wine critics
WINE TASTINGS – WHAT ARE THEY ?
First, I tackled the question of Wine Writing – What Is It? (to read that article click here). Now The Underground, never afraid to venture into complex subjects, explores another enigma wrapped in a riddle: Wine Tastings – What Are They? Well, it depends. You see “wine tastings” come in many forms. They range from […]
Click here to read entire article »A BOTTLE OF PERFECT WINE
People often ask “what is the best wine you have ever had?” Honestly, I really don’t know. Over the course of some 40 years of drinking wine I have had the great experience of drinking literally tens of thousands of wines. Many of these were great, and I would say that there were perhaps a […]
Click here to read entire article »A SHIFTING LANDSCAPE
INTRODUCTION Allen R. Balik is a Underground contributing editor (to read his biography click here) who also writes a bi-weekly wine column in the On Wine section of the Napa Valley Register. The article below first appeared in the February 21, 2013 edition of Napa Valley Register. It speaks to the subject of wine and […]
Click here to read entire article »TAKE A DIFFERENT VIEW THAT IS EASY ON YOUR PALATE AND ON YOUR WALLET
A Trio of Terrific Under The Radar Wines For Under $20 As many of the top wines in the world escalate to dizzying prices, there is another world below the clouds that gets a lot less press. That is the great values that exist in wines for the wine drinker, and not collectors and big […]
Click here to read entire article »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?
Click here to read entire article »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!
Click here to read entire article »Lemmings to the Sea?
A few years ago I was in Napa and stopped by the Dean & DeLuca store. In perusing through the myriad of wine racks, I was taken by the Cabernet Sauvignon section. It was huge! I was struck by not only how many bottles were priced at $100 or up, but how many I had never heard of. In the latter category, I counted 20 or 30 and gave up. As I left the store, I could not help thinking “This has gone too far. How many people are there to support the market?” It looked like a market top.
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