Have you ever opened the fridge in the morning and just wanted to drink wine for breakfast? If the answer to that question was "yes," what are you waiting for? LuLu is ready for you. I am a fan of wines that just deliver. This stuff is great. Fresh, fruity, and fun — all that you could ever want from a rosé. The price is right, and this year it's a screw cap! It's even easier to get into the bottle and get the morning (or whenever) started properly. $11.99/bottle
La Bambina comes to us from winemaker Marilena Barbera, who says, "La Bambina is dedicated to strong women, to their power and energy, to their tireless motivation in fighting for their beliefs, to their talent for problem-solving despite difficulties and complications." Now let Fleur tell you about her experience with this wine. La Bambina Rosato Menfi 2018 | Cantine Barbera | Menfi, Sicily Pause...clear your thoughts...allow yourself time. Some people achieve inner peace through transcendental meditation or perhaps the death of the ego. For me? I found true stillness and clarity sitting on my bed, watching cartoons, and drinking [...]
What do a wine bottle and a Mother's Day card have in common? They can be the same thing. Heidi tells you all about it… 2019 Sangiovese | Stolpman Vineyards | Santa Barbara County, CA Looking for a unique gift bottle for your recent grad or mama? Show them you "love them bunches" with this tart and youthful Sangiovese. (There's even room to leave a love note on the label.) Stolpman Vineyards captures its freshness using carbonic fermentation (think Beaujolais Nouveau). Throw it on ice before pouring — now you are ready to enjoy the prickly layers of sour [...]
The term ‘bio-dynamic’ is used to describe an approach to farming that is ethical, holistic and ecological, and it applies not only to planting and harvesting wine, but it is also a practice put forth by farmers of all types of agriculture. It is a relationship that is shared with the land, the product, and the myriad of organisms living in the farm. In many ways, it is considered the first take on modern organic agriculture. Furthermore, ‘bio-dynamic’ is a trademarked term that can encompass a vast assortment of different practices and methods. These methods can range from consulting the [...]
Nature is a thing of beauty, as is wine. When the natural approach to making wine is enlisted, a rather unique and expressive version of fermented grape juice is the result. While it is currently on an upward trend among buyers and consumers alike, this style of wine making is not new, and it can even be traced back to the eighth century BC. Natural wines are, in short, a result of minimal intervention from the winemaker, and they are quite unlike other wines on the market. Moreover, in drinking these wines one may even feel as if the juice [...]
Tis’ the season for pink bubbles. With so many options regarding style, format and price point, there is plenty of reason to branch out and dive into Lambrusco. The word Lambrusco may conjure thoughts of sweet, cloying, syrupy wine that is dense and one-dimensional. On the contrary, Lambrusco can be made into rather elegant wine that both treads lightly and delivers depth. While these wines do possess a fizz, their bubbles are not quite as alive and animated as those found in Champagne, Cava or even most Proseccos. Specifically, Lambrusco is the type of grape, which encompasses over 60 [...]
The word Beaujolais can evoke a whole range of thoughts and associations: Thanksgiving, Nouveau, Gamay. The latter is the only grape used in this esteemed wine-making region of France, while the former is widely regarded as the season to consume said wine. Caught in between is a word that might make devout wine drinkers cringe, especially those who prefer the finesse of old-world, terroir driven wines, but there is an occasion for everything. Beaujolais is a small (we’re talking less than 40 miles long and less than 10 wide) area that is due south of the famous Burgundy region, and [...]
DOC and DOCG Italy’s law of Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) regulates the production and labeling of a significant share of Italian wine. The law intends to give purchasers of a DOC wine a reasonable expectation that a wine labeled as, say, Barbera d’Alba will be both a Barbera d’Alba in fact and in style. That is, it will look, smell, taste, feel and age like a Barbera d’Alba—because it is. The words Denominazione di Origine Controllata roughly translate as “the name [of a wine] is governed [or set] by its place of origin.” The underlying idea of DOC is [...]
Margaux has the distinction, among the Médoc’s six winemaking communes, of being both the largest in area and diverse in style. It alone sports estates at all five levels of the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines. Too, the soil is the poorest of the Médoc; the amount of gravel, the highest; the climate, the warmest; and the yield per acre, the lowest. The 4th century Latin poet, Ausonius, while in residence across the Gironde from this area, wrote of the Gallo-Roman thermal baths here, the termes mauojaliques, also known as “Marojallia.” Hence, over time, the name “Margaux.” While unquestionably a [...]
La bête noire As a wine grape, Pinot Noir is the bête noire of its family, Les Pinots—Blanc, Meunier, Gris and Noir. Pinot Blanc makes respectable wines from Alsace and Northern Italy; Pinot Gris, from the same places. Pinot Meunier is a mainstay in Champagne. But while Pinot Noir grows more widely, it does so much more unsteadily. In a sense, it is the Mae West of the famille Pinot. When it's good, it's very, very good. But when it's bad, it's as bad as bad gets. Pinot Noir mutates capriciously (over 230 strains exist, some polar opposites). It benefits [...]
