As teenagers in Germany a few decades ago, Lambrusco was often seen as the easy first way to get drunk - cheap, kind of sweet(ish) with bubbles which make it more palatable (and have a faster effect)
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Iâm shocked, SHOCKED I say âŚ
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Couple of excellent Italian wines. I hope these crazy tariffs donât start making these unavailable - maybe I should stock up.
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With Greek Easter dinner, a xinomavro from northern Greece. âXinoâ means sour, âmavroâ means black. This had a soft acidity, blackberry notes, smiling tannins.
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Last night with dinner at Cafe de lâUsine, HĂźpnos. A greek orange wine that paired brillantly with everything on the menu. A wine I never would have picked, but relied on the Sommâs excitement and we are glad we did!!
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SIL in Tel Aviv introduced us to a chardonnay from NANA. Very crisp, âsteelyâ, best Isareli chardonnay effort Iâve tried so far. Appears to be available in the US.
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Spent a couple of hours at the Red Hook Winery, sitting outdoors and drinking a Sauv. Blanc. blend by the glass:
âWhite Blend âHarvest Moonâ 2015 (chilled from draft)
Christopher Nicolson | North Fork
Skin-Fermented Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay & Riesling.
Spontaneous Fermentation in Neutral French Oak.â
Not bad, a little light. Perfect for just sitting around watching the water (& people) after a couple of hours of tennis.emphasized text
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I donât drink a lot of cabs, but looking for something that would pair better with chocolate than a pinot I found this in the cellar, and it was wonderful. Smooth as can be, even though I didnât do much more than decant it.
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Napa 1994 was a specially memorable year for me!!
Not for drinking reds but for drinking a mind-blowing good â 1994 Beringer Private Reserve Chardonnay â! The fragrance was so pronounced, one could smell the aroma from the other side of the table when bottle was opened!
Iâm trying to recall how I ended up with several Montelena â94s in my cellar! Memory doesnât serve.
A friend moved away from here, and gave me a couple of bottles of wine, wrapped in a carrier. I opened it, and literally gasped. Montelena! He had no idea of the significance of that producer. Itâs safely in my cellar for a nice nap (I think itâs 2021 or 2020).
Thatâs a good friend
Itâs a good thing heâs not into wine! The other bottle was a Beringer, about the same vintage.
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Outstanding pinot, from one of my favorite producers (unfortunately no longer around). Founded by the daughter of one of the Williams Selyem founders, Wesmar had a particular unique style of pinots, delicate and focused on red fruits. Hellenthal Vineyard was their most complex, with light raspberry and strawberry flavors, and a bountiful layered spicing on the long finish. I bought this magnum about 18 years ago and it was as fresh as could be. The cork was super crumbly though, so glad I opened it today.
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Back in the day, youâd go to Trader Joeâs and find a promising wine treasure. Youâd taste it, then race back and get as much as you could. In 1996, I did that with several bottles of this 1979 port ($10 a bottle!). I opened one today, 46 years after it was bottled. The cap was sealed with lead and some kind of resin, which peeled and chipped away. When I first got it, the port had lively apple fruit, a little tart. Thatâs faded, but it now has a deep rich old port flavor and texture. The color is still bright, with no bricking. It wanted a cigar, so I lit one up.
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A few hours later, there is apple again, kind of apple-pie apple, rising gently to the surface of awareness.
I had no idea that using lead to seal anything intended for human consumption was still a thing any time in the 1900s. Just looked this up and apparently many producers kept it up with port until 1996. Crazy to think aboutâŚ
