It’s that time of year!  On the third Thursday of November, Beaujolais Nouveau is released.  While it’s not a huge deal in the US, it is a big celebration in France.  It marks the end of harvest, and the coming of a new growing season.  There’s only a short period of time where winemakers get to rest between vintages, as soon it will be time to head back into the vineyards, and begin vineyard maintenance once...

It started when Christian Mouiex was going to school at U.C. Davis back in the 60’s.  By ‘69, Moueix was finished at U.C.D.  In ‘82 he began a partnership in the joint-venture with Robin Lail and Marcia Smith, dubbed “Dominus.” In 1983, the vineyards gave birth to the first vintage of Dominus. Christian has since been running things at the estate, and purchased the estate outright in 1995. Twenty years...

This is a great wine.  It took the gold medal at Denver International Wine Festival, in the “Other New World” category.  And this wine is deserving of the honor.  Hailing from Tupungato, a sub region of Mendoza, Argentina, this is a blend of 50% Bonarda and 50% Malbec.  Planted in sandy soil at an altitude of 3600ft, the vines are grown on a high trellis. This full bodied wine sees 18 months in oak.  Aromas of dark fruits,...

This is a sipping beer, not recommended for the feighnt  of heart.  With a complex layer of Banana, Spice, and creamy goodness, this beer deserves to be drank with a special cuisine.  Or, just by itself.   Being a “Barley Wine” means that this big boy will be chock full of hops and medium roasted malts.  Full bodied and high in alcohol, be careful both drinking and cooking with this beer.  Here’s some fellow...

As a wine buyer for many years, I’ve been pitched everything you can imagine.   From crazy scientist winemakers, to movie-directors-turned-winemakers, to Old World wine making royalty, I’ve met many.  Everyone has some fantastic reason why I should buy their wine (aside from the fact that it’s just damn good juice ).  But one story continues to stick out like a sore thumb. Several years ago, I was visited by a Spanish...

One of my favorite sayings among winemakers is “It takes a lot of beer to make great wine.”  Yup, wine folks love good beer too.  And here’s one of my favorites.  Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware brings funky, robust beers meant for sipping.  And these guys know what their doing. Their “60 Minute IPA” bottling is like an IPA on steroids.  IPA stands for “India Pale Ale,” and falls into the...

In my search for great wines, I find that many second labels and “negociant” style bottlings often contain top notch juice from very prestigious vineyards.  But since the vineyard owners usually like to keep the source under wraps, this is usually difficult to determine unless you have some inside information. I did a little digging, and have come up with some possible vineyard sites that may go into Twitter’s...