Travel & Tasting Notes From A Couple of Wine Lovers
Part 1: Clos Mogador and Celler Cal Pla The final leg of our trip to Spain brought us to The Priorat wine region. Priorat is in Catalunya, about a two hour drive from Barcelona. Unlike that tourist-filled [overrun?] city, the Priorat DOCa flies a bit under the radar, at least in the US. But it's… Continue reading We just Visited Priorat! Prior-what?
Put four opinionated oenophiles in a room with four Tuscan reds and you're sure to get a lively debate and a few surprises. Since our return from Tuscany [see our post], we've become evangelists for lesser-known wines from the Chianti region. So we threw down the gauntlet: we invited our wine-loving friends to a blind-tasting and… Continue reading Blind Tasting: Battle of the Super Tuscans
Fast food, quick-service, grab-and-go…the world of food seems to be less about enjoyment of a meal and more about the speed at which we can eat and run. The Slow Food movement has been working to change this dynamic since 1986. Founded in Italy [of course!] it promotes “the enjoyment of good, clean, and fair… Continue reading Slow Down & Sniff the Bouquet: Slow Wine Expo 2025
When VinoDuo packs up for our summer on Cape Cod, we load the car with cases of wine from our collection, from Vinho Verde and Italian Rosato for Lisa, to Brunello and Bordeaux for Gary, and well-aged Napa Cabs for us and our Cab-crazy friends. Why schlep all the wine? Because the Cape has a… Continue reading Uva and Trevi: Two Cape Cod Wine Bars For Summer Sipping
We had the great pleasure of re-visiting the Temecula Valley AVA in early 2024, so our 'Best Of' review is colored by our delightful experience in that lesser-known Southern California wine region. But our Top 12 list is also dotted with wines from France, Italy, Spain, and Australia. Some favorites are old friends, like the… Continue reading VinoDuo’s Top 12 Wines of 2024
If you've been tasked with bringing the wine to Thanksgiving, this post is for you. Instead of picking up the old familiar names--Kendall Jackson, Meiomi, Cline--spice up your gathering with these lesser-known wines that are as good, or better, than the usual suspects. Many are from smaller producers in up-and-coming wine regions, and they're all… Continue reading Thanksgiving Wines Under $40: Beyond the Usual Suspects
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
On May 2, 2024 the 1 Across clue in the NYT crossword puzzle was: "Zin alternative." Lisa is both a puzzle nut and a Zin devotee, so the obvious three-letter answer was "Cab." But our Napa Cab-loving friends would scoff at Zinfandel being a simple swap for their beloved Cabernet Sauvignon. True, they're both red… Continue reading Exploring California Zinfandel: Brady Vineyards’ 2019 a Standout
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
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