wines
WINE FRAUD AND A WINE DETECTIVE – THE STORY OF DON CORNWELL
BACKGROUND This article begins by detailing the background of wine fraud as reported by the Underground. This is a lead in to the story of Don Cornwell who has emerged as one of the foremost detectives in investigating and ferreting out wine fraud. This story was reported in an article by Dan Collins in […]
Click here to read entire article »AU BON CLIMAT & QUPÉ
GREAT WINES IN THE SHED FOR OVER 20 YEARS! Last year, along with my long time friend and contributing editor Ed Lazarus, I visited Au Bon Climat, Qupé, and Chanin at the winery facility in Santa Maria. Au Bon Climat and Qupé are now pioneer winemakers in the area and start up Chanin Winery had […]
Click here to read entire article »MOUNT EDEN VINEYARDS AND DOMAINE EDEN
A recent visit with Jeffrey and Ellie Patterson at Mount Eden Vineyards and Domaine Eden offered the opportunity to taste some 2011 wines out of barrel and also to spend an evening at Manresa in Los Gatos celebrating Ellie’s 60th birthday. (Manresa is a great restaurant under the direction of Chef-Proprietor David Kinch. I took […]
Click here to read entire article »HISTORIC VINEYARD SOCIETY
Many of California’s Oldest Vineyards Are Endangered The Rare Wine Company recently arranged the tasting of Joseph Swan wines which I attended. This tasting was part of their continuing efforts to support California’s historic vineyards (to read that article click here). In The Rare Wine Company’s November 16, 2010 newsletter, collections of wines were […]
Click here to read entire article »UNDER THE RADAR & VALUE PRICED ROSÉS AND WHITE WINES
My last Distinctive New Wines article featured rosé and white wines (to read that article click here). As the end of summer approaches, here are more rosé and white wine selections that are perfect for warm weather drinking. There are many Under The Radar wines and many terrific values. There are also rare wines and […]
Click here to read entire article »RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW VOLUME II, NUMBER 6 JUNE – JULY 1981
We are currently reproducing a copy of Volume II, Number 6 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. So Volume III, Number 1 will be coming […]
Click here to read entire article »EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BEEN DYING TO KNOW ABOUT NEWLY RELEASED CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAYS!
Just when I think I have seen it all, up pops another surprise. A good friend just sent me a collection of notes taken from a website frequented by a lot of people posting notes on wines. In this case, it seems to be from what sounds like a bunch of groupies who love […]
Click here to read entire article »JOSEPH SWAN: A CALIFORNIA WINE LEGEND
THE MAN AND HIS WINES AND THE CONTINUATION OF HIS VISION Recently, I attended a dinner that featured 17 different wines from Joseph Swan Vineyards. It was organized by The Rare Wine Company with the wines almost entirely from the Joseph Swan Vineyards library. Held at The Murray Circle Restaurant at Cavallo Point in San […]
Click here to read entire article »WHEN TO TASTE, DRINK, & ENJOY YOUNG WINES & WHAT ABOUT ROSÉ?
You are never too old to learn. For over 40 years I have been drinking and tasting wine. (And, yes,Virginia, there is a difference! But that is a story for another day). Yet, one of the great joys is that there are always new discoveries. Since re-launching The Underground 2 ½ years ago, […]
Click here to read entire article »THE VINEYARD OR THE WINEMAKING? WHAT REALLY MATTERS?
Allen R. Balik recently wrote an article in the Napa Valley Register entitled “Is it about the vineyard or the winemaking?” That’s an often asked question. But, is it a good question or a bad question? I would say that it depends on your perspective. Here are some of the highlights of Allen’s article: Although […]
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