T.G.I.F. Champagne And The LIke…NV Poema Brut Cava

This week’s sparkler is a Cava from Spain.  I picked this up a BevMo for $9.99 (It was priced at $10.99 pre-BevMo club discount ) Poema is a small producer (when you consider the likes of Codorníu, Freixenet, and Segura Viudas), that is in Korbrand’s portfolio.  They own 20% of the vineyard sources.  The rest are under…

Wine Words Demystified: Malolactic Fermentation

You know the deal, the more some folks learn about a topic, the more shortcuts/slang/acronyms/initials/technical jargon can be tossed around.  I’m here to help you understand those sometimes mysterious words and phrases, thus – Wine Words Demystified! This week’s word/phrase is Malolactic Fermentation According to Karen MacNeil‘s The Wine Bible: This process has nothing to do with regular FERMENTATION since…

Wine Of The Week – 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Crianza Viña Gravonia

My wine of the week for March 10-16 is the 2001 R. López de Heredia Rioja Blanco Crianza Viña Gravonia.  Man that’s a long name!  If you’re not familiar with Spanish, let me break it down for you – “Rioja Blanco” means White wine from Rioja – “Crianza” refers to how long the wine is aged…