When news of the viral Forty Ounce Rosé hit last spring, I scoured New York wine shops to get my hands on a bottle. Midtown, downtown, Brooklyn — everywhere I checked, it was sold out. Ironically, it was when I had given up on trying the viral sensation that I wandered into my local shop […]
In typical stuck-up sommelier fashion, I’m always skeptical of big-name wineries. If a winery has gained acclaim among the masses, does it really produce high-quality wine, or has it drifted across the line into large-scale production devoid of character? Knowing the prevalence across the U.S. of Cousiño-Macul, one of the first Chilean producers embraced by American […]
I’m never the one to give up the wine list to someone else at the table. In fact, when a date once offered to pick out the wine for a BYOB restaurant, I secretly brought along a backup bottle, hidden in my purse in case his selection was horrible. (It wasn’t, so we ended up […]
I’ve been a fan of Schramsberg and its sparkling wines for the 15 years or so I’ve been reviewing wine, and my recent tasting of the famed California winery’s Mirabelle Brut Rosé reminded me of why. I can’t think of another American sparkling wine house that delivers with the same quality and consistency.
Chart after chart outlines the optimal age window for top wine regions, and articles debate the best bottles and methods for cellaring. But who has the time, space, or money (not to mention willpower) to buy cases of young wine and age them until a certain prime drinking point in the distant future?
Despite the raging popularity of red blends and pervasiveness of California Cabernet Sauvignons, there has been a return to restraint in wine over the past decade, particularly in white wines. Yes, there are still plenty of New World Pinot Noirs that soar above 15 percent ABV, but the mentality of “bigger is better” is no […]
My first real experience with Sherry, the fortified Spanish wine beloved by British grandmas and hipster somms alike, was fittingly at Sherryfest in New York. These many iterations of Sherry were vast and varying, from light and salty to thick and syrupy. How could so much variety fall under one category? I asked a friend […]
Smell is closely associated with memory, something that wine reminds us of at the most unexpected times. Sometimes, when sticking your nose in a glass as a mere formality, a wave of recognition washes over. I once blind-tasted a wine so striking that, although I couldn’t pinpoint the producer, grape, or region, I immediately recollected […]
Sometimes I like knowing exactly how my glass of wine will taste. It’s comforting to decide what kind of wine fits my current mood, select a beloved bottle, and relish in its familiar scents and flavors. Perhaps that’s why I never have my favorite wines stocked at home; the second I buy them, I drink […]
