Has it really been almost three months since we did a wine product samples roundup on 1WD? Shame on me – though, in my own defense (against myself), my backlog of non-edible product samples, while certainly not non-existent, kind of pales in comparison to my backlog of drinkable samples (and those are usually more fun, […] Grab The 1Wi...

2016 Bells Up "Titan" Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): Not living up to its namesake, but that's okay; more lovely than powerful, more light on its feet than boorish. $40 B+ 2018 Troon Vineyard Cotes du Kubli Blanc (Applegate Valley): Its memory are as its spice notes: both will linger in very pleasant ways. $25 A- […] Grab The 1WineDude.com ...

Ok, folks, calm down please. I knew that I was stirring the pot a bit with my recent commentary regarding what is often referred to as the Natural Wine Movement, but I didn't expect quite so many personal responses. Quite a few of you pinged me out of concern that I'd finally succumbed to my […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start...

2015 Cartograph Transverse Pinot Noir (North Coast): Earthiness and edginess crossing foils in entertaining ways. $64 A- 2013 Cartograph Leonardo Julio Vineyard Brut Zero (Russian River Valley): Showing its age? Proudly, when wearing it this exceedingly well. $68 A- 2015 Bannister Campbell Ranch Pinot Noir (Sonoma Coast): The raspberries and cherri...

I know that I was supposed to finish up my take on the wine regions of Israel… but a) this is my blog, so I'll do what I want, and b) I'm so late on that anyway that another week (or two?) won't matter, right? The wonderful distraction in this case comes by way of […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out of e...

2018 Domaine Bousquet Cabernet Sauvignon (Tupungato): Reminding you to always look on the plummy side of life. $20 B+ 2015 Jordan Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley): Playing it safe? Maybe, but doing so with excellent precision and poise. $57 A- 2016 Moshin Vineyards River Myst Haven Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): A haven for those [&...

I have taken to avoiding use of the term "natural wine." This has nothing to do with wines largely considered to be natural wines, some of which have beguiled me (though most too often are a disappointing combination of everything I don't want in a wine married with a distinct lack of what I do […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and st...

2018 Marco Felluga Russiz Superiore Sauvignon Collio (Friuli-Venezia Giulia): Making a compelling, authentic case for FZG being your go-to spot for refined SB. $29 B+ 2017 Schloss Johannisberg Gelblack Riesling Feinherb (Rheingau): The kind of ginger-tinged awesomeness that you should – and very well could – drink all day long. $NA B+ 2...

For a year and a half now, I've struggled. It's been that long since I had my feet on the ground among the vines in Israeli wine country, and until now I'd yet to write a word about the experience, apart from a few social media updates and the odd mini-review. The mistake I'd made […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting mo...

2018 Yalumba Bush Vine Grenache (Barossa): Friendlier than your neighbor's Labrador retriever. $20 B+ 2018 Cantine Argiolas Serra Lori Rose Isola dei Nuraghi (Sardinia): Fun-loving, seeking salmon burgers, prefers bitter, sarcastic jokes. $18 B 2016 Chateau des Capitans Julienas (Beaujolais): Perkiness that belies a decent amount of backbone grit. ...

A few weeks ago, I visited San Diego for yet another stint of judging at the annual Critics Challenge International Wine Competition, now in its sixteenth year. As is always the case with CC, the organization, staff, and execution were all top-notch, allowing us critic-judge-types to give the wines their fair due under the palate […] Grab Th...

2017 Duchman Family Winery Trebbiano (Texas): Crowd-pleasing perkiness from where you might just have least expected it. $20 B+ 2017 Duchman Family Winery Viognier (Texas): Oily breadth, citric bounce, and floral breath. $18 B+ 2016 Pedernales Cellars Texas Albarino (Texas): Topping off your tropical fruits with candied ginger and honey? Count me i...

While I enjoy the thrill of the new, in some ways I am a creature of habit. Specifically, I have both a habit of getting invited to wine regions that don't make the usual list of media darling locales, and I have a habit of accepting those invitations because, well, new. And so it was […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start gettin...

2016 Pierre Amadieu Cairanne Les Hautes Rives (Rhone): Fruitiness, finesse, freshness, and a f*ck-load of fresh pepper. $20 B+ 2015 Pierre Amadieu Vinsobres Les Piallats (Rhone): Chewy smoked game meat, topped with raspberries, dried herbs, and spices. $20 B+ 2016 Pierre Amadieu Vacqueyras La Grangeliere (Rhone): Grab this bargain by the case if yo...

"It only took me… eleven years!" remarked Ron Yates, owner of the family-run Spicewood Vineyards, which produces about three thousand cases from about forty acres in the about-as-unlikely-as-they-come-at-first-but-upon-further-review-kind-o f-inevitable fine wine region of Texas Hill Country. Yates was speaking about the fact that he and Texas...

NV Gratien & Meyer Brut (Cremant de Loire): Bubbles for Now. Which ought to suit most of you gorgeous lushes just fine, right? $20 B NV Ruhlmann Harmonie de Rose (Cremant d'Alsace): Usually, balanced mixes of earthy and fruity like this only happen in orchards. $22 B 2017 M. Chapoutier Domaine de Bila-Haut ‘L'Esquerda' (Cotes […] G...

Ah, good old, dependable Chteau Pdesclaux. Well, for those in the know when it comes to Bordeaux, this Pauillac producer was dependable for decades… in that one could usually depend on it to under-perform. Established back in 1810 by the wine broker who gave it its name (Pierre Urbain Pdesclaux), Pdesclaux rose to prominence rather […] ...

2018 Berryessa Gap Chardonnay (Yolo County): Toasted nut and zesty lemon curd, dancing a bit of an irresistible jig. $27 B+ 2018 Berryessa Gap Dry Rose (Yolo County): The lively, floral result of some strange grape variety bedfellows. $19 B 2018 Berryessa Gap Sauvignon Blanc (Yolo County): Mostly tropical; also, also mostly excellent. $24 B+ [̷...

No one could accuse the Southern Rhne cru Cairanne of rushing into things. For much of its history, Cairanne seems to have been metaphysically hiding from the fine wine world behind its own rocky outcrops. While technically part of the Ctes du Rhne designation since 1953, it took Cairanne 87 years to reach cru AOC […] Grab The 1WineDude.com ...

2017 Le Cadeau Vineyard ‘Cote Est' Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): For those blessed times when perkiness is considered to be a virtue. $50 A- 2016 Youngberg Hill Vineyards Bailey Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): Well… *that* little slice of pure loveliness isn't likely to be forgotten anytime too soon. $75 A 2017 Iris Vineyards ‘D...

It has been quite a good long while since we did a product round-up here on 1WD, and judging by the size of the pile of wine books samples in my office, it's now high-time that we rectify that. Either that, or I'm going to have a hospital bill in my future after tripping on […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start getting more out ...

2012 Oso Libre ‘Osezno' Zinfandel (Paso Robles): Ripe, big, and stewed, but there's life left in the old girl yet! $40 B+ 2016 Dutton-Goldfield Dutton Ranch Emerald Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir (Green Valley): Putting on a veritable spice-and-herbs clinic; and it's quite the show. $62 A 2018 Mas de la Dame ‘La Gourmande' Rose (Les […...

Robert M. Parker, Jr. – arguably the world's most famous, but unarguably its most influential, wine critic – is hangin' up the spurs. Last week, The Wine Advocate announced that Parker, who had steadily been down-shifting his wine review duties over the better course of a decade, is retiring from the publication. What's poised to [̷...

2017 Domaine Elodie Balme Ctes du Rhne (Rhne): A bit funky, a lot peppery, and even more fruity, friendly, and crowd-pleasing. $NA B+ 2016 Domaine Combe Juliere (Rasteau): Sexy, grippy, and with the kind of density that requires advanced physics calculations. $30 B+ 2016 Domaine du Trapadis ‘Les Adrs' (Rasteau): Red fruits and spices, tied [&...

Smack up against the Dentelles de Montmirail mountain range sits Gigondas, a former ancient Roman soldier retirement home area and Southern Rhne cru that, technically, contains more woodlands than vineyards. And that's after a killer frost in the 1960s wiped out a good portion of olive tree plantings, ushering in a shift towards more vine […]...

2015 Ravenswood Winery Angeli Carignan (Sonoma County): High-toned, perfumed, and about as large-and-in-charge as Carignan can possibly get. $42 B+ 2016 Turley Wine Cellars Hayne Vineyard Petite Sirah (Napa Valley): When the Valley puts on its best Mountain Man impersonation, & it's a good one. $75 A- 2017 St. Amant Winery Alicante Bouschet (Lo...

Well… I'm in the unenviable position of having to date myself. Embarrassingly (not because of my age, about which I mostly don't care, but because of my obvious lack of knowledge), I knew little about the Rasteau appellation prior to visiting it on a recent Rhne media jaunt, aside from the fact that it was […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Ta...

2017 Tenuta St Lucia ‘AlbaRara' (Albana di Romagna Secco): Eating apricots & edible flowers while sitting on a rock at the seashore. $NA B+ 2012 Fattoria Paradiso Vigna delle Lepri Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva (Emilia-Romagna): Harmonious, powerful, and gorgeous, and… wait, how much is this again?!?? $25 A- 2012 Fattoria ...

Lirac has a bit of a troubled middle child syndrome on its hands. Being a middle child myself, I can relate. Look at it this way: if I asked you to tell me about some killer Southern Rhne reds (which is 85% of Lirac's output), you're probably going to start waxing poetic about Chteauneuf-du-Pape. You […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide ...

2016 Poderi dal Nespoli Prugneto Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore (Emilia-Romagna): For when you need your red to stay spicy & juicy down to the last drop. $17 B+ 2016 Fattoria Nicolucci ‘Tre Rocche' Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore (Emilia-Romagna): Apparently the 3 castles here are named "Lovely," "Lithe," and "Overachieving." $12 B+ NV C...

It's Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, which for wine writers means one thing: an inundation of Ros samples and PR pitches. So I am here to remind you about the Southern Rhne's answer to Ros Spring Fever: Tavel. You remember Tavel. It's near Avignon. Wine has been produced there for centuries as a light-ish red. […] Grab The 1WineDude.com T...

2016 Dry Creek Vineyard Old Vine Zinfandel (Sonoma County): Bold, fresh, and kicking the dust off of its trusty leather boots. $33 A- 2016 Day Grist Vineyard Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley): The supple, sexy sides of showing off one's power. $43 A- 2017 Bedrock Wine Co. ‘Papera Ranch Heritage' Red (Russian River Valley): Papera's got […] ...

Just a quick-hit today to let you know that I'm the latest victim subject of the Turning the Tables Interviewing the Interviewers series over at Wine Industry Network. In those articles, Carl Giavanti (who, I must say, has the coolest glasses in all of the wine biz) flips the script on us journalist types, […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting...

I recently had the honor of judging at the 2019 San Diego International Wine & Spirits Challenge (now in its 37th year!), the results of which have been published, allowing me to share some of my thoughts on a few surprises that my panel had the good fortune of tasting during the competition. When I […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Gui...

2017 San Valentino Bio ‘Vivi' (Colli di Rimini Rebola): White flowers, white peaches, red cheeks from drinking so much of it. $16 B+ 2017 San Valentino ‘Bacaia' Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore (Emilia-Romagna): Vibrant, spicy, versatile, delightful, and dammit please bring me a hamburger! $NA B+ 2016 San Valentino Terra di Covignano San...

Lately, I've been reserving this virtual space for featuring producers I have recently (ok, ok, more like not-so-recently) visited in-person, with my feet in tasting rooms, cellars, vineyards, dilapidated vineyard trucks, etc. Today, however, I'm taking a short break from that feature run to turn your attention towards three items from the ever-exp...

2015 Tenuta La Viola Bertinoro ‘P.Honorii' Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva (Emilia-Romagna): Ready for battle, with a steely-eyed glare and more than it's fair share of grit & resolve. $NA A- 2015 Giovanna Madonia Cantina di Bertinoro ‘Ombroso' Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva (Emilia-Romagna): Kicking ass, and taking...

Chiara Condello grew up "ten minutes away" from Predappio's Azienda Vitivinicola Cond, a place so picturesque – even by exceptionally picturesque Romagna standards – that it houses its own resort, which in turn houses its own restaurant in an area that's nearly synonymous with Italian cuisine. Condello's father, Francesco, established t...

2015 San Patrignano ‘Avi' Sangiovese di Romagna Superiore Riserva (Emilia-Romagna): Long on the herbs, wood, spices, black cherries, structure, and, well, on pretty much everything. $35 A- 2017 Enio Ottaviani ‘Strati' Romagna Pagadebit (Emilia-Romagna): Pear, White Fig, and Grapefruit all go surfing together. $NA B+ 2017 Domaine de Sain...

MS, MW, friend of 1WD, and exceptionally cool wine geek Doug Frost is not a man to mince words. As a media guest recently for the 2019 incarnation of Zinfandel Experience in San Francisco, I managed to catch up briefly with Doug, who had this to say regarding Zinfandel continuously being cited as the quintessential […] Grab The 1WineDude.com...

2017 Tenuta Masselina ‘Masselina Albana' (Romagna Albana): Whie peach, white blossom, and a penchant for pairing with fine cheeses. $NA B+ 2013 Tenuta Masselina Sangiovese di Romagna Riserva (Emilia-Romagna): Making bramble and tobacco seem fresh, elegant, and – above all – full of potential. $NA A- 2016 Tre Monti ‘Thea' San...

While Giovanna Drei Don "hates" technical questions about wine, she is fond of horses; maybe more fond of horses than her children Ida Vittoria and Enrico, the fourth generation who have helped to run the winemaking operations at the picturesque Drei Don estate now owned by her husband Count Claudio Drei Don (who focused on […] Grab The 1Win...

2014 Dry Creek Vineyard The Mariner Meritage (Dry Creek Valley): Both classy and, one could argue, now classic in a Fitz Henry Lane painting kind of way. $40 A- 2016 Hess Collection Panthera Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): A promising start, for sure, though still needs to rise above the inevitable cougar-juice cheap shots that are […] Gr...

What gives one the impetus to isolate yeasts, experiment with, say, cumbersome large barriques, and pursue crafting world-class Sangiovese in a region best known for bulk wine? Probably having regional winemaking in your blood. That's the sense that one might take away from a visit to Tenuta Casali, in Romagna's Mercato Saraceno, where Silvia, Fran...

2017 Sidebar Kerner (Mokelumne River): Probably more richness and intrigue than we mere mortals deserve from this kind of price-point… $28 A- 2011 LangeTwins Centennial Zinfandel (Lodi): Tender and succulent slabs of smoked brisket IN YO FACE!!! $55 B+ 2013 Brack Mountain Cyprus Cabernet Sauvignon (Knights Valley): An embarrassment of riches ...

Well, that was unexpected. Earlier this week, I was a guest on Connections, a WXXI NPR radio program hosted by my friend (and the guy who literally wrote the book on NY Finger Lakes wine) Evan Dawson. Mostly, I just tried not so sound too much like an idiot compared to the show's (much) more […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting Guide and start...

"The soil is like a puzzle." When Fattoria Zerbina matriarch Cristina Geminiani talks about her Faenza area vineyards in Italy's Romagna, she gives the distinct impressions that a) she knows what she is doing, and, b) isn't prepared to take any sh*t about it. At least, that's the sense that I got when I got […] Grab The 1WineDude.com Tasting...

2016 Renato Ratti Barbera d'Asti (Piedmont): Brash, bold, and beautifully bountiful of brambly, berry fruit. $25 B+ 2014 Tenute Cisa Asinari Marchesi di Gresy Martinenga (Barbaresco): Perkily picking itself up and confidently wiping the topsoil from its leather jacket sleeve. $60 A- 2017 Donnafugata Bell'Assai Frappato Vittoria (Sicily): Floral, fr...

"Romagna had to fight a lot – and still has to fight a lot." So mentioned Alessandro Fiore – who, along with brother Claudio, oversee wine production of Castelluccio, one of their family's three winery operations – recognizes the oddly ironic state of Romagna wine. On the one hand, by most measures this hilly, picturesque […...

2017 Dutton Estate Winery Kylie's Cuvee Sauvignon Blanc (Russian River Valley): It's a big yard, but the grass is fresh and well-tended, and the tropical plants look great. $27 B+ 2016 Dutton-Goldfield Walker Hill Chardonnay (Russian River Valley): Sporting a sexier profile than normal… and there's nothing at all wrong with that. $50 A- 2016 ...