Crowd-Pleaser Wines

In just 12 days, summer's sippin' season will officially open and, for those of us living on the country's north coast, that is reason enough to raise a glass. Heavily marked by outdoor activities such as patio parties, backyard BBQs and poolside gatherings, the first day of summer (June 21) also happens to fall on Father's Day offering yet another reason to celebrate with friends and family. While we all enjoy sharing fine wine, hosting large gatherings can make it financially impossible to do so. [...]

By |2009-06-08T15:10:43-04:00June 8th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Another DOCG

Over the past few weeks, a few wine alerts have crossed my desk. Most recently, the release that Prosecco di Conegliano e Valdobbiadine will - as of the 2009 harvest - be elevated from a DOC to a DOCG. The resulting wines will be crafted from lower yeilds giving the wine more concentration. That said, we can also expect the wines to increase in price. Moving forward, perhaps we will all think twice before we add a bit of peach [...]

By |2009-05-29T15:24:32-04:00May 29th, 2009|Wine Blog|

RED + WHITE = ROSE?

Just when rose wine hit its stride, the European Union is set to make a move that could bring the quality levels tumbling down. Get this. A group of "experts" have decided that it is OK to permit European winemakers to make rose by blending red wine with white wine instead of traditional production methods. Are they crazy? Traditional rose production happens in two ways; 1) leave the juice in contact with the skins for a few hours and then [...]

By |2009-05-28T14:30:47-04:00May 28th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Rose Year Round

It is no secret that I am a huge lover of rose wines. In fact, I typically stretch the often touted "rose season" from Thanksgiving to September leaving October as my only solid red wine month of the year. In our Cellar Door tasting room, I get more questions and comments about rose than anyother wine style including "Aren't all rose wine's sweet?" For this reason, I have developed solid calendar notes for keeping it pink each month. 1. November: Rose pairs well with just [...]

By |2009-05-26T13:49:11-04:00May 26th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Chateau Montelena Tasting

Thanks to my frend-in-wine Gary Twining, I was lucky enough to attended a Chateau Montelena tasting yesterday at Moxie. While leaving the office mid-day is difficult, the time away from my desk was well spent. Our host, Master Winemaker ( and son of the owner) Bo Barrett, opened with a 10 minute film highlighting the "specialness" of the vineyard followed by an update on the proposed sale of the winery. If you follow the trades, then you probably know Chateau Montelena [...]

By |2009-05-08T14:03:59-04:00May 8th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Pinot Grigio; a working-class wine

Last night, I sipped a glass of Pinot Grigio at the bar of Moxie while munching on an appetizer of grilled shrimp with grit-cakes and watching the Cavs beat the Hawks on the tele. About halfway thru the game (and my dinner,) I realized that I had no idea whose wine I was drinking. Better yet - I did not care. At the end of the day, I have a habit (good or bad) of ignoring wine lists and simply nodding to the bartender and [...]

By |2009-05-06T13:46:33-04:00May 6th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Capping off the Night

  I am in love with after dinner drinks. And (lucky for me) retro after-dinner drinks are popping up on dessert lists all over Cleveland. From trendy liquors to specialty coffees and fortified wines, classic digestive drinks offer a tasty way to cap off the night at home or out on the town. Not sure where to start? Here’s a few of my favorites around Cleveland.  Drink Name: Mint Mocha Margarita Description: Sweet. Creamy expresso flavors and refreshing chocolate mint on [...]

By |2009-04-29T11:50:36-04:00April 29th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Crazy for Absinthe

I went to Parallax recently with a few new wine friends and ordered up an Absinthe after dinner. Lucid was the brand and it was served in the traditional fashion with slotted spoon, sugar cube and ice water. Now that this infamous concoction is legal in the USA, interesting presentations of Absinthe have popped up on restaurant after dinner lists across the country. At Blue Point in downtown Cleveland they have a special water fountain designed to slowly drip water on [...]

By |2009-04-05T15:46:30-04:00April 5th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Wine Snobs for Dummies

It is interesting to me that anyone in this day and age, would ever want to be a known as a wine snob. In fact, most educated people view the modern-day wine snob as a "wannabe expert” who is lucky enough to have a wad of cash in one hand and a copy of Wine Spectator in the other. Even easier if the wine snob has access to high-end wines stored in the office swag closet. Either way it ain't pretty [...]

By |2009-03-10T16:32:08-04:00March 10th, 2009|Wine Blog|

Dessert Wines & Desserts

Recently, I was asked to present a lecutre and tutored tasting for a group of young professionals. During the reception that followed, we sampled four table wines with various appetizers and two dessert wines - Ferrante Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from Ohio and Fonseca Bin 27 Port. Sampling two dessert wines in a pre-dinner reception is not something I would normally suggest but the event host was very interested in expanding the tasting to include a lesson on dessert wines. [...]

By |2009-02-26T22:23:11-05:00February 26th, 2009|Wine Blog|

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