Whether you’re ringing in the New Year at midnight or enjoying a New Year’s Day meal, an excellent choice for either celebration is non-vintage Champagne. Champagne because it’s “the real thing” (don’t tell Coca-Cola), and non-vintage because it is an outstanding value. Generally speaking, a “NV” sparkler is going to be significantly less expensive than [...]
Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noirs (NV) New Year’s is coming … which means it’s time to start reviewing some celebratory sparklers. First up is an American-made bubbly that is easy on the wallet and has universal appeal: Domaine Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noirs non-vintage, which retails for about ten bucks or less. Color is [...]
It’s Christmas Eve and you still haven’t bought a gift for someone you’ll see today or tomorrow. Well that’s a problem, isn’t it? You can either try your luck at the mall or run into a wine shop and pick up a bottle. But what to get? If you know what the person likes to [...]
These gifts were big hits with some wine geeks last year, so I’m presenting them again … (click on images to learn more or buy) This 7-item Accessory Gift Set ($55) has just about everything a wannabe snob could wish for, all encased in a fancy wood box. It includes a “patented” one-hand cork screw, [...]
Domaine de Gournier Merlot 2005 Ever since reading the novel Sideways(and watching the movie), I’ve been obsessed with finding quality Merlot wines — so forgive me if I post too many reviews on them. This one comes from France, from the southwestern part of the country (officially, “South West”) — a region that is often [...]
Not sure what to get for the foodie in your life? The easy answer is a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant, of course. But how do you know if the recipient will appreciate a specific restaurant of your choosing? There’s an answer for that too — get a gift certificate from someone like Restaurant.com, [...]
Umberto Fiore Barbera d’Alba 2004 If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you know I’m a sucker for a good Barbera — especially when I find one around fifteen bucks or under. This particular example fits the bill, being right in the $13-15 range and offering strong compatibility with a number of [...]
Vasco Sassetti Rosso di Montalcino 2003 Imported by Saranty Imports – from Total Wine and More From Montalcino comes the huge, ageworthy, and expensive wines known as Brunello. Montalcino is a very hot growing area south of the Chianti region in Italy, with the main grape being a strain of Sangiovese — though down there [...]
It’s that time of year again … time to find gifts for the wine geek in your life (or for yourself!). Let’s start out with some interesting wine gifts for wine service. In our first installment, I offer you two different devices to monitor the temperature of wine bottles. (By the way, you can click [...]
I have been swirling, sniffing, and spitting wines as a PR / marketing professional in the wine industry since 1996, and currently head the marketing communications department for Opici Wines. You can follow me on Twitter @joejanish or @wineweekly.
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