Classic Wine Direct

• December 2013

  I recently was lucky enough to have a day and a half free in California’s wine country and given the timing, it was in fact just last week, I took advantage of my time as appropriately as possible. I went sparkling wine tasting! I am just as bad as the next guy when it comes to sparkling wines. Thinking about them only rarely, and mostly towards... Read More

  From the article Great Domestic Sparklers

  
  

• October 2013

  You have to love Australia’s red wines. If for nothing else than the sheer simplicity of twisting off a baker’s dozen of screw-caps as opposed to setting out to fight with so many corks. OK that’s not a tremendous motivation to get you to try these wines but it was a sweet sight for my sore eyes, or hand as the case may be. Some of these wines w... Read More

  From the article Is Australia Back?

  
  

• October 2013

  To a certain extent there is a general sentiment that Pinot Gris(gio) of a certain price has two responsibilities; and those at a lesser price need share in only the primary responsibility and that is to be refreshing. With the exception of Alsace Pinot Gris, which can often be refreshing but are just built within a different paradigm in mind,  ... Read More

  From the article $20 Pinot Grigio

  
  

• September 2013

  Barbera, when you ask most people their initial reaction to the name might yield blank stares, or worse. While Barbera is capable of producing some impressive wines it is also all too capable of producing pretty bad wines, both with capable winemaking and without. The problem lies with Barbera’s incredibly high natural acidity, and the issues th... Read More

  From the article Barbera: Piedmont's Chameleon

  
  

• September 2013

  We were lucky enough to attend the sold-out Project Zin fundraiser for the Downs Syndrome Association of the North Bay last night in Healdsburg, CA.  Clay Mauritson of Mauritson Family Wines/Rockpile Wines and Charlie Palmer of Dry Creek Kitchen (and about half a dozen other acclaimed restaurants) sponsor this event.  Between their respective ma... Read More

  From the article Project Zin 2013

  
  

• August 2013

  We were lucky enough to attend the sold-out Project Zin fundraiser for the Downs Syndrome Association of the North Bay last night in Healdsburg, CA.  Clay Mauritson of Mauritson Family Wines/Rockpile Wines and Charlie Palmer of Dry Creek Kitchen (and about half a dozen other acclaimed restaurants) sponsor this event.  Between their respective ma... Read More

  Forum post in the topic Project Zin 2013 (Year 3)

  
  

• July 2013

  So we have some interest in having a West Coast meet-up (or you can call it a throw-down) for Pinot.  Here's my opening proposal:  We'll do it very close to the Oakland Airport, to save those who are traveling in from out of town (like Emark and JonDerry) from having extra travel if they want to fly.  This would give LuchaVino a chance to attend... Read More

  Forum post in the topic Pinot Throw Down for West...

  
  

• July 2013

  Hi everyone, I have recently started to discover the great wines of Oregon and Washington, especially falling in love with the rich, dark reds (Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot). However, I am fairly new to the world of wine, and would like some recommendations, education and whatever else has to do with the wines of the North West. I hope... Read More

  Forum post in the topic Exploring the North West!

  
  

• June 2013

  I'm picking up here where I last left off, halfway through reporting on mostly the 2009 vintage in Barolo. As you can see here, and in my previous report on these wines, the vintage is a bit irregular to say the least with some powerful, structured wines being produced as well as many wines that show elevated alcohols or aggressive tannins. As I... Read More

  From the article Visits in Piedmont Part 2

  
  

• June 2013

  I wrote yesterday about the 2009 vintage in Barolo and today I begin reporting on the wines tasted. with over 30 winery visits o the region last month there's a lot of wine to report on. I've included my notes below, broken down by visit in roughly chronological order. As you can see not everyone was able to present the 2009 Barolo for each of t... Read More

  From the article Barolo 2009

  
  

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