Category Archives: Between $20 and $29.99 | Reviewed

Italy’s Tenuta Sette Ponti Produces a Pair of Tuscans to Treasure

Italy’s Tenuta Sette Ponti Produces a Pair of Tuscans to Treasure

Tenuta Sette Ponti

Photo credit: http://www.seminarioveronelli.com

While the words ‘Super Tuscan’ and ‘Superb Value’ are rarely uttered within the same sentence, the Tenuta Sette Ponti estate, nestled in the heart of Italy’s Chianti region, continues to produce uncommonly distinctive wines that over-deliver for their respective price points.

Two wines in particular, the Tenuta Sette Ponti Crognolo ($30) and Tenuta Sette Ponti Oreno ($70) have undeniably played a considerable role in the estates success, as these wines consistently demonstrate Tenuta Sette Ponti’s ability to produce high-quality, value-driven wines year after year. As an added bonus – these wines are made even more accessible by the fact that they are widely distributed, making them easy for consumers to find.

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Fall for Cabernet! | My Best Cabernet Under $100 Selections

Fall for Cabernet! | My Best Cabernet Under $100 Selections

Best Cabernet Under $100

As the vestiges of summer become nothing more than warm fading memories, what do you look forward to most? For me, the cooler weather brings with it a few of my favorite things. From watching the spectacular fall foliage transform the landscape, to sipping warm chai lattes in the brisk sunny weather or scouring the pumpkin patch with my girls for the finest specimens possible. But there’s yet another pastime of paramount importance to me… hunting for the Best Cabernet Under $100!

As the holiday season kicks off in earnest (can you believe it’s almost December?!) and we transition from crisp, refreshing whites to robust, warming reds, I thought readers might be wondering which Cabernet’s were worthy of their consideration. I hope you’ll find this compilation of the best Cabernet under $100 resourceful as you celebrate with friends and family this season – there’s something for every budget!

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October is Merlot Month | Drink Napa and Sonoma Merlot!

October is Merlot Month | Drink Napa and Sonoma Merlot

Merlot Month

As you have probably heard, Northern California has been ravaged by devastating wildfires that began unexpectedly on the evening of October 9, 2017. The combination of extremely dry, hot conditions and the blistering Diablo winds caused widespread sections of wine country to explode with uncontrollable fires.

Since they began, 41 lives, 3,500 structures, 16 wineries and in excess of 245,000 acres have been lost in this region many of us hold near and dear. So many families have lost everything in what has been described as the most deadly wildfire episode the region has ever experienced. The brave, tireless efforts of firefighters, first responders and volunteers will not soon be forgotten.

My next article in queue was originally going to be one highlighting recommended Cabernet Sauvignons from various regions at price points for every budget, but I have decided to briefly postpone that in an effort to bring what attention I can to supporting this hard hit region.

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The Best Franciacorta Wines | Italy Gets Serious About Sparkling

The Best Franciacorta Wines | Italy Gets Serious About Sparkling Wine

Franciacorta Wine

When you’re deciding which sparkling wine to purchase, it’s not uncommon to consider the gold standards of Champagne or the similarly reliable, yet significantly more affable Prosecco options from Italy’s Veneto region. Many savor the former, while the latter is often relegated to mimosa duty. But look a little harder and you’ll not only discover Italy’s best kept secret, but one of the best-kept secrets in the world of wine: Franciacorta.

What this relatively young yet fiercely dynamic wine region lacks in sheer size and history it more than makes up for in quality, consistently producing distinctive sparkling wines that rival the quality of those in Champagne, yet are produced in their own unique style. Consider the fact that they’re often less expensive than their expertly-branded French counterparts an added bonus.

Franciacorta is the only region in Italy where all of the wines are made in the costly and significantly more time consuming Méthode Traditionelle, whereby the wines undergo their secondary fermentation and aging in bottle, resulting in more complex, finessed sparklers.

If you’re wondering why you might not be familiar with Franciacorta’s wines, the numbers offer an explanation. Champagne boasts a towering production of roughly 300 million bottles per year from 75,000 vineyard acres, while Franciacorta spans merely 10% of that size, measuring just 7,800 acres. With demand for bottle production being so high, manufacturers may want to make sure they have effective printing technology for the labeling process of the products. See here for more information on this – https://www.pharma-food.de/drinktec2017-inkjet-drucker-jet-3-up-pro/.

Champagne has also been in the business since as early as the 17th century, while Franciacorta has only been producing wine since 1961. But such a stark contrast highlights what might just be most impressive about this little region in Northern Italy: how far and how quickly it has come in barely 50 years.

Franciacorta Wine

Understanding Franciacorta | An Area, Production Method and a Wine

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Soos Creek Ciel du Cheval Red | Red Mountain To The Rescue

Soos Creek Ciel du Cheval Red 2013 | Red Mountain To The Rescue

Soos Creek

Every once in a while I come across the type of wine that inspired me to start this blog in the first place. A wine that’s truly distinctive, with the elusive ability to convey sense of place and the depth, structure and finesse to keep your interest for years to come.

And sure, such wines capable of captivating the senses are readily available to those who not only know where to look but have the financial wherewithal to be able to afford them. And therein lies the problem, as the affordability component makes many of these compelling pours easily out of reach for most consumers, often myself included. For example, consider one of the gold standards for classic, elegant, terroir-driven Napa Cabernet’s: Heitzs’ Martha’s Vineyard.

It was the first single-vineyard wine in Napa to boldly wear the name of the vineyard from which its fruit was sourced on the label. Today, it is widely-recognized and celebrated as an immediately identifiable and utterly classic expression of Napa Cabernet, but the current release will run you a cool $225.

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Spring Fever? | 6 California Chardonnays You Can Count On Under $40

Spring Fever? | 6 California Chardonnays You Can Count On Under $40

Best Chardonnay

From my Instagram page. The Frank Family Chardonnay traveled with me all the way to Newport Beach! You can click the image to see more.

To say it has been an uncommonly warm winter here in the nation’s capital would be quite the understatement. In the last week of February alone, I witnessed cherry blossoms in bloom, heard the hair-raising crackle of intense thunderstorms, and played tennis in record-setting sunny seventy-five degree weather. Thank goodness climate change is a complete farce, right?! (Insert sarcastic, scared to death emoji here.)

So understandably all of this warmth has me reaching for chilled, crisp white wines far earlier than usual. I mean, this should be Cabernet Sauvignon prime-time for me! So I thought I would take this opportunity to point out some Chardonnays you can reliably count on in the coming months, as temperatures promise to rise alongside political tensions.

Reliably Good Chardonnays You Can Actually Find, and Afford!

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Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Review | Standing Out in a Tough Crowd

Tenuta di Arceno Arcanum Review | Standing Out in a Tough Crowd

Tenuta di Arceno

Tenuta di Arceno’s Tuscan estate | Photo Credit: Tenuta di Arceno

To say it was a tough crowd that crisp September day amongst the sun-drenched vines of Sonoma would be quite the understatement. Vintage Vérité is an annual event whereby those lucky guests have the opportunity to taste the most recent release of Pierre Seillan’s highly acclaimed Vérité wines alongside a library release (usually ten years old) to observe how well the wines develop with time in the bottle.

And develop they do, with enough interest to command nearly $400 per bottle and a bevy of perfect Parker scores to match (twelve to be exact). But while Vérité might be the star of the show, guests had the opportunity to sample more offerings from the Spire Collection’s compelling portfolio. When I remarked how taken I was with the 2012 Vérité Le Désir, composed predominantly of Cabernet Franc, I was offered a blind pour of a mystery wine, and it was beautiful.

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Lake County Cabernet | The Other Other California Cabernet

Lake County Cabernet | The Other Other California Cabernet

Lake County Cabernet

If you’re not familiar with Lake County, that’s okay. Most aren’t yet aware of the potential of this sleepy section of Northern California wine country. But that’s about to change, as one of Napa’s power players just made a Warren Buffet style investment in these sun-drenched hills.

What’s interesting is that up until 1861, Lake County and Napa County were actually the same county – yet this quiet community with deep farming roots has mostly missed out on the fantastic wine industry successes of neighboring Napa and Sonoma counties to the south – and with it all of the tourism and hospitality fueling those economies today.

Though still quite small in comparison to Napa, vineyard acreage is on the rise, with around 9,000 acres now planted to vine, up from just around 100 in 1965. Compare that to over 45,000 in Napa and 60,000 in Sonoma, and you’ll see that Lake County has room for growth – and none other than Napa grape-grower extraordinaire Andy Beckstoffer has taken notice, in a big way.

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Your Virtual Visit to Lodi | Uncorking My Favorites!

Your Virtual Visit to Lodi | Uncorking My Favorites!

Fields Family Wines Cinsault

In my recent post, A Renewed Perspective on Lodi Wine, I enthusiastically raved about my recent visit to this often underappreciated region. Meeting the innovative, down to earth winemakers and tasting the fruits of their labor amongst the very vines responsible for their production was enough to convince me that Lodi is doing something right.

But I realize that not everybody is able to hop on a plane and travel to Lodi (though do I hope that you’re able to make it there, eventually!); which is why I put together this compilation of the most compelling, interesting wines I tasted in Lodi. Consider this list the itinerary for your virtual visit. You might even find, as I did, that you wish to revisit a glass or two of these beauties!

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The Unusual Suspects | Beyond California Cabernet

The Unusual Suspects | Looking Beyond California Cabernet

Kobler Estate

I’m definitely guilty of writing a lot about California Cabernet. I freely admit that I have a real penchant for the sturdy varietal, particularly when it’s built to last. In California, Cabernet is king and sadly many of the best examples fetch a princely sum.

But if the myriad of interesting, lesser-known and even esoteric varietals I encountered on my recent trip to Napa and Sonoma are any indication, Cabernet isn’t all that’s thriving here in Northern California. Not only was I surprised to find Spanish and French stalwarts like Albariño, Tempranillo, Grenache and Malbec being produced at wineries I visited, but I was surprised by just how good they were. Oh, and did I mention I encountered an Aglianico?

The best part? These wines don’t command the regal prices of Cabernet. They lack the cachet, and are often the ‘pet’ projects of winemakers – who produce them because they are passionate about the varietal and love drinking them, while their bread and butter Cabernet and Pinot Noir offerings keep the lights on.

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