Bordeaux is known for being a rather posh wine region. The land of regal chateaux — and home to Château Petrus, Château d’Yquem, five “first growths” and multiple trophy wines — even many of its lesser-tier wines are pricey. Yet while the famous, expensive wines get most of the attention, there are many small producers who just go about their business and make tasty wines that will please your bank account.
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While Sicily has been part of the unified Italian state since 1860, it has its own sense of identity, one formed over the course of thousands of years. The largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily is as much of a melting pot as New York City. It has been ruled by nearly everyone in Europe since the earliest known inhabitants, the Siculians, lived on the island in the third millennium B.C.
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On an overcast Tuesday in January, I stumbled upon something I had not expected when I set out that day in search of old Barolo and a new scarf — a winery.Wine has been made in San Francisco since the 19th century. Besides Crushpad, the “people’s winemaking facility” that moved to Sonoma from the Dogpatch neighborhood in 2011, San Francisco’s Italian immigrants have a long history of making red wines from rudimentary presses in basements.
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Professional wine buyers are kind of like art curators. They choose the pieces in an exhibit and arrange them in a way that may or may not make sense, but at least evokes some type of positive response. These are skills that require an understanding of the artist or winemaker’s process, but don’t necessitate possessing artistic talent oneself.
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Professional wine buyers are kind of like art curators. They choose the pieces in an exhibit and arrange them in a way that may or may not make sense, but at least evokes some type of positive response. These are skills that require an understanding of the artist or winemaker’s process, but don’t necessitate possessing artistic talent oneself.
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Since we last met, I’ve been pondering California pinot noir. It was a logical conclusion that since last week’s column was on buys from Burgundy, this subject would be the follow-up.Those of you who have been reading my tirades over the years know that I will not spare the rod when it comes to California pinot noir. I’ve said it before and I will say it again — many are overpriced. To augment this rant, an abundance of alcohol and ego — and a lack of originality — have led to the creation, if you want to call it that, of overpriced junk.
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Since I wrote about white Burgundy available for less than $30 last week, it is only fair that I dedicate this week’s column to its red counterpart, though I’m going to stretch it to under $40.
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I love when people who are avowed California chardonnay drinkers say, “Wow, that’s really good!” when they’ve tried a white wine from Burgundy. Better yet are those who scoff at the mere mention of the word chardonnay, but are mystified when white Burgundy passes their lips. What gives, people? Get over your preconceptions, will ya?
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Like many other gringos from California, I spent the holidays in Mexico with my new best friend, tequila. We wasted afternoons together listening to the Stones and the Dead, and on a couple of occasions, tequila actually helped me with a fiction story I’ve been writing. However, we were bound to get sick of one another and I started to miss wine.
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Your palate changes over time. I hated olives as a kid — now I’m a junkie. Looking back on the wines that really grabbed me in 2011, I’ve noticed a slight shift in my preferences toward drier, lighter wines.
Perhaps this change is not so much about me, but about how some wines are made. I’m not a big fan of heavy, clunky, high-alcohol wines. Let me explain.
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I took a look at last year’s wine forecast to see how accurate I was — and if I skew things a bit, I could say very on target.
As predicted, natural wines have continued to be popular and the idea to employ organic viticulture has become more mainstream.
I would not say there has been a proliferation of second-label wines, but as I thought a year ago, they are certainly a presence on wine shelves and lists.
Slovenia and Eastern Europe has not gone away and while the wines are not knocking California wines off the shelves, they are more commonplace.
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We are almost there, the dreaded 2012. We survived 1984 and Y2K so with a little luck, which means that Earth-shattering asteroid will miss us and we’ll make it past Dec. 21, 2012.
You know, the end of the world.
Just in case though, let’s go out in style with bubbles galore.
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’Tis the season to find the oenophile in your life the perfect gift, so let’s head directly to the accessories aisle.My new favorite toy is the wine aerator. It acts a lot like a decanter, but it fits into the palm of your hand. You simply insert the top of an open bottle into the aerator and put the other side of the aerator into a glass. Voila, your wine is filtered through the aerator, giving it optimum exposure to air. The difference is instantly noticeable in the taste and aroma. Several companies make them, and you should be able to pick one up for about $30.
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Back in May, while en route to get a beer at Giants game, I noticed someone sampling wines out of a can, so I stopped to find out what it was all about.You might wonder why I would ever put myself through such torture — after all, isn’t nine innings of a Giants game enough? I returned to my seat with a couple of samples for my friends to try, and we all agreed that they exceeded our expectations. Then I nursed my beer and waited until the last inning for Nate Schierholtz to hit a game-winning home run.
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In last week’s column on Madeira, I didn’t mention much about the way it was aged — and didn’t really mention much about the way Madeira was aged in last week’s column and that is an integral part of the story, even with younger wines.
Gone are the days when Madeira casks make six-month voyages on warm ships. Today, estufagem, which is the process of deliberately heating wine, is employed.
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