I worked at a restaurant in New York that had an excellent Italian Sauvignon Blanc by the glass. I remember people’s reactions when they would try it, a mixture of surprise and delight, and for this reason I would often recommend it. A lot of people tend to associate Sauvignon Blanc with either grapefruit, freshly-cut grass, or gooseberry if you actually know what a gooseberry tastes like (I don’t). I also get a lot of bell or jalapeno pepper in these wines, especially those from New Zealand. Italian Sauvignon Blanc, for the most part, is not like others. I think it tastes like a New World Bordeaux blend or even just some other exotic white grape that … [Read More...]

We reviewed the previous vintage of this wine, so I was interested to try the 2016 release. Once again, the empty bottle could double as a weapon, easily twice as large and four times as heavy as your standard 750ml. This is a DOC wine, meaning that production follows the rules required in order to label the juice “Valpolicella Ripasso.” I always explain Valpolicella wines in this way. You have your standard Valpolicella DOC, which is a red wine composed of any combination of Corvina, Rondinella, and usually Molinara. This is your first-tier wine in the series. A step up from this would be the Valpolicella Ripassos, which is basically a regular Valpolicella … [Read More...]

This is always an exciting one to see in the clubs, and this year it features a bold label change that I think is nice.  In previous years, the label has been beige with red print and an illustration of the Chianti countryside.  Now, the label is royal blue with a gold foil print and crest featuring an animal along with grape vines.  Further investigation into what this animal could be was unsuccessful. The back label features the same description as last year but “100% Sangiovese” has been omitted.  This does not necessarily mean the wine isn’t 100% Sangiovese, but it must comprise at least 80% of the principle grape, with small amounts of other grapes like Canaiolo… [Read More...]

Finding any bottle of Barolo for $20 is almost impossible and it’s even harder to find a good one, but that’s exactly what we have here. Originating from Italy’s premier Piedmont region, this wine is made with the Nebbiolo grape (which is also featured in Barbaresco) and while it’s deceivingly light on the pour, as Barolos tend to be, it packs some hefty flavor in the mouth. In the glass the wine is light, transparent ruby in color; so light that you can see through it. It smells like a floral bouquet with a bit of baking spice; medium in body, this wine was acidic and tannic, signature Barolo all around. Dominant flavors of … [Read More...]

Here’s another inexpensive Italian white wine you might want to consider as the weather warms up.  It’s hard to go wrong with Gavi, and Costco’s price of $11.99 is pretty solid for this wine.  It retails around $18, and online it’s a few bucks cheaper than that. Gavi comes from Italy’s Piedmont region, where many of Italy’s top red wines are produced.  Gavi is the town around which the wine appellation is centered, and the grape used in the wines is Cortese, which you don’t hear a lot of people discussing.  But they should, and we’ll get into our tasting notes in a second. And I’d be remiss not … [Read More...]

How ironic is this? Just a few days ago I posted a Cellar Series review of the 2012 Monsanto Chianti, a bottle I’d been cellaring for couple of years to see how it would taste later. It was delicious and confirmed my feelings that the Monsanto Chianti is just a solid buy year to year, and one that can even get a little better with some age. At the end of the review I noted that the 2012 was the last vintage of Monsanto that I’d seen in Costco, and it’d been two years. Until the other day, when much to my surprise, did I not only find Monsanto Chianti at my Costco, but I found two vintages along… [Read More...]

Ironically, the 2012 vintage of one of our favorite Chiantis is the last vintage that we’ve seen at Costco stores near us. And that’s a really bummer because year after year this wine is a screaming buy for $20. We last looked at this wine in January of 2017, at which time I mentioned I’d be cellaring one to see how it developed over the course of another couple of years.  And now that moment has come, and the wine is every bit of delicious as it was two years ago; with a little bit more silky mouthfeel and elegance, as two years in the bottle can help provide. Flavor profile was very similar; cherry, strawberry; the body was more medium than the medium to full I noted before; … [Read More...]

This is a super interesting Costco wine find that was absolutely delicious. This is one of those wines you don’t go in looking for, you come up not sure what you have, and in the end, you’re pleasantly surprised you rolled the dice. First off, it’s a 2011 vintage and it’s drinking really nice right now. It’s soft and elegant in the mouth, just in a perfect place. Next, it’s a blend you don’t see everyday – 50% Primitivo and 50% Negroamaro. Primitivo is derived from the same Croatian grape (Crljenak) as Zinfandel. Negroamaro is a black grape … [Read More...]

We reviewed this wine a while back, but since each new release of a Kirkland Signature label can essentially be a totally different wine, I feel that it’s relevant to review it again. Also, December 31st is fast-approaching and there is no better way to toast to the New Year than with a glass of bubbles. Now, on special occasions I usually like to open a bottle of Champagne. But what about when that bottle has been poured out amongst multiple people in under an hour? Sparkling wine goes down a little too fast in a crowd, and opening multiple bottles of a $20-$… [Read More...]

I love Chianti this time of the year, maybe because there’s just so much great food around all the time to pair it with. It’s definitely one of those wines that is exponentially better with the right food pairing. I usually tell people that if they’re going to buy a bottle of Chianti, they should look for a Chianti Classico. While the “Classico” region is generally accepted as producing the highest quality wines of Chianti, I tend to recommend these simply because they are easier to find than those from the other five areas within Chianti. A wine that is simply labeled “Chianti” can be… [Read More...]