Wine of The Day: 2012 Castello di Amorosa La Castellana

2012 Castello di Amorosa La Castellana – “between medium and full-bodied and fresh with an elegant, harmonious character” The inspiration for La Castellana comes from Italian Super Tuscans like Sassicaia, Ornellaia, and Tignanello.  It is a “Super Tuscan” blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Sangiovese, 9% Merlot  aged 20 months in large French oak barrels. Dark…

A Ligurian Red Blend: 2015 Azienda Agricola Terre di Levante Rosso Liguria #ItalianFWT

My wife and I spent just over three weeks in Italy last October.  So I was thrilled when I saw the theme for this month’s Italian Food, Wine and Travel (#ItalianFWT) group of bloggers features Coastal Wine, Food and Travel!  “Perfect” I thought because among the multitude of highlights of our trip was time we spent…

Wine of the Day: 2014 Bodega Garzon Tannat

Grapes for the Bodega Garzon Tannat were hand-picked and fermented in large concrete casks.  After fermentation the juice was transferred to neutral French oak barrels and untoasted French oak casks (2.5-5k liters) for 12 months of aging – six months on lees, plus six months in French oak barrels and casks. Nearly opaque violet color with…

Ten Favorite Under $20 Widely Available Sparkling Wines

For about a year now, I’ve  been contributing to Snooth’s Wine Writer’s Series.  My latest contribution to the Snooth Wine Writer series was the Holiday Sparkling  Bottle Pick List.  Myself and seventeen of the web’s best wine writers (not quite sure how I snuck in… but I’ll take it!) made no limit recommendations for sparkling wines for the…

Wine of the Day: 2014 Josetta Saffirio Langhe Nebbiolo

2014 Josetta Saffirio Langhe Nebbiolo; A harmonious blend of Nebbiolo and Merlot offering very good value! This wine, from the Langhe DOC, is a blend of 85% Nebbiolo, and 15% Merlot.  The grapes are sourced from the  Comune of Monforte d’Alba where the predominant soil type is ‘Elveziano’, which is best described as marine deposits showing…

Wine of the Day; 2015 Peter Zemmer “Rollhütt” Pinot Noir

2015 Peter Zemmer “Rollhütt” Pinot Noir  – If you’re looking for an Old World Pinot Noir for under $20 …look no further! This wine hails from the Suditrol sub-region of the Alto Adige DOC, which borders Austria and Switzerland in northern Italy.  Grapes for this wine were sourced from vineyards in the immediate vicinity of…

A Caboodle of Cabernet Franc for #CabFrancDay

Celebrating #CabFrancDay with a caboodle of Cabernet Franc from California, Oregon and New York Last weekend I participated in the 2nd Annual #CabFrancDay.  #CabFrancDay is a celebration of the Cabernet Franc grape variety.  It was established by Lori Hoyt Budd of Dracaena Wines last year. “The era of Cabernet Franc is nearly upon us.”  – Wine…