Archive

My wife and I have become completely enamored with the cable network BBC America. I’ve made a few assertions that my wife and I are inevitably heading for the UK to become full-fledged Brits, and our latest guilty pleasure is the reality/game show called “Come Dine With Me.” The concept is pretty straight-forward. Four people [...]

Back on Wednesday, our good friend and Vintner Select sales manager Jeff came by with some ports and a very unusual Chilean white wine: Cucao Pedro Ximenez Elqui Valley 2009. Grade=Outstanding. Usually, when you think of PX, you think Spain, and you almost certainly envision something sweet. One big mindf… this light-bodied, quite dry white [...]

Our good friend and Heidelberg rep Kymber (filling in for our favorite wine mama, Wendy) brought by a kind of grab bag of wines: Robert Stemmler Chardonnay Carneros 2007. Grade=Amazing. This is an incredible rich, full-bodied Chard with harmonious tropical and stone fruit aromas and flavors, creamy oak, buttered brioche, butterscotch, lychee nut, caramel and [...]

Our good friend Martin from Martin & Co. came by with more stuff from his growing portfolio: Humberto Canale Extra Brut Patagonia NV. Grade=Outstanding. I was surprised at how good this unusual sparkling blend of Semillon, Pinot Noir, Merlot (yea, I said Merlot) and Sauvignon Blanc shows off a very tart, green apple-influenced sparkler. Very [...]

BRIEF ANNOUNCEMENT! UTGT welcomes another future wino into the world. Our favorite wine mama, Wendy Huff from Heidelberg gave birth to a healthy baby girl on Wednesday. Baby Lucy joins clan Huff healthy and happy. Congrats to Wendy, her husband, and Lucy’s new big brother Jake. (I have been so afraid Wendy was going to give [...]

Our good friend and RNDC/Barkley rep Lou came by some old and some new wine: Middle Sister Sauvignon Blanc Surfer Girl NV. Grade=Outstanding. Very nice, expressive, light-bodied SB with fresh-picked lemon, grapefruit and guava characters. Bearboat Pinot Gris Sonoma Coast 2008. Grade=Outstanding. Light-bodied, very floral, with a lot of mineral and melon characters. Nice value. [...]

Recently, I decided to bag the Grape Therapy newsletter, incorporating it into the ongoing Buzz Bin, in an attempt to streamline some of my various besotted musings. The newest issue of the Buzz Bin has been expanded to 9 pages, and will eventually morph into a 12-page newsletter, featuring all the wine, beer and spirits [...]

Monday night, Shannon, one of our part-time guys, Steve, and myself went over to downtown Cincinnati restaurant Nada to join our good friends at Cutting Edge as they hosted a dinner with Pedro Llanas, winemaker for Bodegas Borsao and Alto Moncayo. Nada features their creative (and delicious) bent on Mexican-style cuisine, and is situated right [...]

Over the weekend, I wanted to do some cooking, and decided this would be a great opportunity to get to the bottle of Oberon Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2009 (Grade=Outstanding), sent to me courtesy of Susanne Bergrstom, PR Director and Partner of Folio Fine Wine Partners. I love Sauvignon Blanc, and my wife does too, [...]

This week has been something of a blur, and for the life of me, I couldn’t explain to you any particular reason why. It’s been all over the map, really. We’ve had a few shake-ups personnel-wise at the store, my wife is home recovering from a broken ankle, there have been several brands shuffling amongst [...]