Eagle-eyed readers may have noticed that on Friday, wineanorak.com took on a rather different look - instead of the normal site and blog, a holding page from network solutions.I was greeted by that first thing in the dawn, as I logged on before heading off for a family celebration in Somerset. I fro…

This Chilean is a thrilling ruby-garnet pour with purple highlights–really pretty!It has a deep rich ripe plum with pepper note nose.Palate is intense with ultra smooth tannins and dark fruit. Seems to need a little more date in the bottle. perhaps another year but is really ready to drink now. …

This is 100% Merlot and peddled by Sam’s Club and elsewhere. Friends dropped that off while I was in the middle of a battle with the flu. I felt better just knowing someone dropped off a bottle of wine for the heck of it.I have had that name of wine before but not that varietal or year. It’s colo…

Tasting notes:Rich nose with dueling aromas of bright lemons and dried apricotsPlush on the palate, with lime and wet stonesFinishes with more dried apricot and a distant, silky finish that tapers nicelyOur Thanksgiving Day was highlighted by a gathering of friends and family. The group was just big…

Finally I got my hands on a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau. You’d think that, as much of the stuff floods the world the third Tuesday of November, that I’d have had a much easier duration of it. Unfortunately I was in California for the two weeks surrounding that day and, restaurants and bars there …

I found that on sale from $10 to $5. From Lodi, it is slightly purple with light inky dark fruit that is pretty nice.In the mouth it is fruit forward but with non-descript flavors on opening. Big plum flavors emerge and for $5, that is pretty darn good wine. (Couldn’t find a label)Raise a glass….

This Minervois red “Cella Vinaria” is purple cranberry color with sour dried cherry bouquet with faint sweet fruit behind.Palate is peppery with stifled cherry notes and finishes very quickly. I paid a little less than $11 for it and it is just okay for a Minervois which usually produces some super…

It’s Thanksgiving day. I’m working in the kitchen and the perfect wine to accompany all the baking, tasting, basting, and roasting is that 2005 Caymus Conundrum. The easy drinking white wine hails from California and the conundrum is just what blend of white varietals is actually in here.Nose: Ho…

A few days ago I reported on the Sepp Moser ‘Minimal’ Gruner Veltliner (here), which is made without any sulfur dioxide additions. I compared that 2005 with the regular 2006 from the same vineyard. Well now I have my hands on a 2005 to do a better comparison with, and I plus have some of the 2005 Mi…

One of the recurring subjects in the wine world is brettanomyces, the rogue yeast that’s common in red wines, and which some humans think is always poor, and some citizens think can add complexity according to context.Kiwi winemaker Matt Thomson (Delta, Saint Clair etc.) ran a masterclass on the top…