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 listen to my Easter wine recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week
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 listen to my recommendations on this week’s WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week segment
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 listen to wine recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week segment
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 listen to my recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week
When Bill Blosser and Susan Sokol Blosser planted their first vines in 1971 in the Dundee Hills, there was virtually no wine industry in Oregon. With a lot of hard work and determination, the young couple turned an abandoned prune orchard into a thriving vineyard. Their first vintage of Pinot Noir, produced in 1977, was a success.
If you subscribe to the theory that it is always good to know what, exactly, is in your wine, you will be happy to know that in 2002 Sokol Blosser became the first winery in the United States to receive LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification. Last year, the winery became certified by OCSW (Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine). Many of their wines are made with organically grown grapes.
NOTE: According to the Organic Consumers Association, a wine can be labeled “Organic” and bear the USDA organic seal when it is made from organically grown grapes and provides information about who the certifying agency is. In addition to using only organic fruit, wine in this category cannot have any added sulfites. They may contain only naturally occurring sulfites. Even though some of the Sokol Blosser wines are made with organic fruit, additional sulfites may be added which prevents the wines from being labeled “Organic.”
Click here to listen to the wine recommendations on WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week
Wine collectors tend to gauge each other’s “commitment” to wine by asking two essential questions. First, “what type of wine do you collect?” And second, we always want to know, “how many bottles are in your cellar?”
But lately, given the rapidly increasing prices of collectable wines from around the globe, much of our attention has turned to a different concern; What wines will the next generation of oenophiles find affordable in order to inoculate their collection?
What’s a modern day, stressed-out couple to do in order to grab that loving feeling this Valentine’s day?
For the answer, I decided to solicit advice from some of the busiest people I know and find out what wine they plan to employ to tip the scales of love in their favor and ensure a successful love connection. Of course, individual results may vary.
Listen in to WTOP Radio’s Wine of the Week for the latest wines to enjoy on Valentine’s Day
The upcoming football finale is finally here, and this year I actually have a proverbial dog in the fight. I grew up in a household that revered the San Francisco 49ers. But alas, the 49ers are definitely not the local favorite, so it appears that my only ticket to overcoming the social stigma of rooting for the other team is to offer up winning wines that will, at the very least, get my foot in the door and hopefully a seat on the couch.
The obvious choice was easy. I am rooting with – and for – Ravenswood Wines.
Click here to listen to this week’s Wine of the Week on WTOP Radio
Go 49ners!
My friend David’s tastes in wine tend to run more toward the mysterious and arcane end of the spectrum. But here’s the thing… David really does know “his” wines. And by “his” wines, I mean interesting, delicious, value-oriented wines that I would not normally include in my routine wine compendium. But, that notwithstanding, I always look forward to being exposed to David’s Wines…
Click here to listen to David’s recommendations on this week’s Wine of the Week on WTOP Radio
A few years ago, several moms from my son’s third grade class decided to create a monthly “book club.” So I decided to level the playing field and start my own “book club” with some of the dads from the same social circle. Only this monthly man-gathering would not pretend to be as intellectually curious as our feminine counterparts. No, this “book club” would be nothing more cerebral than a bunch of neighborhood “dads” getting together to play a friendly game of Cards. And drink wine. Yes, wine.
