The Vine Guy

There is something about cooking food outside on the grill that just seems to make everything taste better. I love grilling a wide variety of foods, including everything from fresh fish, chicken and vegetables to traditional grill-fare of burgers and New York strip steaks. However, finding the right wine to slide alongside can be a tricky assignment, particularly if marinades and sauces play a prominent role in the recipe. 

Click here to see what summer sippers to serve up with your favorite grilled foods 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

Pacific Prime Wines is a consortium of five New Zealand wineries who have joined together to share resources in order to get the word out that New Zealand has more to offer the American consumer than just lamb. Eric Platt is Vice President, Director of Sales, for PPW and he has convinced me that this venture offers American wine lovers wines that are value-oriented, has great fruit, structure and balance, and they are readily available in local wine shops. What’s not to love?

Click here to read about my favorite picks – including a perfect 10 on the value scale – in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington Examiner Newspaper

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

Last week, while reviewing delicious white wines from Washington State, I pointed out that the state’s wine industry has been on a proverbial tear for the last several years. But Washington is not new to the red winemaking game either. It’s no coincidence that many of the red wine grape varietals planted in these valleys have quickly adapted to their new surroundings. It turns out that Washington’s wine country is situated on just about the same latitude – 46 degrees north – as some of the greatest French wine regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy. And just like European wine-growing regions, Washington has been blessed with an abundance of prime wine grape-growing areas.

Click here to read about some of my favorite red wines in this week’s Vine Guy column in the Washington, DC Examiner Newspaper

Click here to listen to the top red wines from Washington State on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week

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 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

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

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

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.