Author: BY RICH MAURO Special to The Gazette
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Wine Guy: Sample the amazing grapes of France
France, of course, is an amazing source for wine, from elite to everyday. From Bordeaux to the Languedoc, Rhone, Burgundy and the Loire, I offer you several excellent options to begin your exploration. It’s been a long time since most of us could afford a first-class Bordeaux. Wisely, many of its famous estates found a…
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Wine Guy: Carménère emerges as Chile’s flagship grape
Chile has long been a source of good value wines, mostly a variety of French-origin grapes. But over the past 30 years, a previously little-known grape, carménère, has become widely considered Chile’s flagship grape (although cabernet sauvignon is still the most widely grown grape). An offspring of cabernet franc, it was common in Bordeaux in…
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Wine Guy: Tuscany and sangiovese: a match made in heaven
Chianti has long been the best-known Tuscan wine in the U.S. But there are many other fine Tuscan wines. And most of the best of these have sangiovese as their base. Sangiovese typically yields medium-bodied wines with lively red fruits, firm, dry structure and silky tannins. Complexity is revealed in spice, earth, forest and mineral…
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Wine Guy: Hearty reds for the winter season
While I drink all kinds of wine all year around, I do tend to drink much more red wine during the cold months. And I bet most of you do also. Below are several suggestions to start the year in style. • 2021 Sullivan Rutherford Estate “Coeur de Vigne” Cabernet Sauvignon ($100). Sullivan Rutherford was…
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Wine Guy: Some wine ideas to make your holidays sparkle
Although sparkling wine is appropriate for any occasion, the holidays are its prime time. Lucky for us, effervescent wine is so popular there are versions made in virtually every wine region. But Champagne still is the world’s most prestigious bubbly. And I have two to elevate any occasion. Nonvintage Brut is the most widely enjoyed…
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Wine Guy: These wines make ideal holiday gifts
If you are looking for a wine splurge for the holidays, whether you gift someone else or yourself, these showcase a pursuit of excellence regardless of price. Ranging from Cult Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon to Italian Icons, Rioja Royalty, Chilean and Argentine benchmarks, these are some of the best I tasted this year. • 2019…
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Wine Guy: Affordable options to light up your holidays
Drink them yourself. Share them with family and friends. Use them for a nightly meal or holiday gatherings. Give them as gifts. Or all of the above. These wines will save you money you can use for other holiday purchases (or more wine), all while delivering good drinking quality. Make the holidays bubble with prosecco.…
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Wine Guy: This Thanksgiving, it’s Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel for me
As the calendar marches us into holiday season, most of us will begin soon to plan for our Thanksgiving Day meal. Choosing the wine can be challenging, though. There are so many different types of food, flavors and textures. I’ll simplify matters for you. One of the favorite choices among my family is sauvignon blanc.…
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Wine Guy: Flavorful red and white wines from the Iberian Peninsula
Spain has one of the world’s most expansive wine cultures with notable vineyard areas and distinctive native grapes reflecting enormous varietal diversity. Except that the native tempranillo alone accounts for over 40% of Spain’s red wine production. The two major growing regions are Rioja located in north central Spain and Ribera del Duero, a little…
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Wine Guy: If you’re looking for value, focus on wines from the Southern Hemisphere
Often overlooked, Southern Hemisphere wines are worth consumer attention, especially from those of you looking for value … and isn’t that everyone! There are some mass-production brands, but my recent tastings focused on quality wines at still reasonable prices. Although Australian wine has been struggling in the U.S. market lately (compared with the days when…