Travel & Tasting Notes From A Couple of Wine Lovers
We've been missing Italy of late. Dreaming about our trip to Puglia in 2019. Gorging on Gary's homemade pizza and lasagna. And discovering new wines from Sardinia, Chianti, and Abruzzo. In October we held a tasting of white, red, and rosé wines from the island of Sardinia. A few weeks ago we grabbed three bottles… Continue reading Italian Wine Finds for Under $40
When wine lovers hear "Abruzzo" they think Montepulciano d'Abruzzo, the popular powerhouse red from the Italian region of Abruzzo. When chefs hear "Pecorino," they think of Pecorino Romano, the cheese perfectly suited to grating over home-style Italian meals. But after a recent wine tasting, when VinoDuo hears "Pecorino d'Abruzzo" we'll now think, "Oh, that zingy… Continue reading Why Pecorino d’Abruzzo Deserves Your Attention
Everyone's Re-visiting Temecula! In February 2024, VinoDuo returned to Temecula, a small-ish wine region south of LA that we first visited in the early 2000s. We found a lively, expanding wine culture whose growers, grapes, and production stand in marked contrast to the mega regions of Napa and Sonoma. Amid the familiar Cabs and Sauvignon… Continue reading Top Temecula Wineries: Insights from VinoDuo and Wine Enthusiast
Wine tastings can take many forms. Horizontal, vertical, by region, by grape, by year...endless combinations. But sometimes you just feel like drinking good wine with friends and conjure up a theme on the spot. We had Italy on our minds and Italian-loving friends in the house, so we cobbled together an "Italian Wines from the… Continue reading Italian Wine Tasting: Rosés and Reds from Piemonte to Puglia
It's been a hot and humid summer in Massachusetts. Not a great backdrop for big red wines or oaky Chardonnay, but the perfect setting for crisp, white wines and mouthwatering rosés-- from palest salmon to deepest cherry. With August approaching, it's time for a mid-summer round-up of the best we've tasted so far. Most are… Continue reading Top White and Rosé Wines for Mid-Summer Tasting
Temecu-what? And where? Temecula is a steadily expanding wine region 90 miles south of Los Angeles. VinoDuo first visited this then-unknown area over 15 years ago, when there were fewer than 12 wineries. Back then, the wines were certainly drinkable but only a few were noteworthy. The vines were young and the learning curve of… Continue reading Temecula Redux
The last leg of our trip took us to the city of Montpellier and two nearby wine sub-regions in Languedoc-- Pic St.-Loup and Faugères. Our knowledge of the city and the wines was limited but we quickly fell in love with Montpellier and several of the wineries we visited. We can't wait to go back.… Continue reading Our Grande French Adventure, Finale
We were blessed with a year of good health, great wines, and the cherished company of friends and family to share a glass or two with. We enjoyed a lot of good wine, and a small quantity of outstanding wine...that's what you'll find in our Top 12 list. This year, we divided our top wines… Continue reading Top 12 Wines of 2023
The Wineries of Saint-Julien We concluded our visit to Bordeaux's Left Bank with stops in the Saint-Julien appellation. The smallest of the four "communes" that make up Bordeaux's Haut-Médoc region, St.-Julien is Cabernet Sauvignon country and, therefore, Gary [and often, Lisa] country. In fact, Gary hand-picked each of the wineries and Into the Vineyard made… Continue reading Our Grande French Adventure, Part 3
When we started VinoDuo about 17 years ago we called it a wine and travel blog. The intent was to visit and uncover lesser-known wine regions in the US. In the early years we stopped in Temecula, Livermore, and Paso Robles, CA; the then-nascent Woodinville, WA area; the North Fork of Long Island, and the… Continue reading Our Grande French Adventure, Part 1
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