Wine Blog

<a href="http://technorati.com/claim/frm3wb2hcb" rel="me">Technorati Profile</a>

Italy produces a lot of wine, not all top quality, but each year it vies with France as the world’s largest producer. In a country where wine is part of everyday life, Italian winemakers commonly placed quantity over quality by producing jugs of table wine rather than fine wine. Lucky for us, that attitude has changed. Gone are the wicker-covered bottles of Chianti that doubled as candleholders. Today the quality of Italian wines has never been higher making it an [...]

Got a visit today from Ayra Campbell, daughter of Patrick Campbell - owner and winemaker of Laurel Glen. She was in Cleveland for the day and I was happy to have the opportunity to sample their wines.  Known in the USA for their fantasticly balanced Cabernet Sauvignon, (think black fruit, velvety tannins, refreshing acidity, moderately high alcohol with a hint of Turkish spices and you'll get the picture) I was excited to taste their line up from Mendoza which included: Terra [...]

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. [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

  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 [...]