The Vine Guy

Thanksgiving is by far and away our favorite holiday since Cindy and I get an opportunity to spend the day together cooking great food and then sharing it with family and friends. But it is the same wonderful food that can also cause a little heartburn when it comes to selecting the right wine to enjoy with dinner. The traditional Thanksgiving meal includes so many different types of dishes that end up competing for space on your plate and on your palate.

From tart cranberries to sweet potatoes, there is a plethora of complex flavors that makes picking the right wine a genuine challenge on “Turkey Day.” So versatility is the name of the game when it comes to pairing wines with the one meal that just might be the most important one of the year.

To help alleviate the stress on this important decision, we have assembled a few wonderfully versatile wines that we think will give everyone at the table something to be grateful for. Retail prices are approximate.

Click Here to read all of our recommendations

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

Half bottles are not as easy to find as you might think. Many wine shops carry limited quantities of quality wines in the 375ml size either because demand is low or supply from wineries isn’t readily available. In addition, many of the half bottles that do make it to the wholesaler are often offered to restaurants first and wine shops second.

The good news is that diligent wine shoppers can pick up some great half bottles if they keep an eye out for them. Here are a few you should keep an eye for, too.

Click Here to read about some terrific wines that you can find in half-bottle sizes

Click Here to listen to WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week recommendations for half-bottles

When I think about transitioning my wine palate from the hot summer months into the cool, crisp season of fall, I traditionally think of pinot noir as the ideal grape varietal to gently take me back to the red wine end of the spectrum. After all, pinot noir can be subtle, charming and mellow. But it turns out that Pinot Noir is not the only light-styled red in the wine kingdom that plays the role of palate shifter.

Click Here to read about several other lighter-styled red wine varietals that will provide your tongue with an easy evolution from whites to reds that you should consider when both the leaves and the temperatures begin to fall.

Click Here to listen to this week’s WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

Where did the summer go? How did we get all the way through the heat and humidity of the August – which actually wasn’t as torrid as usual this year – and slide so quickly into September and the hustle and bustle associated with deadlines at work and homework at school? With demands on our time piling up like cars on the Beltway at rush hour, sometimes the best course of action one can take to regain some modicum of relief is to simply order a pizza and open a decent bottle of wine.

Click Here to read about four affordable and delicious wines you can kick back and enjoy with pizza

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

Call me a romantic, but I like to hold on to summer as long as I can – and that includes through the Labor Day weekend. And since the warm temperatures and palatable humidity has not quite receded into distant memory, I tend to opt for a variety of wines that represent the season – including dry to off-dry white wines to chill out on the deck with, as well as fun red wines that pair well with good old-fashioned grilled fare.

Click Here to listen to my Labor Day Wine recommendations on WTOP radio’s Wine of the Week segment (3.10 mins)

Click Here to read my reviews on four versatile wines to enjoy on Labor Day

Summer is winding down and the transition into fall provides weekends that seem to have the perfect combination of moderate temperatures and low humidity. This is the time of year when you want to spend each weekend on the deck or patio with a glass of wine, a hot grill and friends and family. Here are a few perfect wines that will compliment your weekend and pair well with grilled foods.

Click Here to read the reviews in the Vine Guy column

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

Over the last four years, we have covered a lot of wine on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week Segment. This week’s Vine Guy Column marks the fourth anniversary of the first segment – so I thought it would be fun to revisit the wines we covered in the first broadcast: Naked Chardonnays.

For those wine consumers whose battle cry is ABC (anything but chardonnay), unoaked chardonnays offer a pleasant alternative to sauvignon blancs, pinot grigios and rieslings. They are just the thing to serve along with seafood, shellfish or roast chicken. Or you can simply enjoy them while sitting on the porch. Soon, your new motto will be “drink naked.”

Click Here to read the full review of four value-oriented Chardonnay wines that are made without any oak influence

Click Here to listen to the special fourth anniversary airing of Wine of the Week show on WTOP radio (4:35 mins)

Oregon has long been known for its spectacular scenery and fertile soils, but it hasn’t been until the early 1980’s or so that the state began to achieve international recognition as a major wine-producing region. Willamette Valley, roughly an hour’s drive south of Portland, is on the map as one of the best regions in the country for producing world-class Pinot Noir wines that have a style all their own. I just returned from the International Pinot Noir Celebration in McMinnville, Oregon, where hundreds of consumers, producers and winemakers gathered to share their love of the seductive grape.

 Click Here to read about some remarkable Pinot Noir wines from Oregon

 Click Here to listen to my Pinot Noir recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

Many winemakers agree that the pinot noir grape is one of the most difficult varietals to grow and vinify, due in part to its thin skin and persnickety nature. But I can tell you that when pinot noir is good, it’s great. And when it’s great – well, it just doesn’t get any better.

Click Here to read about four of my favorite pinot noirs from Chile, France, New Zealand and California

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