Wine Weekly

Forgive me if I sound like a shill for Wine.com this week, but it’s all in the name of helping you get good wine at good prices — and one-cent shippingis nothing to sneeze at in the quest for great values. That said, this is the last day of one-cent shipping from Wine.com. So I’ve [...]

Estancia Meritage 2004 Year in and year out, Estancia consistently delivers a strong quality – to – price ratio across its breadth of bottles. Because I am never disappointed with their “entry” level of wines, Estancia is one of the brands I will consider when spending “big bucks” (hey, to me, $25-30 IS big bucks!) [...]

Robert Mondavi Solaire Chardonnay 2007 · Santa Lucia Highlands In the past, when I was geekier, more condescending, and had free access to world-class (read: expensive) wines, I stayed away from the “mass produced” brands. But lately I have become more humble and open to wines from any and every producer. And there’s something to [...]

What’s a “pomelo”, and how do you make wine from it? Truth is, though this wine is called “Pomelo”, it’s not made from the pomelo fruit — instead, it’s made from Sauvignon Blanc grown in Lake County, California. From the back label: Pomelo – Giant citrus fruit native to Malaysia and thought to be ancestor [...]

Acacia “A” Pinot Noir 2006 There are oodles and oodles of Pinot Noir choices at all price levels from all regions around the world — so how does one know which one to buy? Beats me … unless you’re spending $45 or more for a legit red Burgundy from a reliable producer, buying Pinot Noir [...]

Simi Sauvignon Blanc Sonoma County 2007 Usually when in the wine shop, I try to pick up a bottle (or vintage) that I’ve never tasted before — to me, exploration and discovering something new is what wine drinking is all about. Once in a while, though — and often when I’m purchasing a bottle for [...]

Rubicon 2004 If you’re looking for a Jeep review, move on. This is a site for cork dorks. Last week we learned about Francis Ford Coppola’s Rubicon Estate, and the one white wine produced there, Blancaneaux. Today we’ll review the flagship wine of the estate, and the wine that gives the estate its name: Rubicon. [...]

Perhaps the greatest tragedy in the history of American winemaking is the story of Inglenook. Most of today’s casual wine drinkers know Inglenook as “one of those jug wines”. However, the “old school” wine folks, and anyone who has did a bit of research on American wine history, knows that the “real” Inglenook is quite [...]

Artesa Chardonnay Reserve 2005 Once in a while when I’m in the wine shop my alligator arms reach way way down to the bottom of my pocket, where I hide my twenty dollar bills, so that I can buy an “expensive” bottle of wine. I know, I know, there are plenty of people who plunk [...]

Toad Hollow Dry Rose 2007 Summertime is the best time for rose wine, in my humble opinion. However, it can be difficult to find a good dry rose unless you do some research. Although many US wine drinkers have become more sophisticated, and now eschew the sugary white zins that proliferated the market for so [...]