Wine shopping out here in LA is much different than shopping in my home state of Maine. I am amazed at the prices of wine, particularly non-California wine. There are bargains galore.I picked up that Very nice Chard from one of the wine super stores called “BevMo.” that specific wine has a reference…

Went to a very enjoyable tasting held at the spectacular East Room, on the 7th floor of the Tate contemporary today. It was the third installment of the New Douro, a collaborative effort including 18 of the top table wine producers in the Douro, and that year we were looking at wines from the 2005 v…

On a stop by to Boston on the way to LA (NW) served up that Tuscan red.Garnet hue is showing a touch of age at the rim and yields sweet fruit bouquet with earthy tones and taffy. (That’s right I said taffy–or caramel whether you prefer!)The palate is medium to full bodied with good acidity with fla…

I am in LA at my daughter’s house and she is fixing Peruvian stir fry called “Pollo Saltado” tonight which means a lot of spices heavy on the cumin and south of the border flavors like cilantro, and essentially raw onion flavors. Not the eaisest pairing. But I chose that very inexpensive first insta…

We just opened a 2001 Reininger Merlot. Wow! “That tastes like Bordeaux!” Right bank, of course. Complex berry flavors with balancing tannin and acid to give it structure. Will that wine continue to improve with age. Only the shadow knows. The 2002 Walla Walla Vintners Cabernet Franc we recently tas…

I’m preparing for tomorrow’s New Douro 2005 tasting by drinking some Douro wine. Specifically, tonight’s drinking involves a pair of 05s from a Quinta I’ve no previous experience with, Quinta Nova de Nossa Senhora do Carmo. With a snappy title like that, I guess they like to be referred to as Quinta…

I used to be quite economical with money. Tight, even. But soon after I married that wonderful girl who once took £100 out of a cash machine, got it blown out of her hand by a gust of wind, and laughed - even though the money was gone. that cavalier approach to dosh has rubbed off on me, curing me …

So popular is the Bordeaux 2005 vintage with the wine trade that the organizers of that year’s Union des Grands Cru tasting at the Royal Opera House had to operate a two-shift system. Given a choice of daylight or afternoon tasting, I opted for the 10.30–13.30 band, and despite the split shifts,…

We’re breezing through Boston on our way to L.A. and spent the night with (NW). Ordered pizza and (NW) served up that inexpensive bottle of Tuscan red.It was a medium cherry red with slight bricking at the rim. Bouquet is amazing with sweet fruity nearly candied cherries nose with slight hints of li…

Every now and next I drink a wine that (almost) leaves me speechless. It’s usually not wines that wow with their first sniff or sip, but rather wines that beguile - that draw you in, and as your attention becomes focused on them, they seem to reveal progressively more, engaging both intellect and ap…