Articles by
John Tilson
CALERA WINE COMPANY
Stunning New Releases I have been familiar with Calera since the inaugural vintage in 1978 and first visited the winery just after those wines were released (to read notes on the first Calera wines in the Barrels and Bottles feature of The Underground Wineletter Volume II, Number 2 Oct-Nov 1980 click here). My most recent […]
Click here to read entire article »STUPID WINE DESCRIPTION OF THE YEAR?
As we approach the 2016 Academy Awards, I am offering my selection of the Stupid Wine Description Of The Year. After all, many wine descriptions have become as much of a fantasy land as Hollywood! And, at the end of this article I have a proposal for all of you that will be a lot […]
Click here to read entire article »THE OLD BURGUNDIANS
In late November I returned from Burgundy where with my friends I tasted many 2014 Burgundies from barrel and some 2013s from bottle. I will have a detailed article out soon, but for now I can say that I find the 2014 Burgundies to have a lot of charm and there should be many wonderful […]
Click here to read entire article »A GREAT OLD WINE THAT VIRTUALLY NO ONE KNOWS
As I have said many times, there is nothing better than a great old wine. But, the exception might be if it is a wine that virtually no one knows, and one that you chose and cellared for yourself and friends from the very beginning. It is exactly the latter that this story is about. […]
Click here to read entire article »A GREAT 2016 VACATION IDEA: PROVENCE
In the fall of 2011 my wife Laurie and I, along with our friends Jim and Marcia Wolf from here in Santa Barbara, visited Provence and the South of France where we visited several wineries and enjoyed some marvelous food (in Saint-Tropez, a bucket of steamed baby mussels with Pomme Frites and a bottle of […]
Click here to read entire article »DOMAINE BALLOT-MILLOT ET FILS: THE 2013S ARE HERE
If you value finesse and elegance in White and Red Burgundy as I do, then these are wines for you. I have been buying them, cellaring them, and drinking them for several years now. I buy them each year and it is always a pleasure to drink them young or with several years additional […]
Click here to read entire article »HAPPY NEW YEAR 2016!
It’s always hard to believe, but it’s that time of year again. The New Year 2016 is almost here. Beginning in 2011, after our first year as an online publication, I published my reflections on the past year and fearless wine forecasts for the upcoming year. Many things did occur and most trends were […]
Click here to read entire article »A RECENT TASTING AND DINNER WITH OLIVIER KRUG FEATURING NEW RELEASES AND OLDER KRUG CHAMPAGNES
Krug Champagnes have long been some of my very favorite Champagnes and they are well represented in my cellar. Earlier this year, at the invitation of Gary Westby and K&L Wine Merchants, I attended a Krug tasting of new releases followed by a dinner at Madera, the signature restaurant at the Rose Wood Sand […]
Click here to read entire article »ENCORE: DEAR SANTA, WE’VE GOT A LITTLE LIST
In the very early days of the online Underground I posted an article I had published in 1983 in the print version of The Underground Wineletter (Volume V, Number 5) and added a postscript with some new wines to add to that list. Just to show that great old wines never fade away, the […]
Click here to read entire article »SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAIN VINEYARD AND QUINTA CRUZ
A Great Under The Radar Twoofer My history here goes back a long time. This is a small under the radar winery that consistently makes first rate wines at affordable prices. Here is the introduction to the history of these wines from my first article (to read that article click here). This is the story […]
Click here to read entire article »
