by Rosie Carbo
When you love wine, and you resolve to indulge as often as possible, attending food and wine events becomes a quest. That’s one reason I look forward to Savor Dallas each year, and this year was no exception. The Ninth Annual Savor Dallas, the largest wine and food event in Texas, went off without a hitch again this year. But for me, a wine journalist who has attended several times, the four-day event was bittersweet. As always, organizers wanted to showcase a spectacular new venue while guests sip fine wines and sample chef-prepared foods. So this year, Savor Dallas, which attracts more than 5,000 wine and food lovers annually, added another day. The event kicked off with a Thursday preview at Trinity Groves, instead of the usual Friday soiree. The soon-to-be opened Trinity Groves sh...
by Edan Barulfan
After 131 years growers sell majority shares of Carmel WineryIn 1882 Baron Edmond de Rothschild, owner of Chateau Lafitte of Bordeaux, founded a winery in the land of Israel, which was at that period under Ottoman rule. The Baron wished to revive winemaking in the land of the bible after 700 years, and at the same time, to provide work for the struggling settlers in a barren and disease struck country. The beginning was troublesome, when a short period after planting the first vines, they were infected by Phylloxera. However, the baron, his clerks and the settlers proceeded stubbornly, and success finally came, when in the World Fair of 1900, a "Carmel Mizrahi" ("Carmel Oriental" as the winery was then named) wine, won a reward and many appreciations.In the dawn of the new century, in the ...
by Mike Meisner
When Steve McPherson started Promise Wine, he aimed to make a world-class Cabernet Sauvignon that could hold its own alongside other "cult" California wines and "first growth" Boredeaux varietals from reknowned producers. It was a lofty goal, and one that may have just recently been accomplished at the American Fine Wine Competition, held in Boca Raton, FL.Promise Cabernet beat some notable producers, and won a unanimous double gold and Best in Class at the competition. The competition included entries from well-known producers like B Cellars' Oakville Cab, Cakebread's Howell Mountain Cab, and Von Strasser's Diamond Mountain offerings, to name just a few. In beating out such a high caliber of competition, this was truly an outstanding win for the relatively young label. This win comes on t...
by Stephen Wilcock
In the Italian province of Tuscany we can find some super red wines, but you have to fight your way through a maze of similar sounding names to find them. There can be confusion between Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Brunello di Montalcino and Montepulciano Abruzzo.Montepulciano is in fact a soft fruity easy-drinking red wine which is made from the Montepulciano grape in the region of Abruzzo in east central Italy. It has nothing to do with the town of Montepulciano at all. The wine should not be overlooked simply for this reason and is in fact often very good value for money.The town of Montepulciano is situated 75 miles south of Florence and this region’s warm evenings and nights help produce a noble wine ‘Vino Nobile di Montepulciano’. This is made from Prugnolio, which is a c...
by Marcella Newhouse
If you read wine books about Roero, they will sum it up (if they even mention it at all) as the neighbor to Barolo and Barbaresco, and the region that is best at producing Arneis, a slightly fragrant, fruity, and light white wine. While I agree that Roero does produce high quality Piemontese white wines, the wines of Roero often go underestimated. What people often don't realize is how much potential and grace Arneis can have.Roero Arneis, given the proper care, can be a refined, elegant, and even an age-worthy white wine. I'm not saying all Arneis is going to blow your mind, but some of them will. You just have to know where to look, or where to go so they can find you.Seven years ago I happened to have put myself in the perfect place for a fabulous Arneis to discover me. It was my first ...
by Bill Shinkle
Tranquility Vineyard and Winery is a new and private, member’s only vineyard and winery opening in Southern California. Nestled in the beautiful San Jacinto Mountains, in the city of Hemet, Tranquility Vineyard and Winery will be producing six different types of wines for its members. These wines are; three reds (Angelico, Barbera and Teroldego) and three whites (Fiona, Viognier and Muscat Blanc).While members eagerly await the production of Tranquility’s signature wines, they can enjoy all the amenities and benefits included with their membership starting this May. These include access to the completely renovated 100 year-old carriage house with its amazing veranda, cigar lounge and wine storage facility. The carriage house, overlooking the entire property which boasts many acres of ...
by Juda Engelmayer
Having become somewhat of a wine enthusiast over the years, I have tasted many fine wines from all over the world, and have toured wineries in the United States and abroad in pursuit of a recreational oenophile’s whimsy.Over the past 20 years or so, the market for kosher wines – don’t laugh – has grown, as post Baby Boomers acquired money and taste, and began seeking finer alternatives to the old style syrupy sweet Malaga and Concorde Grape selections of Kedem and Manischewitz.My late step-mother loved to tell this story. She went to a local liquor emporium known for its kosher wines, and asked for two gallon-sized bottles of ritual (Kiddush) wine, one Malaga and one Concorde. The owner pulled her over to the side and said, in a low voice, “You know, you don’t need to drink tha...
by Ron Kapon
I know you expect this to be an article about my visit east to Jerusalem or Mecca. My holy land is located 3,000 plus miles west from my home in New York City and it is known as the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis, located in Davis, California. It is 85 miles from San Francisco Airport to Davis and as I drove I remembered the last time I had been there, when James Guymon ran the spirits program some 35 years ago. I interviewed him for a story in the Les Amis du Vin Magazine. How could I be so sure of the time? I did not remember the exact date until I met Roger B. Boulton, Professor & Chemical Engineer Stephen Scott Endowed Chair in Enology Department of Viticulture and Enology Agricultural and Environmental Sciences- “Thirty five years ago I ...
by Mike Meisner
Those of us who live in the Napa and Sonoma area get spoiled rotten with great wine, and often take it for granted. But what about people living in other areas of the country? We forget that the rest of the country appreciates wine just as much. Many states play host to a number of great wineries that produce all sorts of wonderful and exciting varietals. It seems like new regions are sprouting up all over the place, from Virginia to Maine and Michigan.This week, we'll explore one of Michigan's biggest wineries, St. Julian. They are located in Paw Paw, but have tasting rooms throughout the state. With a rich history that stretches back to the early part of the century, they have been focused on making wine for a long time. In the past decade or so, they have tightened that focus and are st...
by Morris Lemire
Terroir: Issues in a human built construct Terroir has slipped nature’s tether. It has been taken up by real estate agents and the tourist industry in partnership with government tourism offices to promote vacation travel, retirement sites, recreation facilities and festivals of all sorts. Several years back I came across the views of Sean Thackrey, winemaker and owner of Orion in Marin County, Ca., who said bluntly, “My objection [to terroir] is simply that it’s so ruthlessly misused, and with such horrifying hypocrisy”.1 I do not intend to answer the question: “What is terroir?” As Thackrey said, “It’s true that fruit grown in different places tastes different. In fact it’s a banality, so why exactly all this excess insistence?”2 If the reader wishes to review terr...
