From time to time I come across a wine with a surprisingly good quality/price ratio (‘QPR”). The 2011 Zestos Vinos de Madrid Old Vines, a Spanish wine from the DO Madrid is such a wine. I purchased this bottle from my favorite wine store, K&L Wine Merchants. Not familiar with the DO Madrid? Join the club!…
Category: Spain
Top 20 Sparkling Wines Under $20!
Over the past couple of years I’ve made it a point to blog about sparkling wines. For a time I blogged about a different sparkling wine on a weekly basis (At one point I tried 30 different sparkling wines over a 30 week period!). Though I’ve gotten away from it in recent months, it’s not…
Seafood Gumbo and Wine Pairings for Soul Warming #SundaySupper
This week’s #SundaySupper theme is all about soul warming foods. You know, those soups, chili, stews, and other soul warming treat we seek when the weather turns cold. When I first saw the theme, my first thought was of “Soul Food”. I’d bet that “Soul food” is one of those phrases that if you ask 10…
Value Alert! – Crazy Good Spanish Gem For $11!
Here’s a highly recommended New World Style red blend from Spain that offers great QPR!
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…
Value Alert – 90pt Gem From Spain for $12!
Several months ago, I attended a La Mancha tasting in San Francisco. I blogged about it in a post entitled Is La Mancha Ready For Primetime? Of course, most of us are familiar with La Mancha thanks to the famous book by Miguel de Cervantes entitled The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha (or perhaps…
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…Elyssia Pinot Noir Brut Cava
Elyssia is separate label produced by Freixenet (pronounced ‘fresh-eh-NET) one of the largest producers of sparkling wine in the world. You may know Freixenet from their ubiquitous black Cordon Negro Cava, which is the #1 imported sparkling wine in the world. This Cava is different in that none of the grapes used in the traditional…
Everything You Need To Know To Enjoy Sparkling Holidays!
More than any other time of year, the holiday season is the time for bubbly. The challenge is the terminology around sparkling wine can be confusing. For example, and bubbly labeled “Extra Dry” is actually sweeter than one labeled “Brut”, which is the standard for dryness in sparkling wine. And since retailers are heavily…
T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…2008 Raventos i blanc Cava L’Hereu Reserva Brut
For this week’s sparkler it’s back to what’s becoming a favorite of mine, Cava. Unlike Champagne, Cava isn’t from a particular region, rather it’s a term used for Spanish sparklers made in the traditional method (known as Méthode Champenoise) used in France. While there are some other regions in Spain that also make Cava, about 95%…
What I’ve learned tasting 30 Sparkling Wines In 30 Weeks..
I’ve been drinking sparkling wine on a weekly basis since February, and blogging about it in my “T.G.I.F. Champagne and the like…” series. During that time, I’ve tasted sparkling wines from not only the usual suspects, France, California, Spain, and Italy, but also countries that aren’t “top of mind” when it comes to bubbly like…