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White Wines of Washington State

The Vine Guy — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:14:41 +0000

For the last 50 years, Washington State has quietly but steadily been producing a bevy of tasty wines ranging from crisp, dry whites to spicy, bold reds, and just about everything in between. In order to spread the word on Washington State wines – and get a broader range of feedback, I decided to assemble a panel of enthusiastic amateur wine consumers to help me taste over 20 white wines. The varietals included chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, pinot gris and viognier.

Click here to find out which white wines from Washington State made the cut in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington Examiner newspaper

Click here to listen to WTOP radio’s Wine of the Week to hear about the top three white wines from Washington State

The Wonderful Wines of Willamette Valley

The Vine Guy — Sun, 12 May 2013 23:17:09 +0000

The Willamette Valley is Oregon’s leading wine producing region, featuring over 200 wineries spread out over its six distinct appellations, including Eola-Amity Hills, Dundee Hills, Chehalem Mountains, McMinnville, Ribbon Ridge, and Yamhill Carlton. This long, broad valley runs for over a hundred miles, from the Columbia River in the North and stopping just short of the town of Eugene, OR in the south.

Click here to see the reviews in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington Examiner newspaper

Click here to listen to my favorite wines on this week’s Wine of the Week on WTOP Radio

The Generational Wines of Charles Krug

The Vine Guy — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:52:16 +0000

When you have the most famous family name in California winemaking and also own the oldest winery in Napa Valley, the word that comes to mind is “stewardship.” Stewardship for the land, stewardship for the wine, and stewardship for the legacy. As the fourth generations prepares to take the reins at Napa Valley’s oldest winery, that philosophy is still at the core of Charles Krug Winery.

Click here to read about the history of Charles Krug Winery and their wines in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington, DC Examiner Newspaper

Click here to listen to my recommendations on WTOP radio’s Wine of the Week

The Judgment of Annapolis

The Vine Guy — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:04:11 +0000

Annapolis wine merchant, Patrick Bouculat of Wine Cellars of Annapolis, decided to recreate a modern day version of the historic a Judgment of Paris, a competition between California and French winesstaged by British wine merchant Steven Spurrier. Spurrier arranged for a blind tasting of chardonnay wines in one flight and red wines (California cabernets sauvignons versus French Bordeaux blends) in another flight. And so on a sunny afternoon, I found myself on the hot seat as a member of a three-judge panel in, “The Judgment of Annapolis,” a fun tasting that Patrick put together to show friends and clients the similarities and differences between the two countries.

Click here to review the results in this week’s Vine Guy Column in the Washington Examiner Newspaper

The Wonderful Wines of California’s Central Coast – Part Two

The Vine Guy — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:48:28 +0000

California’s Central Coast is one of the largest and most desirable grape growing regions in the world. There are three distinct sub-regions within the Central Coast AVA; the northern section includes San Francisco Bay, the central section is made up of Monterey and San Benito, and San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties comprise the southern section. Last week, I covered several delightful wines from the southern section. This week, I will review a few enchanting choices from the two sub-regions to the north.

Click here to check out the entire article in this week’s Vine Guy Column in the Washington, DC Examiner newspaper

Click here to listen to my Central Coast wine recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

The Wonderful Wines of California’s Central Coast – Part One

The Vine Guy — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 23:30:20 +0000

Several years ago, in an article in Food and Wine magazine, wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. stated, “Look for wines from California’s Central Coast… to take their place alongside the hallowed bottlings of Napa and Sonoma valleys. No viticultural region in America has demonstrated as much progress in quality and potential for greatness as the Central Coast…”

The Central Coast AVA is huge – stretching roughly 250 miles along the coastline of California, from San Francisco County in the north down to Santa Barbara County in the south, averaging about 25 miles in width. There are three distinct sub-regions within the Central Coast AVA. San Francisco Bay in the north, the central region includes Monterey and San Benito, and the southern most region encompasses San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara. I will focus on wines from the southern region this week and tackle the former two sub-regions next week.

Click here to read about some delicious picks in from California’s Central Coast in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington, DC Examiner newspaper.

Click here to listen to my recommendations on WTOP radio’s Wine of the Week.

Versatile Wines for Easter Celebrations

The Vine Guy — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 03:12:08 +0000

Easter Sunday is a significant celebration that traditionally includes family, friends and, of course, food. And regardless if your Easter involves hunting for eggs, gathering for a big brunch, preparing a festive meal, or all three, chances are wine will play an important role, providing a grace note to both the meal and the festive nature of the holiday.

Click here to review a few suggestions that will pair well with an assortment of Easter dishes in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington, DC Examiner Newspaper.

Click here to listen to my Easter wine recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

The Truth Behind Axios and Worthy is Gus Kalaris

The Vine Guy — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 18:19:04 +0000

Local wine distributor Constantine “Gus” Kalaris could very well be one of the nicest people in the wine business. He routinely prefers a bear hug to a handshake and his broad smile and deep laugh are genuinely infectious. We met about a decade ago at the release party of his first vintage of his flagship wine, Axios. I had a hunch back then that Gus would one day be a big deal in the wine world. I was right.

Click here to read about the remarkable wines of Gus Kalaris in this week’s Vine Guy Column in the Washington, DC Examiner Newspaper

Click here to listen to my recommendations on this week’s WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week segment

Georgian Wines Have A Long History

The Vine Guy — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 17:37:31 +0000

Wines from Georgia – the country, not the state – are gainging popularity in the United States. Georgia is blessed with rich alluvial soil laden valleys, and a temperate climate that provides warm sunny days and cool nights. Many of the wines display excellent structure, with firm tannins and crisp acidity.

Click here to check out some delicious wines from the country of Georgia in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington, DC Examiner Newspaper

Click here to listen to wine recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week segment

The Value Wines of Chile

The Vine Guy — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 01:35:13 +0000

This is my second installment in an ongoing column featuring the “Best Wine Values From…” country series which will tackle one of the most challenging wine producing countries of all; Chile. What makes Chile such an interesting country to cover is the fact that there are a plethora of many delicious choices of wines offered at reasonable prices. Here are some remarkable wines that offer a very high Quality-to-Price (QPR) ratio that are readily available in our marketplace.

The focus of Chilean winemakers has shifted from making mass produced wines for domestic consumption to crafting high quality wines for export. Many of these artesian wines offer a substantially better value than some of their European counterparts.

Click here to read about my favorite values from Chile in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington, DC Examiner Newspaper

Click here to listen to my recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week