Archive

Week SIX of our weekly recap delivers a fairly uneventful week, except for an afternoon delight of a trade tasting in Lexington, reconnecting with good friend and former Bacchus rep Renee, and establishing the fact that La Chica Loca is just awesome: Wine Reviewed: 54. Wine of the Week: Aldo Conterno Barolo Romirasco 2006. Thank you [...]

Our good friend and SWS/Crown rep DJ Jazzy Jeff dropped these off some time ago, and my lazy ass finally got around to reviewing them: Barkan Classic Merlot Galil 2010. Grade=Average. A decent red. Mild tannins, but a bit too earthy. Disguises the cherry and mint that is down in there somewhere. Kinda rough for [...]

SWS/Bluegrass manager Reverend Jim left samples of Snap Dragon behind on his last visit, and DJ TJ and I hit them for a bit of Saturday afternoon hijinx: Snap Dragon Chardonnay California 2010. Grade=Average. Kinda weird. Like drinking the juice from canned pears. Not much else going on. Snap Dragon Riesling California 2010. Grade=Okay. Apple [...]

Catching up on a rare Saturday in the studio, I sat down for a few with my wine brother, DJ TJ for a rapid-fire three act rampage. First up, two from Cameron Hughes: Cameron Hughes Chardonnay Lot #215 Willamette Valley 2009. Grade=Good. Fairly woody and buttery; kind of odd for an Oregon Chardonnay. Lots of [...]

Brother Lou rounded out the Thursday deluge with an even dozen of wines from California and New Zealand: Avalon Sauvignon Blanc California 2010. Grade=Very Good. Key lime, lemon meringue, passion fruit and guava come through in this crisp, grassy SB. Massimo Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough 2011. Grade=Very Good. Lots of white grapefruit, gooseberry, lemongrass and jalapeno [...]

DJ Jazzy Jeff and his boss, our good friend and one of my wine mentors, “Rock” Candy Ludwig, dropped in with a rousing lineup of Northern Rhones from Jean-Luc Colombo, plus a new Argentine Malbec: Jean-Luc Colombo Viognier La Violette VDP 2010. Grade=Outstanding. Very pretty white flowers, peach skin, apricots and orange blossom. Light-to-medium-bodied. Finishes [...]

Thursday introduced our new Heidelberg rep to the Studio, Ryan Leitner, who has no earthly idea what kind of lunacy he has stepped into here at the D.E.P. Whipping out a few nuggets alongside his managers Bobby “Thirstin’” Howell “III” and Vince “Icepick” Karlage, we got down to “brass tacks:” [Editor’s Note: Ryan had opened [...]

Kicking off a fairly busy Thursday, Thursday, Thursday in the afternoon was our friend and SWS/Bluegrass rep La Chica Loca, as well as her boss, our very own Reverend Jim with a few new things from Diageo: Ensemble White Wine California 2010. Grade=Good. Predominantly Chenin Blanc (with Malvasia Bianca, Muscat, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling), this [...]

Yesterday, I travelled down state to Lexington for a “rare” wine tasting with my good friends at De Wet’s Toast of Kentucky and Alison Casillo of Massanois Imports. Hosting the event was Jonathan’s at Graft Park, a very cool little restaurant nestled in the historic Graft Park Inn, just a few blocks from downtown. My [...]

I’ve been thinking a lot about this business lately. (Oh shit, here comes another reflective piece!) I’ve been involved in the food and beverage industry for a long time, going back to working at Arby’s and Cassano’s (a pizza chain in the Dayton, Ohio area). I have done virtually everything you could do on the [...]