Passages

So far my weekly wine explorations have been a solo effort. Wine is just not something my spouse enjoys. Monday to Friday I sample a couple of bottles of white wine, usually 2009 Sauvignon Blancs and Saturday a red, typically a 2008 Pinot Noir. This Saturday I had company for a change. A good friend [...]

On Friday evenings I sometimes crack open another bottle after my “over $10, under $20″ Sauvignon Blanc. Most of the time it’s a wine I’ve enjoyed before, but every once an a while I go way off in another direction – in this case I went to Italy. The state liquor store usually has a [...]

In the “over $10, under $20″ 2009 Sauvignon Blanc category these’s a seemingly endless supply. This weeks entry is Clos LaChance’s 2009 Hummingbird Series Sauvignon Blanc, White-Tufted Sunbeam. Them’s a lot of words to put on a bottle. It barely left room for barcode and picture on the label. Inside the glass, I noticed it [...]

So far the Chardonnay experience isn’t going so well. Beset first with a flawed bottle, I now find myself in the company of at least two “under $10″ Sauvignon Blancs. Darn the luck. This week I spent time with one of the two bottles  -  Emiliana’s 2009 Eco Balance Sauvignon Blanc. Always wanting to add to my “under [...]

On a recent trip to Chester, VT I stopped in at a “new to me” wine shop called Meditrina Wine and Cheese and ended up scoring two “under $10″ Sauvignon Blanc’s and a bottle of Chalone Vineyard 2008 Monterey County Pinot Noir – this weekend’s “over $10, under $20″ Pinot. I’ll be spending time with the [...]

Do you remember your first “crush” – that special someone you met early in your life that you though you’d be with forever? I don’t think there’s a person that hasn’t had that “young and in love” experience. Most of those relationships don’t last but while we’re going through them, they are our whole world. [...]

Originally I had an “under $10″ Chardonnay planned for this week, but after opening and tasting it on Monday the wine was obviously flawed. There was nothing on the nose, no taste, just blah. What’s a daily wine’o to do? Haul out the on-hand bottle of Jadot 2009 Beaujolais Villages – everyone should keep at least [...]

Before I got involved with drinking wine, a number of people that I hung out with brought Smoking Loon brand wines to parties. I always liked the label – a loon with a stogie. When I saw the 2007 Smoking Loon Pinot Noir on the shelf at Walmart I immediately missed the old label – no more [...]

After last week’s success with the 2007 Rosemount Estates Shiraz, I was hoping lighting would strike twice, if not at the same vintage, at least with the same varietal. So on a whim I picked up a bottle of McGuigan 2008 Black Label Shiraz. After drinking it, I’m opting for where the lighting struck first. In [...]

Over the last several weeks, I’ve eyed the 2009 Simi Sonoma County Sauvignon Blanc while picking out other “over $10, under $20″ white wines. I’ve always intended to drink this on a Friday evening so this week I took the plunge. I made up a batch of bay scallops while the bottle chilled. The color is [...]