“Fifty percent of the people who pick up a wine buy it because of the label,” Dave Phinney, the maverick behind The Prisoner, the 21st century’s first “viral” wine, tells me on a private jet ride over South Florida. I am joining him to taste the 2017 vintage of his new wine label, 8 Years […]
Beyond the everyday challenges of growing grapes and making wine, Chateau Musar has faced something exceptionally difficult: war. The famed property in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley has survived the many conflicts that have raged around it over the years, producing outstanding wines that are coveted throughout the world, most notably its Chateau Musar Red.
The term ”jammy” has become peak wine jargon. It’s used to describe all sorts of sweet and quaffable wines, including some of the most popular Zinfandels and red blends on the market. These wines have been trending for several years, but their common use of such additives as sugar, water, and copious quantities of crystalline […]
For many drinkers, Côtes du Rhône wines are a happy medium. They aren’t the standard Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon, but they taste friendly. They’re easy to find, but not too “common.” They won’t break the bank, but they aren’t cheap plonk, either. The problem with Côtes du Rhône, however, is that it’s a blanket […]
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 […]
Washington, Paso Robles, South Australia — despite having varying locations and topography, these New World wine regions all have something in common. All are billing themselves as the next big region to produce world-class Rhône blends. Now, at first glance, this might seem a bit confusing. The Rhône Valley is an actual place, located along a river […]
“I tend to like a red blend, so what should I drink?” In the past two years, more wine drinkers have begun to use the term “red blend” to indicate their wine preferences in the same way that one might use the words Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir.
