Articles by
John Tilson
2019 FRENCH ROSÉS – PART 2 – BARGAINS UNDER $10
This is my second article on 2019 Rosés (to read the first article on Bandol Rosés click here). The focus here is on 2019 French Rosés that are truly great bargains. The price to quality ratio here is just about as good as it gets. These wines are a Win/Win!! Two more articles will follow […]
Click here to read entire article »2019 ROSÉS – PART 1
BANDOL ROSÉS I have been tasting and drinking Rosés every year for decades. But the real story here is that 2019 is an absolutely great vintage for French Rosés across the board. Like many things, the 2019 French Rosés have been arriving late this year. But I have been working overtime tasting them and […]
Click here to read entire article »TABLAS CREEK VINEYARD 2020 FALL RELEASES
The Tablas Creek Vineyard 2020 Fall Releases are here and true to form they are terrific and represent real value. Here is what I said in the introduction to my last Tablas Creek Vineyard article: The Tablas Creek Vineyard wines are very distinctive with great appeal at very affordable prices. They should […]
Click here to read entire article »IT’S ABOUT TIME: WINE INGREDIENT LABELING MAYBE COMING!
BACKGROUND From my earliest days drinking wine in the 70s I would taste a wine that was very different from what I was used to tasting in that kind of wine and wonder “what is in the wine”. Later on I began to figure out based on tasting that there had to be things […]
Click here to read entire article »RIDGE VINEYARDS FALL RELEASES
MORE GREAT WINES FROM RIDGE INCLUDING THE MONUMENTAL 2017 MONTE BELLO Great Wines Across The Board – Don’t Miss Them 2019 Grenache Blanc Adelaida Vineyard Paso Robles In recent vintages Ridge has begun to produce Rhone White Varietals. They have been Outstanding combining purity, power, flavor and finesse. This […]
Click here to read entire article »THE 2018 RED BURGUNDIES ARE STARTING TO ARRIVE AND WE ARE OFF TO A GREAT START – DOMAINE FRÉDÉRIC ESMONIN
My first article on the 2018 Red Burgundies was published shortly after our visit to Burgundy tasting the wines in barrel at 15 different producers last November (to read that article which I sub-titled “A Legend In The Making” click here). Notes on those wines will be published soon. In the meantime, some 2018s […]
Click here to read entire article »RIDGE VINEYARDS: GREAT RECENT RELEASES
For over 50 years Ridge Vineyard has been making some of the best wines in California. And since the 1960s I have been buying, drinking, and cellaring them each year. The result is that I have more wines from Ridge Vineyards in my cellar than I have from any other producer. The wines […]
Click here to read entire article »THE CURRENT STATE OF NAPA VALLEY
A recent article in The New York Times featured a brief history of the Napa Valley and one of its major vineyard owners Andy Beckstoffer. Mr. Beckstoffer is 80 years old and has been around Napa Valley since 1967. At that time he worked for Heublein, an East Coast-based liquor conglomerate. He helped them […]
Click here to read entire article »GREAT NEW RELEASES FROM TABLAS CREEK VINEYARD – ROSÉ, WHITE, AND RED
Two Compelling 2019 Rosés It’s rosé time and the two new rosés from Tablas Creek Vineyard I am sure will be among the best of all the 2019 rosés yet to come. Don’t miss them! 2019 Tablas Creek Vineyard Patelin de Tablas Rosé Paso Robles This rosé is made from 76% Grenache, […]
Click here to read entire article »BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
For my wife Laurie and me our birthday, celebrations always revolve around wine and food. We bought our property here in Montecito, CA in 1993. It was vacant land when we purchased it, and we began building the guest house several years later. Next was building the main house which incorporated the guest quarters […]
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