Galloni celebration of Barolo is held annually in New York City and consists of (i) a gala dinner and (ii) a Masterclass tasting of 15 Barolos on the day after the dinner. This year's...
View ArticleTasting the wines of Dougos Winery (Larissa, Greece) with Yiannis Karakasis...
I have visited, and written about, a fair number of North Greece wineries so when Yiannis Karakasis MW invited me to join him at a Dougos Winery wine-tasting dinner in New York City, I jumped at the...
View ArticleBruno Giacosa: Memorializing the "Maestro of Nebbiolo" with attendance at a...
I had never met Bruno Giacosa so, on his death, I could not pen touching and heartfelt tributes such as done by Laura Seal (Decanter), Antonio Galloni (Vinous), Jeremy Parzen (DoBianchi), Bruce...
View ArticleBruno Giacosa's Falletto di Serralunga: A tasting of selected vintages (La...
The announcement of Bruno Giacosa's death hit higher on the scale for me as I had attended a tasting of selected Giacosa wines at La Pizza Fresca just two weeks prior. That tasting, led by Levi Dalton...
View ArticleBook Review: Robert Walters' Bursting Bubbles -- A Secret History of...
I first became aware of Robert Walters through his writings in The World of Fine Wine and, as a matter of fact, drew heavily on his writings for posts on whether Champagne can be considered a fine wine...
View ArticleThe "Great Growers": Champagne Agrapart & Fils
In an article titled Alternative Champagne 2 (The World of Fine Wine, Issue 35, 2012), Robert Walters describes "Champagne de Terroir," as a wine which "maximizes the expression of the vineyard and...
View ArticleJacques Selosse, "one of the most revered producers in Champagne"
I continue my review of Champagne's Great Growers with a look at Anselme Selosse and Domaine Jacques Selosse which, according to Walters, is ... "one of the most revered producers in Champagne."Anselme...
View ArticleJérôme Prévost: A Montagne de Reims "Great-Grower" Champagne
Jérôme Prévost is one of the Champagne producers identified as a "Great Grower" by Robert Walters in his book Bursting Bubbles. Peter Liem, noted Champagne critic, and himself the author of the...
View ArticleChartogne-Taillet, another Anselme Selosse protégée dons the "Great-Grower"...
As Robert Walters began his literary roadtrip through the land of the "Great Growers" (Bursting Bubbles) he mentioned in passing that the village of Merfy, in the Massif de St. Thierry sub-zone, was...
View ArticleMontagne de Reims and its Grand Cru vineyards (after Peter Liem)
In his best-selling book Champagne, Peter Liem states that the 20 or so subregions into which the Comité Champagne divides the appellation "... is useful but perhaps a little too granular for most...
View ArticleLa Matricianelli, traditional Roman cuisine in the heart of Rome
Parlo and I were traveling to Sicily for the annual Contrade dell'Etna (her first, my third), an en primeur event wherein the latest vintages of participating producers are tasted by attendees. As it...
View ArticleA home run for the inaugural vintage of the Benanti (Viagrande, Mt. Etna)...
My strategy at this year's edition of Contrada dell'Etna was to drink only the Carricante-based white wines of Etna's South-East Region in order to imprint the characteristic of that wine on my senses....
View ArticleMontaigne de Reims: Selected Premier Cru sites
Explicit in Peter Liem's Champagne is the idea that the important terroirs in Champagne's Montagne de Reims subregion are Grande Montagne, Petite Montagne, and Massif de St. Thiery. I have described...
View ArticleBook Review: Peter Liem's Champagne
Champagne lovers are swimming in a sea of plenty with the recent release of three high-quality books on the topic: David White's excellent But First, Champagne, Robert Walters' Grower-focused Bursting...
View ArticleGreek Wine Dinner at K Restaurant (Orlando, FL)
I have an abiding interest in Greek wines due to my tasting travels in the region and the number of friends I have made during those trips. I was considering attending the upcoming Greek Wine Dinner at...
View ArticleStill waiting for the Etna Contrada maps
Etna producers and the Consorzio continue to stress the importance of Contrada as a differentiating factor for its wines (much as cru is for the wines of Burgundy). And I continue to be frustrated by...
View ArticlePre-Contrada dell'Etna visit to the Calabretta (Randazzo, Mt Etna) cantina
On Saturday morning of Contrada dell'Etna weekend, we grabbed a quick coffee and headed off to a tasting of Calabretta wines at the estate's cantina which is housed in a three-level building in the...
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