sound & fury

touring Rutherford Hill in Napa Valley

November 30, 2010

Believe it or not, touring a winery can be a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong. It is thrilling to go to wine country, sample expensive and rare wines, occasionally talk with the wine makers or owners, admire the facility or get lost in the view or in the romance of it all. The quality [...]

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Bordeaux Châteaux: a History of the Grands Crus Classés since 1855

October 25, 2010

Aaah, Bordeaux! I am enchanted with the idea of you. Bordeaux Châteaux is a marvelous book: full of the romance of that greatest of French wine regions. Published to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the world-renowned Grands Crus Classés in 1855, the book overflows with poetic and loving descriptions of the various châteaux that form [...]

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Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine: Pleasure, Value, and Adventure beyond Wine’s Usual Suspects by Mark Oldman

October 7, 2010

Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine is a delightful guide to exploring wine for novices and experienced oenophiles alike. Convinced that we all tend to stick with the familiar when it comes to our vinous choices, Oldman’s goal is to push the reader to give up that oaky chardonnay or go-to shiraz, at least once [...]

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Rheingold: the German Wine Renaissance by Owen Bird

August 31, 2010

In Rheingold – The German Wine Renaissance, Owen Bird enthusiastically advocates for German Riesling while simultaneously criticizing the industry’s ability to successfully market it as the preeminent white on the international stage. In this age of red wine consumption, has German Riesling become a fashion casualty? Bird, at one of his funniest moments, writes, “Fashion [...]

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confusing Syrah advice from Wine Spectator

August 3, 2010

I really enjoy Wine Spectator, but maybe I’ve been taking it too seriously lately. I went a little crazy over 2009 Bordeaux futures after WS and everyone else went hog-wild about the vintage. My checkbook is still recovering. The same happened with the 2007 Châteauneuf-du-Pape vintage. WS loved it, and, by extension, I did, too. [...]

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Reflections of a Wine Merchant by Neal Rosenthal

July 28, 2010

Wine is fantastic, though is it possible to ever get too much of a good thing? Well, not if you’re Neal Rosenthal. His exciting book, Reflections of a Wine Merchant, describes his career as an independent wine merchant in New York with a penchant for Old World wines. In the mid-Seventies, Rosenthal was a disillusioned [...]

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A Year of Wine by Tyler Colman, AKA Dr. Vino

July 15, 2010

I read A Year of Wine: Perfect Pairings, Great Buys, and What to Sip for Each Season in hopes of learning more about pairing red wines with spicy, vegetarian and Asian style foods: basically the kinds of things that we eat and blog about all the time. Plus I really like Dr. Vino’s site. Like [...]

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wine tasting with blinders on: what’s the point?

June 14, 2010

The other day, the latest edition of Wine Spectator arrived in the mail. The one with Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non grinning all the way to the bank on the cover. I’m a huge fan of this magazine (Thanks for turning me onto it, Whit!) As usual, I was delighted with Matt Kramer’s column, [...]

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the 2009 Bordeaux vintage: wine merchants in hysterics or hysterically good?

June 9, 2010

I got the 2009 Bordeaux Vintage Report from K and L Wine Merchants in the mail the other day. They’re rhapsodically praising it with a mathematical formula printed in large lettering right on the cover: “’2009 = 1947X + 1982Y + 2005Z’ or ‘PURE CASHMERE’” Now I majored in mathematics in college so this complex [...]

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Celebrate South Africa 2010, San Francisco

May 11, 2010

I heard about this super fun South African wine tasting event from a very popular wine blog and just had to go. It is World Cup season next month and South Africa is the host nation. (Go Brazil!!!) What a delightful excuse to drink South African wines, as if one ever really needed one. I’m [...]

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