When Americans hear “Mexico” and “alcohol”, we think Tequila. Then maybe Mezcal. Beer too. Wine, not so much. But Mexico has been producing wine since the 1520’s, when homesick conquistadors planted vineyards across Central and South America with cuttings from Spanish vines. Whatever devastation Spain wreaked on the countries it conquered, it left a legacy… Continue reading Mexican Wine? Si!
Author: CotuitGal
Our Top 10 Wines of 2021
After the wreck of 2020 all eyes looked towards 2021 for, what? Normalcy? Comfort? How'd that work out? As we look ahead to 2022, let's revisit the 10 wines that brought us the most joy while we all suffered the slings and arrows of an outrageous 2021. WHITE/ROSÉS Favorite White Zeltinger Sonnenuhr Riesling Feinherb Spatlese,… Continue reading Our Top 10 Wines of 2021
Seven Summer Surprises
As we turn the clocks back into darkness and careen towards winter, we thought a quick post on seven great wines we discovered over the summer would keep the warm feelings going a few days longer. These are not "summer" sippers; we just happened to find them while staying sane through Covid, family health issues,… Continue reading Seven Summer Surprises
Another Misunderstood Grape – Riesling Tasting
Woodinville, WA Vineyard For some reason we're always banging the drum for lesser-known wine regions and misunderstood wines. We visited Temecula, CA and Woodinville, WA 20+ years ago, before each became [or hoped to become] the "next Napa." Gary pushed Ruggero Di Bardo's Susumaniello from Puglia just as Trader Joe's put it on its shelves… Continue reading Another Misunderstood Grape – Riesling Tasting
Napa Cab 2017 Blind Tasting
Napacab. One word, three syllables. Celebrated all over, often over-priced and occasionally over-hyped, it’s the pour of choice among one-half of Vino Duo and most of our wine-loving friends. Last month, we gathered these friends for a blind tasting of four moderately-priced ($50 - $100) 2017 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon wines, along with a ringer—a… Continue reading Napa Cab 2017 Blind Tasting
Some Napa Cab Lovers Walk into a Rosato Tasting
Rosé wines get a bad rap. Damned with faint praise as a “great summer sipper” and showcased by wine shops from June thru September, rosé wine is lumped in with pop top wine spritzers and sweet, beach-ready whites. I think rosé still suffers from the dreaded “blush” wine craze of the 1980’s—remember ‘White Zinfandel’?—and from… Continue reading Some Napa Cab Lovers Walk into a Rosato Tasting
Italian Wines off the Beaten Path
Our last wine journey to Italy was in the year 2018 BC (Before Covid). We spent a very happy week visiting wineries in Puglia, taking a deep dive into lesser-known [to us] red grapes like Aglianico, Susumaniello, and Negroamara and the white grapes Verdeca and Fiano. So, when the Commonwealth Wine School announced a 90-minute… Continue reading Italian Wines off the Beaten Path
Another Stellar Italian Rosato
Altopiano Terre di Chieti Rosato, Feudo Antico 2017 $8/bottle In previous posts I've raved about Italian rosés crafted from Nebbiolo, Negroamaro, and Sangiovese red wine grapes. These Italian rosato wines aren't light summer sippers with adorable labels and soda pop flavors. The wines I favor have structure and substance while also feeling a little like… Continue reading Another Stellar Italian Rosato
Summer Sipping – Great Finds
It's 95 degrees on Cape Cod this week, so light and bright are the watchwords for recent wine selections. Red or white, we're drinking wines that don't weigh us down like the wine we drink in December when the sun has disappeared at 4:30pm. White/Rosé Lorenzo Negro San Martin Rosato - $19/bottle A certain long-time… Continue reading Summer Sipping – Great Finds
First Post of 2020 – How’s the Year going for You?
We wrote our last blog post on the cusp of 2020, praising the whites and rosés from the Basque region and considering a visit to this Northern Spain region. What a difference six months makes. We're not traveling to any wine paradise, at least for the foreseeable future. Between Covid-19, the economy and the nightmare… Continue reading First Post of 2020 – How’s the Year going for You?
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