Labor Day Wines for a Labor-Pain-Free Day

Posted on September 2, 2013 by The Vine Guy

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

 

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Perfect Wines for a Perfect Weekend

Posted on August 29, 2013 by The Vine Guy

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

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Celebrating Four Years of Wine of the Week with Naked Chardonnays

Posted on August 18, 2013 by The Vine Guy

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)

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Remarkable Pinot Noirs from Oregon Discovered at This Year’s IPNC

Posted on August 5, 2013 by The Vine Guy

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. St. Innocent Temperance Hill Pinot Noir LabelI 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

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Pinot Noir From Around The World

Posted on August 2, 2013 by The Vine Guy

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

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White Wines for the Dog Days of Summer

Posted on July 20, 2013 by The Vine Guy

Well, I think it is safe to say that summer has hit Washington like a filibuster filling the senate floor with hot air. The notorious Washington summer has sent the thermometer into the blistering territory. And it is the humidity. It’s time to break out the chill busters.

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

Click here to read about my favorites wines to chill out with

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French Wines for Bastille Day – WTOP Radio Wine of the Week

Posted on July 15, 2013 by The Vine Guy

It is said that on Saint Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish. And while I think the same analogy can be drawn that everyone is French while celebrating the famous date that commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution, I would go so far as to take the liberty of modifying the statement just a tad. On Bastille Day, everyone drinks French.

Click here to listen to my Revolutionary French Wines selection on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

Click here to read which French wines I will be celebrating with on July 14th

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Kings of the Hill – The Tasting Panel Magazine Checks Out Schneider’s of Capitol Hill

Posted on July 13, 2013 by The Vine Guy

The Brothers Anderson were known for having a knack for telling wonderful tales, but the Brothers Rick and Jon Genderson have a knack for knowing wine. And believe me, they have a lot of wine to know about.

The Gendersons are the third generation owners of Washington, DC’s oldest wine shop, Schneider’s of Capitol Hill, whose clients include senators, congressmen, Supreme Court justices, ambassadors, diplomats, dignitaries, television personalities as well as everyday consumers from the surrounding neighborhoods and beyond. Spending time in their shop is akin to sitting at an outdoor table at a Paris café – you just never know who you’ll see stroll by.

Click here to read the full story in this month’s The Tasting Panel Magazine

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The Best of the Best – Winners from the San Francisco International Wine Competition

Posted on July 13, 2013 by The Vine Guy

Woe is me – Every June, I have to schlep out to San Francisco where I am forced to swirl, sip, gurgle and spit over 200 wines per day for three straight days as I judge wines from around the world in the annual San Francisco International Wine Competition. Oh, how I suffer for my art!

Each year – this is the 34th year – wines from each corner of the world pour into San Francisco where they compete in the industry’s most influential wine competition in America. 

The contest is judged by multiple panels of judges and is done on a blind, consensual procedure, meaning that the three-judge panel tasting a particular set of varietals has to come to agreement on each wine tasted. For a wine to be awarded a Double Gold, it had to receive a Gold score from all three judges.

This year, 4,539 wines from 1,400 wineries, 30 countries, and 29 states were submitted to the competition. There were a total of 178 Double Gold awards handed out, with many of the top wines available for less than $35. These medal recipients represent some of the best values available in their class.

Click here to find out who some of this year’s Gold Medal winners are on this week’s Wine of the Week on WTOP Radio.

The complete list of award winners is available at www.sfwinecomp.com

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All-American Wines for the Fourth of July

Posted on June 30, 2013 by The Vine Guy

Celebrating the birth of our nation in our nation’s capital is about as patriotic of an experience as it gets. Between the National Symphony Orchestra playing on the lawn of the Capitol and the fireworks on the Mall, it’s enough to make one want to give the Washington Monument a big hug. So it’s only natural that the wines I am recommending to enjoy this Fourth of July are All-American. And to help beat the summer heat, here are a few delicious crisp white wines that will keep your mouth cool, your palate refreshed and your fireworks hot.

Click here to find out what All American Wines I recommend on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

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