Articles
Cartoon by Mike Lester: mikelester.com

A guide to what’s good, bad, & questionable in wine titles

by  |  16-07-2019 ~ 7 Comments

Long gone are the days of a bellied, middle-aged white man proclaiming himself a wine expert because well, he likes wine and wants to tell you about what he likes. No, we've reached an age... more »

Sicus, when wine is made in the vineyard

by  |  12-07-2019

Driving forty five minutes covers a lot of ground in the wine world. It affords a 41km view of the entire Côte d’Or in Burgundy. Similarly, it will see you go from the top to... more »

Terra Alta and the finesse of Garnatxa Blanca

by  |  08-07-2019

For the current issue of World of Fine Wine I was given free rein to write about all that is wonderful when it comes to the Garnatxa Blanca (White Grenache) grape in DO Terra Alta.... more »

A book review of “Darjeeling: A History of the World’s Greatest Tea”

by  |  06-07-2019

Unlike when you see a retro laundromat façade and then walk inside to discover a hipster coffee shop with $15 avocado toast, Jeff Koehler’s “Darjeeling: A History of the World’s Greatest Tea” is not an... more »

Tast del Decenni 2019: The DOQ Priorat 2009 vintage

by  |  02-07-2019

In 2009, the heaviest shoe of the Global Financial Crisis had finally fallen. All the maneuvering, consolidating, and bailing of companies and governments truly came to a head for and was deeply affecting European countries,... more »

Searching for sparkling in Georgia

by  |  25-06-2019

In keeping up with the wines of Georgia, this week I’m in Tbilisi, tasting the current vintage. Things are definitively in motion here as while the recent protests have tapered off, a Russian ban on... more »

A new take on Parellada: Celler Credo – Volaina 2018

by  |  20-06-2019

For anyone learning the finer details of wine, you typically memorize that there are three core grapes to Cava: Xarel·lo, Macabeu, and Parellada. The first two abound in individual merits, especially my Carignan-cheat-grape, Xarel·lo. But... more »

In Cain I Trust

by  |  17-06-2019

When writing about wine, everything digital is your best friend–right after a spittoon. A lightweight laptop, or in a pinch, the mobile, armed with either Google Keep for quick notes or Excel for longer tastings... more »

The newest Spanish Vino de Pago: Vallegarcía

by  |  12-06-2019

What once was 14 is now 15 as the EU has just published official recognition of the newest Vino de Pago in Spain: Vallegarcía. Maybe you’ve heard of this winery of the same name but... more »

Skipping on schist – Domaine Augustin

by  |  10-06-2019

As that almighty crow flies, it’s a mere 12km to the French-Spanish border from Colliure. In reality however, it’s actually 25km of twisty roads that take nearly an hour to cover if holiday camping vans... more »