Thank you for joining us for the March “virtual meeting” of the Wine Book Club. Many thanks to Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 who originally proposed the idea for the WBC where bloggers and wine lovers all over the world come together for book reviews and discussions after reading a selected text. When [...]

Whether or not those of us in the New World like it, French wines still set the bar against which the world’s wines are measured. And when it comes to red wine and the grape varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, Bordeaux remains the world’s standard. With a reputation like that, it is no wonder [...]

A few years ago I read Don and Petie Kladstrup’s fascinating book, Wine and War, the story of how France’s winegrowers protected and preserved their wine industry from Nazi plunder during World War II. So, when Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 announced that February’s Wine Book Club selection was going to be another [...]

Recently, we had one of our double-blind private tastings. This time when we sat down for our dinner of grilled beef tenderloin steaks, brown and wild rice, and mixed vegetables, all we knew were that the two wines in front of us were red, but we did not know their region of origin or varietal. [...]

When I first picked up Bordeaux/Burgundy: A Vintage Rivalry by Jean-Robert Pitte, I thought of another book that I read a few years ago, A Tale of Two Valleys: Wine, Wealth, and the Battle for the Good Life in Napa and Sonoma. The books are similar in concept, with A Tale of Two Valleys an [...]

This time of year with the holidays rapidly approaching, my “wine” attention tends to focus on bubbly. I absolutely love sparkling wine but do not drink it often enough. However this time of year, I make sure to celebrate with friends and family and enjoy some sparkling wine. With that in mind, it was easy [...]

Last month, I posted on Super Bargain Wines for Tough Times, which by our definition are wines with a price less than or equal to $10, of excellent quality (4-star quality or higher), and its price is less than or equal to one-half of wines of the same varietal and the same quality level (5 [...]

“It is one of the ironies of the wine market today that just as the price differential between the cheapest and most expensive bottles is greater than ever, the difference in quality is probably narrower than it has ever been. There is good and bad quality at every price level.” –Jancis Robinson, How to Taste [...]

Our host for the June edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the blogosphere’s monthly virtual wine tasting event, is Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20. She has selected Rhone Whites as our theme. With the warm summer weather coming soon (hopefully), many of us will be looking to enjoy some nice white wines. Excellent options [...]

“I’m a big fan of Shiraz…great quality and value.” –Francis Ford Coppola While virtually every wine lover is familiar with Syrah from the Rhone Valley in France and Shiraz [sha-RAZZ] from Australia, I am more and more impressed with the quality of Shiraz/Syrah from areas not traditionally known for this grape, such as Washington and [...]