You Don’t Know Jura?

In the past I have known very little about Jura wines. What little I did know recalled a Sherry-like wine that I tasted sometime long, long ago. But, as I recently discovered, there are new things happening in Jura and it is being re-discovered. Here is the story.

A Pair To Draw From – Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and Quinta Cruz

This is the story of two wineries, one is the remains of a winery that was established in the early days of the California wine boom and the other is only a few years old. But they have a lot in common. They are now united in one winery facility. They have a common proprietor/winemaker with a long history of making balanced, harmonious, and flavorful wines without excessive oak or alcohol.

T FOR TWO – TABLAS CREEK AND TYLER TOO!

This is a tale of two wineries. Both are relatively new and both come from different perspectives. But both have one thing in common. That is to produce wines that are harmonious and have complexity and balance. The results so far from both wineries are very impressive. They are definitely wines to seek out.

Retrospective Review: Volume II, Number 1 (August-September, 1980)

We are currently reproducing a copy of Volume II, Number 1 of The Underground Wineletter. Below you’ll find an updated review of each article, where I will go over what we got right and what we got wrong. We will follow this format with each successive issue.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER…

OK, here’s your twofer – along with the big numbers from the big numbers wine critics comes the big wine descriptions. If you thought some of the numbers were amazing, have you paid attention to the wine descriptions?

FLASH! BIG NUMBERS WINE CRITIC ISSUES REPORT ON 2009 BEAUJOLAIS

Last week it seems one of the “big” numbers wine critics sent out a notice entitled “The 2009 Beaujolais Hysteria: Is it Justified?” Forget the fact that most 2009 Beaujolais has been on the market since last summer/fall (see our reports beginning last summer). Forget the fact that the question posed is never answered. And most of all, forget some of the absurd comments. How about “freakishly large-scaled” or “fruit bombs?” Hah! This is a joke!

SPÄTBURGUNDER – WHAT IS IT?

OK, here are your choices:

1. A new hamburger from Wienerschnitzel
2. A new line of shoes from Jimmy Choo
3. A new Russian satellite
4. Something you do when you don’t feel good
5. A new hybrid car from Volkswagen
6. The German name for Syrah
7. Late Burgundian
8. A hybrid grape variety that is a cross between vegetable and animal
9. Something that is discarded as having little value
10. A German rap group

Take a guess.

PINOT GRIS. IT’S FOR ME. DO YOU KNOW PINOT GRIS?

I doubt that very many people do know Pinot Gris. That’s a shame. It is one of the most food-friendly white wines (especially when domestic wines are considered) and is generally very affordable. So with that introduction, let me first provide a bit of history.

Que Syrah, Syrah…Wherefore Art Thou?

I began talking about the glut of Syrah early last year. And, it seems that glut is continuing unabated as I get regular offers of big discounts on big Syrahs. The forces of supply/demand are clearly at work, but at what appears to be a slow pace. There is a lot of Syrah available, but maybe there would be less of a glut if some of it were used to make a different style of wine.

ALONG THE BURGUNDY TRAIL – VINTAGE 2009

Background And Table Of Contents I started going to Burgundy in 1981. In the early days, I was accompanied by Geoffrey Troy and Edward Lazarus and occasionally John Brincko. Later Geoffrey and I continued to visit Burgundy and we were joined by Ted Swinnerton. In recent years, John Brincko rejoined Geoffrey and me. Our most […]