Basic Knowledge to Becoming an Advanced Oenophile

Recently, I was discussing wine with a new acquaintance who said that he and some friends had visited Eleven Madison in New York, and that since he knew all about wine, he acted as their sommelier.  We continued our conversation, and at one point, I asked if he had ever had a pre-phylloxera wine.  “What...

Great Values in Red Wines from $9.95 to $225

Whereas chilled white wines are “de rigueur” in warm weather, red wines take front stage in cold weather. After tasting around 200 red wines in the last couple months, here is the cream of the crop. Pinot Noir My favorite red with chicken, duck, grilled salmon and most veggies. Ryder Estate Pinot Noir...

Successful Entertaining

At Home With Decoy Wines And Small-Bite Courses Many times, the least expensive wines of a great wine estate are superior to other equally priced wines in the market.  Duckhorn Portfolio is one of the world’s top wine estates, with Duckhorn Vineyards, Goldeneye, Migration, Paraduxx, Calera and...

Wine: Art, Science or Just Personal Preference?

For a viticulturist or winemaker, growing grapes or making wine is mostly science – at first. There are certain things one must know about farming, including weather, soil, elevation, drainage, etc., that without that knowledge, quality grape growing for wine would not be possible. Also, there are...

Perfect Hill Country Wine Days

From Houston, San Antonio or Austin, the perfect wine day begins at 11 am at the Fall Creek Tasting Room in Driftwood, about 25 minutes south of Austin. Fall Creek owners Susan and Ed Auler are the co-pioneers of the modern Texas wine industry. Ed, an Austin attorney, was instrumental in working with the...

Allen Shoup, Long Shadows, Seattle and Woodinville

By Denman Moody – Allen Shoup is firmly ensconced in my list of “Top 20 Most Important Wine Luminaries of the World.” While he is modest about his impact on the world of wine, his achievements are worthy of praise. He almost single-handedly created the second-largest wine state in the U.S. Allen...

Lodi

OENOPHILE | By Denman Moody – Much has transpired since I visited and wrote an article about Lodi and its wines in 2010. For one thing, my favorite Lodi winery, Michael David, sold its 7 Deadly Zins and a couple other lines to focus on its more upscale wines. In a way, this resembles Sutter Home...

Great Red Wine Values

YOENOPHILE | By Denman Moody – In the last three months of 2019, I tasted about 200 red wines looking for great values in all price ranges. Most of the wines were good to very good, and I’m sharing my favorites just in time for Valentine’s Day. All were tasted with the proper glassware. Pinot Noir...