Tasting notes for individual wines.
The Symington family have spent five generations establishing themselves first in Portugal’s Port world and then as makers of quality dry wines in the Douro Valley. They own 26 quintas in the Douro and as of 2017 have expanded to Portugal’s enormous Alentejo region in southern Portugal. Quinta da Fonte Souto is that property located in the Portalegre sub-region of […]
Weingut Geil is a family winery located in the village of Bechtheim in Germany’s Rheinhessen. Johannes Geil-Bierschenk tends 30 hectares of vines that include Riesling, Silvaner, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Kerner, Scheurebe, Rieslaner, Huxelrebe, Muskateller and St. Laurent in the family’s estate vineyards. Organic practices are followed. I’m pretty sure this is our first taste of Scheurebe and […]
Shelter Spätburgunder is the middle-tier Pinot Noir made by Hans-Bert Espy and Silke Wolf at their small winery in Kenzingen, Baden. The couple farm just a few hectares of vines north of the Kaiserstuhl where the soils have transitioned from volcanic to limestone and loess. Growing conditions are a bit cooler here too, thanks to the influence of the Black […]
The first versions of Chilean Carmenere I tasted years ago were often characterized by generous fruit flavors, dense color, chewy texture and distinctive flavors of jalapeño or green bell pepper. Those flavors of jalapeño and bell pepper were pleasing in moderation, but I found them overwhelming in many versions of the variety. Recently I was re-introduced to Chilean Carmenere from […]
Sosie (so-zee) is a French word that translates to twin or spitting image. The name perfectly describes Regina Bustamante and Scott MacFiggen’s vision of making Northern California wines in a French style. Thanks to travels through France their palates are Old World in style, having been influenced by Bordeaux, Rhône Valley, Burgundy and Loire Valley wines. Given their affinity for […]
Eleanor Garvin and Dennis Sherman traveled to France from Maryland on one-way tickets in 1983 and cooked their way through several wine regions before permanently settling in Burgundy. Could there be a better way to learn about the food and wine of France and Burgundy in particular? I don’t think so. That knowledge, accumulated over 30 years spent getting to […]
William Allen is a Rhône specialist who makes a range of red, white, skin-fermented and rosé wines at his Two Shepherds winery. And he recently released his first canned wine. He sources grapes from small often organically farmed vineyards. William’s winemaking style is hands off. He uses native yeast fermentations and neutral oak aging. He and partner Karen Daenen harvested […]
Concannon Vineyard has a long history in California’s Livermore Valley. Their history is closely connected to Cabernet Sauvignon (and Petite Sirah, but that’s a story for another time.) We recently had the opportunity to taste three Concannon Cabernet Sauvignons during a virtual tasting with Concannon winemaker, James Foster. The International #CabernetDay tasting offered the opportunity to dig into the history […]
Summer feels like it’s beginning to slip into fall. The days are getting noticeably shorter and mornings are damp and cool. The smells remind me of walking to school in the mornings during my grammar school years. And after a summer of sipping mostly white and pink wines I’m beginning to think of sipping a few more red wines. Any […]
September 1 is #CapClassiqueDay, a day set aside to celebrate South Africa’s premium sparkling wines. Cap Classique is made using Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) — the traditional method (as in Champagne) where the second fermentation takes place in the bottle. These sparkling beauties are made in a variety of styles, from grape varieties that you might expect and a few […]
We enjoy wine, food and travel. Pull That Cork is a chronicle of our wine adventures, the food and wine pairings we create and our travels which are increasingly organized around wine.