Trust the Rosso
What is the best part of drinking wine?
It is a simple question.
The simplicity of the question doesn’t mean that the answer to that question is simple. Also, it doesn’t mean that there is only one answer to that question. Similar to the subject at hand, wine, which is subjective, the answer to our question is also highly subjective.
While I’m genuinely interested in your answer to this question (and I will be delighted to read it in the comments), let me answer my own question first.
The best part of drinking wine is conversation. It is possible that you were expecting to hear “buzz”, “pleasure”, or something else, but for me, it is a conversation. A conversation that usually everyone can enjoy, and sometimes even agree on things – wine is a great tool for leveling the arguments and finding common ground. And among all subjects, sometimes these conversations are about wine.
Wine is life. For thousands of years, wine was an indelible part of life, and I really hope that it will continue to be for many more thousands. Wine is a reflection of culture, and fully intertwined with culture. So basically, wine can help you talk about anything – but it is also a perfect subject in itself. Such was my experience two weeks ago.
I met for lunch with Gabriele Casagrande, an export manager for Capanna, one of the original Brunello producers in Montalcino. Our conversation went all over the wine world – from kosher Chianti wines to the best Syrah in Tuscany, to Amarone, which you need to go out of your way to find an enjoyable bottle, then to California Cabernet Sauvignon, and then back to Italy. Of course, we discussed how the young generation [supposedly] doesn’t drink wine, then we inevitably got back to the subject of Brunello.
Capanna winery was founded in 1957 by Giuseppe Cencioni, together with his sons Benito and Franco. After Brunello di Montalcino obtained DOC status in 1966, Giuseppe was one of the 25 founders of the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino. So obviously, Capanna means Brunello, one of the iconic “3B”s of Italian winemaking, along with Barolo and Barbaresco.
Despite the grandstanding, Brunello is not immune to the problems wine is experiencing today worldwide – consumption is down, and the culture of wine is slowly getting lost, especially with the younger generations. One of the good answers to such challenges is innovation – and Capanna does just that.
The first wine we tried during lunch was 2024 Capanna SanGioBì Bianco Toscana IGT. To begin with, how many wineries in Montalcino make white wines? I don’t know if Capanna is the only one, but definitely not many. Care to guess what grape this wine is made from? No, it is not made from Tuscany’s darling Vernaccia, nor it is Vermentino, try again. Well, if you said Sangiovese, you got it! This wine is made from the same grape the Brunello is made from, Sangiovese. The color of the majority of red wines comes from the skin (there are exceptions, such as wines made from the teinturier grape varieties). When you press Sangiovese grapes, you get clear juice. Leave the skins for grappa, and you get a delicious white wine.
The wine was delicious. One of my favorite references to the great white wines is “in a blind tasting I would say it is Chardonnay”. I love Chardonnay in general, but my “textbook reference” expression is the one which has apples, vanilla, lemon, and a tiny bit of butter, all in perfect harmony. And this is what this SanGioBì offered: silky, round, and delightful. Anyone who likes white wine, and especially those who don’t belong to the ABC club, would really enjoy this wine and should really make an effort to find it. Oh yes, and it literally opened up better as it warmed up in the glass – another hallmark of an excellent white wine in my book.
Next, we tried our next wine, 2024 Capanna Rosso di Montalcino DOC, and now it is time to discuss why I’m asking you to trust the Rosso.
Rosso di Montalcino is often misunderstood by wine consumers and misused by the winemakers. Wine consumers look at Rosso as the second-grade citizen, a “poor man’s Brunello”. Winemakers are often the reason for that, as in many instances Rosso is an afterthought, made with grapes that are left over or not suitable for the flagship Brunello.
Considering what I just said, you are probably wondering “what’s up with Trust the Rosso” thing? If winemakers give the wine “second-hand” treatment, why on Earth am I asking you to trust it?
The explanation is actually quite simple. The take on the Rosso is changing in Montalcino, and more and more it is treated as the wine in its own right. While the pricing of the Rosso is quite advantageous, usually at half or less than that of Brunello, this is not the main reason to trust the Rosso. In my opinion, the true value of Rosso is in its consistency and predictability.
When you open a bottle of Rosso that has just been released, you can trust that you will find an easy-to-drink, pop-and-pour wine, which unmistakably comes from Montalcino, but is ready to enjoy right away. Brunello can only be released 5 years after the harvest and has to spend at least 2 years in the oak. As it is usually the case with wines which are aged for this long with and without oak, enjoying them often becomes a matter of luck – sometimes they taste good right away, and sometimes you need to conjure over a decanter for an unknown number of hours to arrive at the wine you are ready to enjoy. With Rosso, your chance of finding pleasure in the glass of wine in front of you is much, much higher.
The 2024 Capanna Rosso di Montalcino is a perfect illustration. The wine is produced from the grapes harvested from the designated vineyard – not an afterthought, but the vineyard which was planted specifically to produce Capanna Rosso. And then… The proof is always in the glass… After the initial pleasure of the first sip of Capanna Rosso subsided, my first reaction was “ohh, this is a dangerous wine”. I define wine as “dangerous” when it is so pleasant and so easy to drink that you find yourself staring at the empty bottom of the bottle much sooner than you care to realize. Beautiful cherries, lip-smacking but light, round and layered, with perfect balance and medium-long finish – dangerous and pleasant. I trusted the Rosso, and Rosso delivered.
As we didn’t have to open the Capanna Brunello during lunch, I brought the bottle home to try the next day. The 2021 Capanna Brunello di Montalcino DOCG experience was exactly as I mentioned above. Upon opening, the wine was beautiful – succulent cherries, both red and black, violets, a touch of balsamic, intense, beautiful, and delicious. The next day, the wine became somewhat closed. On day 3, the cherry profile became much leaner, somewhat similar to the Rosso, but now the profile was supported by very pronounced tannins – not a bad thing, but yet a different expression. Yes, consumed in one sitting, the 2021 Capanna Brunello would be perfect. If put aside, as many of us do with more expensive bottles, enjoying it in the 2, 3, 5 years can become a subject of your decanter mastery. So I say it again – trust the Rosso.
That’s my story, friends. I’m curious about your take, of course. And by the way, Capanna will turn 70 next year, which is a great cause for celebration, so I’m definitely looking forward to more happy encounters with their wines.
Until the next time…
Beauty of Age
Wine is better with age.
No, it is not a universal truth, but lots and lots of wines improve with age.
“Improve” might not even be the right term.
When we put the wine into the cellar (whatever your cellar looks like, as long as it is not a shelf next to your stove which you use every day), the wine starts changing. This is what we call aging. Nobody knows how the wine is changing, how fast, and what this change entails. For the optimists wine enthusiasts like myself, the hope is that wine is evolving, becoming better, and ultimately, delivering more pleasure than it did upon release.
The evolution of the wine, when it actually happens, is not endless. “Whatever goes up will come down”. This is why wine lovers use an important jargon word: “peak”. The wine at its peak delivers the most pleasure one can wish for. Again, nobody knows when the wine reaches its peak, and for how long that peak will last. That is what makes wine amazing – when you open a bottle, you have no idea what you will find inside. An equal opportunity for joy and disappointment before the cork is pulled – the mystery of wine.
Not all wines will improve with age. And when you taste the wine young, upon release, you still don’t know how well the wine will age or whether it will age at all. Yes, everybody can make a guess. Supposedly, wine critics and wine makers are better at guessing the expected lifespan of the wine, including its peak and “past prime” – another important jargon word for the wine that went into decline and now offers less pleasure than it did “at a peak”.
Remember: wine is subjective. Every wine drinker can tell their story, and nobody can tell them that they are wrong.
What prompted this reflection on the wine aging?
A bottle of Portuguese wine, 2013 Enoport Tonel 22 Reserva Douro (13% ABV, 35% Touriga Nacional, 35% Tinta Roriz, 30% Touriga Franca).
I scored 4 bottles of this wine back in 2017 at Wine Till Sold Out (WTSO) for $10.99 each. I tasted the wine through the years, and honestly, it was not really working for me. It was tight, dense, and closed, not offering layers of pleasure as Douro Reserva reds can do, like this 2009 Casa Burmester. Until now.
This was the last bottle (of course :)) and I pulled it out without much hope or expectation – “hmm, let’s see how this is”. Boy, what a pleasure I walked into…
The seduction started with the smell, offering ripe cherries and cassis, with a whiff of the cigar box. The palate followed, voluptuous, layered, generous, and perfectly balanced, with perfectly integrated tannins offering a light tingling and lots of pleasure. A delight (9-).
If someone were to write a textbook for wine lovers “How to enjoy wine”, this wine would be a perfect textbook study, hitting all the important checkmarks:
- Patience is rewarded
- Wine is better with age
- Price is not an indicator of quality and doesn’t predict the ageability of the wine
$10.99. 7 years in the cellar. Lots and lots of pleasure.
A Beauty of Age.
What’s your story?
Merlot On My Mind
Being obsessed over a grape lately?
I have. Not even sure why, but I have.
Merlot had been on my mind. Why Merlot? Why now? I don’t know. I’m sure something triggered it, but I really have no clue as to what and why.
Merlot’s name might not be around since the 13th century as Pinot Noir has, or the 15th century as Riesling, but it is a well-known grape from Bordeaux, first mentioned in 1874. Merlot is one of the main grapes in Bordeaux, alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, named after a blackbird (Merle is a French name for the blackbird), either for color similarities between the grape and the bird’s appearance, or maybe due to the bird’s appetite for the tasty grapes.
Merlot today is one of the most planted grapes in the world – for example, it might surprise you, but Merlot is the second most planted grape in Tuscany after Sangiovese. And it is also the main (and only) grape in some of the best wines in the world, such as Petrus, Le Pin, Masseto, Tua Rita Redigaffe, and others. And yet Merlot’s standing was badly hurt in the United States, all based on the famous words of the middle-aged man going through a middle-age life crisis – “I’m not drinking f-ing Merlot” in the 2004 flick “Sideways”:
Considering the effect this movie had on the Merlot wines in the USA, it really should be studied as one of the earliest and most effective testaments to the dangers of “influencers”. Facebook was in its infancy, the first iPhone was 3 years away, and Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok were not even the products of the wildest imagination – and yet this 2-hour movie woven around California wine country with loudly proclaimed love for Pinot Noir and disdain for Merlot managed to inflict very significant damage to the Merlot market in the US, at least the California Merlot (of course, when the bottle says Petrus or Masseto, the majority of wine drinkers have no clue that the Sideways’ hated grape is inside).
I would perfectly understand if Merlot’s reputation would suffer due to a scandal, such as the Austrian Antifreeze scandal in 1985, which literally killed the Austrian wine industry for a long time, or Brunellogate in 2008, with the aftershocks still experienced even today. But it was nothing like that – there were only the words “I’m not drinking the f-ing Merlot,” which led to significant consequences. Merlot sales dropped 2% – 4% in 2005 – 2008 following the movie release in 2004. Merlot share of crushed grapes in California went down from 20% to 13% by 2008. Merlot plantings were reduced roughly by 35% between 20004 and 2023. Many wine stores simply removed California Merlot from the shelves. There is also another estimate that Merlot lost $400M in unrealized sales from 2004 until 2014. All in all, a very dramatic consequence of the “rage over a grape”.
As I mentioned before, I really don’t get it. My experience with Merlot wines is exactly on par with any other “major grapes”, both in terms of wines that I liked and wines that I didn’t like, so truly, the effect of Sideways is an enigma – but again, it has to be studied in depth to understand how “influencing” works. Okay, enough of this.
I don’t know if Merlot has fully recovered today, and again, there are many regions around the world where Merlot’s standing was not hurt, especially in the regions where the Merlot name doesn’t readily appear on the front label. Amazing Merlot wines are made in Argentina, Australia, California, Chile, France, Israel, Italy, New York (particularly on Long Island), Spain, Virginia, Washington, and everywhere in between. And it is not just places – it is also wine styles! Today, in addition to the still red wines, you can also find sparkling Merlot, white Merlot, Merlot Rosé, and late harvest Merlot. Very few red wines can brag about such a range of expression, and Merlot is one of them.
As you well know, the truth in wine is in the glass. Which means… wine tasting! And we are planning one! The blind tasting of Merlot from 11 regions (Australia, Chile, California, France, Italy, Long Island, Mexico, Romania, South Africa, Virginia, Washington) is in the works, and will be reported on in due time. Meanwhile, I’m sure many of you have never watched Sideways, so consider this a lesson in wine influencing and go watch it… Just remember that California Merlot is not that bad, and California Pinot Noir is not that good… And I’m off to listen to the rain and wind…
Daily Glass: Inappropriate Wine
Inappropriate wine? What can make wine inappropriate?
Ha! I’m glad you asked.
I’m also glad that this is the wine blog, so by definition the content here is 21+. But then, in the adult world, what can make the wine inappropriate?
Of course, there might be a certain picture on the label. Let’s say naked people, or other images that we can deem “inappropriate”.
Or it can be simply a wine name. For example, Big Ass Merlot from Australia, Fat Ass Ranch Merlot, or a famous cleverly disguised If You See Kay. I guess that would also qualify.
But if you take a look at the label of an “inappropriate wine” that triggered this post, it has none of that.
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2004 Ravenswood Vintners Blend Shiraz South Eastern Australia – the name as decent as it can be. With an image of 3 interlocking ravens. Again, as decent as they come. So what’s with the click-baiting statement of “inappropriate wine”.
Here is what’s so inappropriate about this wine – it is all in the head.
Cryptic? Let’s unravel.
Tried to open the bottle using a regular trusted waiter’s corkscrew. Understood that the cork would break. So The Durand came in handy.
Pour. Swirl. Smell.
Time stopped. The brain exploded with pure hedonistic pleasure. Sensual? Yes. Sexual? Yes. Don’t limit your imagination. Whatever you imagine as a pure pleasure was there.
Balsamic. Ripe, succulent berries, bristling with juice. More balsamic. Eucalyptus. Pleasure. Yep, inappropriate. I’m so happy that the thought police is still some years away, or I could’ve been in trouble.
A minute or so later, I developed the courage to take a sip. Beautiful layers, a touch of tertiary notes with dried figs, but just a whiff, no sweetness whatsoever. Gobs of fruit but well in check, nothing cloying. Good acidity, impeccable balance. Pleasure. Gobs of pleasure.
You know what might be the most inappropriate about it? This was not DRC, not Screaming Eagle, not Petrus. This was a nine-dollar ($9!) or so bottle of wine, stored at our friends’ garage (they insisted that I would take the bottle home when we visited earlier this year – just as a random bottle). How is it possible to predict that such an inexpensive wine can age so gracefully? There might be an inappropriate magic hiding somewhere…
Truth be told, I didn’t even know Ravenswood was producing wines in Australia. I always knew Ravenswood as a California Zinfandel specialist, but apparently Joel Peterson, who founded Ravenswood in 1976, started producing wines in Australia under the Vintners Blend project back in 2004 (looks like 2018 was the last vintage). The way this wine tasted, the winemaker definitely did something right, and I’m really thankful for that.
Here you are, my friends – my inappropriate, unexpected, mind-blowing wine experience.
I wish you all lots and lots of inappropriate wines. And when you encounter them, don’t hold your thoughts back, let them run wild. After all, wine should give you pleasure.
Virginia Is For [Wine] Lovers
Virginia is for lovers. Everybody knows that. Or at least I assume that many people know that, as you can see these words on the billboards and in magazines. The original slogan was developed in 1969, stating that “Virginia is for beach lovers” and “Virginia is for history lovers”, before becoming just “Virginia is for lovers”.
That slogan also perfectly applies to our favorite subject here on these pages – wine. We can proclaim with conviction that Virginia is for wine lovers.
You might know that the love of wine in Virginia is tightly woven with American history. Thomas Jefferson was one of the original vintners in Virginia, tirelessly working at his Monticello estate to establish Vitis Vinifera plantings in his vineyard in the early 1800s. While he was not successful, his passion definitely survived to the present day, giving way to the top-notch, world-class wines produced in Virginia today.
My first encounter with Virginian wines was about 16 years ago, driven by the quest for rare grapes (also covered in one of the first 10 posts on this blog). I had an opportunity to visit Chrysalis Vineyards in Virginia to taste the wine made from the Norton grape – another historical connection to the Virginia wine scene, developed by Dr. Norton in 1825. During my visit, I found way more than just a delicious wine made from Norton, but also a full lineup of wines made from the classic French grapes. Ever since, I never had a doubt that Virginia makes world-class wine (except I can’t find them in Connecticut because … no… I’m not falling into the USA wine laws rant today…).
Recently, I was offered an opportunity to review and write about Virginian wines, which I gladly accepted. You already know that I hold Virginian wines in high regard, and they are largely not available in Connecticut, so this was a perfect opportunity to taste some new wines. I was a bit surprised when I got a full case, 12 bottles, of the wines from Virginia. The box contained no explanations, just a set of wines – one sparkling, 3 whites, and 8 reds.
I have randomly chosen a bottle of red to open, and boom – I’m blown away. Next bottle, red again – another OMG moment. At this point, I’m really curious, and I went online to research what wines I have received, and after checking a few wine names, I suddenly realized that I got not some random 12 wines from Virginia – no, I got the 2026 Governor’s Cup Case, 12 best of the best wines from Virginia.
Virginia Governor’s Cup originated in 1982 from a small tasting of Virginia wines during the Vintage Virginia Wine Festival, where about 50 people tasted the locally made wines. Starting in 1989, the event became an official competition, with the Governor of Virginia presenting the awards. In 2026, 670 wines, ciders, and meads entered the competition. 113 wineries received 224 Gold Medals, and the 12 highest-ranking red, white, and sparkling wines made up the Governor’s Cup Case.
Now I knew why each wine tasted better than the previous one… Well, whatever comes up, goes down, but that’s what makes the wine world so exciting. Keep reading, you will see what I’m talking about.
For what it’s worth, here are my notes in the order I tasted the wines:
2023 Fifty-Third Winery Two Springs Red Blend Monticello AVA (13% ABV, 73% Cabernet Franc, 22% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Petit Verdot)
Bright Ruby color
Fresh berries, Malbec-like, blackberries, raspberries, eucalyptus
Beautiful fresh berries, almost crunchy but juicy, eucalyptus, perfectly balancing acidity, firm structure.
8+, a wow wine.
2023 Glen Manor Vin Rouge Virginia (13.4% ABV, 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 4% Petite Verdot)
Beautiful Garnet
Eucalyptus, mint, freshly crushed red berries
Beautiful, supple, generally with layers of energy. A hint of cassis, beautiful fluffy texture, well integrated tannins and perfect balance. A delight.
8+, superb pop’n’pour
2024 Granite Heights Humility Virginia (12.7% ABV, 100% Lagrein)
Brilliant garnet
Fresh black and red fruit, eucalyptus
Stunning. Lip-smacking, gobs of fruit, wild, succulent berries, perfectly woven around a generous but firm core. Layers of pleasure, perfect balance. Wow.
8+/9-, superb.
2023 Pollack Vineyards Merlot Reserve Monticello (14.5% ABV, 100% Merlot, 80% Clone 343, 20% Clone 181, 18 months in French oak barrels)
Purple and inky
Cherries, spices, a whiff of bell pepper, eucalyptus
A celebration in the mouth – lots of succulent fruit, black cherries, blackberries, black currant, just gobs of it, smothered over eucalyptus leaves, dusted with black pepper. Voluptuous, generous, perfectly balanced. A pleasure.
8+/9-
2019 Trump Blanc de Blancs Brut Sparkling Wine Monticello (12.5% ABV, 48 months on lees)
Light straw, fine mousse
The nose is screaming “classic, classic, classic” – toasted bread, brioche, yeast
A perfectly classic palate, with toasted bread, apples, bright acidity, and perfect balance
8+, a pure pleasure, happy to drink it every day
2023 7 Lady Vineyards Meritage Virginia (13.9% ABV, 44% Merlot, 37% Petit Verdot, 19% Cabernet Franc)
Dark garnet
Ripe dark fruit, intense
Overly ripe fruit on the palate, almost stewed, some sweet mocha, a big wine
7, a first disappointment. The wine was too heavy, needed more acidity and more balance. Even the second day was still too heavy. A double disappointment as the bottle (a BAB) looked very promising…
2024 The Winery at La Grange Petit Manseng Virginia (13.9% ABV)
Golden color
Honey, honeysuckle, white plums, herbs
Candied white fruit, lemon and honey, good acidity.
Strange. I can drink it, but to say that I love it would be a lie.
7+, I must be missing something. Perhaps it should be good with food, some spicy Asian dish or maybe sharp cheese.
2023 Michael Shaps Cabernet Franc Virginia (13.7% ABV)
Dark garnet.
Upon opening, the wine was “too much” – jammy fruit all over the place. After about 30 minutes in the glass, the wine settled down to a leaner, drinkable version.
2nd day notes:
Cassis, cherries, eucalyptus, a touch of mint. Open and welcoming.
Cassis, cherries, a hint of tobacco and pepper, firm structure, elegant, well balanced, a pleasure to drink.
8/8+, nice
2024 Woodbrook Farm Vineyard Petit Manseng Monticello (15.4% ABV)
Light golden
First two days the wine was just too sweet
Day 3:
Honey and caramel on the nose, candied fruit, sweet plums
Honey, ripe white plums, floral undertones, lemon curd, velvety, good acidity on the finish
7+, I still don’t love this wine, but it is drinkable on day 3. Probably great with blue cheese
2023 Valley Road Vineyard Cabernet Franc Reserve Monticello (13.7% ABV) – Governor’s Cup Winner!
Bright Garnet
Mint, currant, intense, open, inviting, promising a great depth
Delicious gobs of fruit (currant, dark cherries), tobacco, velvety smooth, luscious and seductive. Perfect balance.
8+, wow, a pure delight
2024 Barboursville Vineyards Vermentino Reserve Virginia (13.5% ABV)
Light golden
Delicious fresh white stone fruit, hint of honeysuckle, fresh, inviting
Fresh, vibrant fruit on the palate, white plums, Meyers lemon, good structure, excellent balance.
8, delicious, needs about 10 minutes to open in the glass.
2024 CrossKeys Vineyards Cabernet Franc Shenandoah Valley (14% ABV)
Cassis leaf, eucalyptus, a hint of green pepper
Bell peppers, a touch of black pepper, currant. It was leaner, firmer, and sharper on Day 1. On Day 3, it opened up into a bigger wine, more of the California fruit-forward style
8-/8, a nice rendition
There you are, my friends. As you can see, I was unable to fall in love with the Virginian rendition of Petit Manseng, it was just too sweet. By chance, a few days ago, I had a blend of Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng from Field Recordings in California, and it was stylistically similar, but a lot more elegant for my palate. But all in all, I can’t complain with 9 superb wines out of 12 – the beauty of the wine world, everyone can find what they like, as long as they are willing to look.
Have you had any wines from Virginia? What do you think of them?
Celebrity Rosé Blind Tasting
What do you think of celebrity wines?
Whatever celebrity touches turns into gold, right? To be absolutely honest, I don’t get the whole fascination with the celebrity endorsements and associations. If a shoe carries someone’s name, how is that a better shoe? How is the wine better if a celebrity endorses it or even participates in the winemaking process? Somehow the movie star possesses a palate everyone else should align to? Don’t get me wrong – I’m fascinated every time I see Caitlin Clark score from half the court, or Messi puts the ball precisely into the tiniest possible opening. I do have my favorite movie stars and so on. But how their name makes other products better – that’s beside me. Oh well, the marvel of marketing and third-party endorsements… Okay, I just had to let this rant out. Let’s get back to where we started – celebrity wines.
Today, we will not be talking about all celebrity wines. The subject is more narrow, precise, and seasonally appropriate – we are talking about celebrity Rosé wines.
Turns out quite a few celebrities tried their hand at making the Rosé – some with bubbles, but mostly still. And as with any wines, celebrity factor aside, it is always fun to compare wines in the blind setting – the “unveiling” of the wine is always a thing of pure joy.
Ahh, this post is also a bit about wine friends. And travel. But of course…
First, what prompted this whole tasting idea was a post on Twitter (sorry, I still don’t care to call it X, I still affiliate with Twitter but not with X) by Jonathan @TheWineCruUK, who mentioned that he was planning to open Queen Rosé, the wine associated with the legendary music band Queen. This was the first time I saw a mention of such a wine (I was well aware of many others, such as Hampton Water, Miraval, Maison No 9 and others). Seeing this new Rosé, the first idea was “I want to taste it”, and the second one was “but it would be fun to compare it with others,” and thus the idea of tasting was born.
The next question – where do I find it? A quick research yielded an unfortunate result – while the wine is easily available at a number of supermarkets in the UK, it was nowhere to be found in the US.
As luck would have it, a few weeks after the tasting idea was born, I was supposed to travel to London for work. A quick search for the supermarkets in the area where I was staying was not promising – basically, all suitable supermarkets were at least 40 minutes away by train, and I was on a very tight schedule. I asked Twitter wine friends for advice, and then Jonathan simply sent a message – “hey, tell me where you are staying, and I will send you a bottle”. I have always said it – wine people are special people. So thanks to the wonderful kindness of Jonathan, on the second day of my stay I was devouring the opening of the box to enjoy the view of the bottle – don’t worry, I had enough self-control, so I managed to just look but not to touch.
The next fun part of this project might be a revelation to some of you. I read a while back that Heathrow airport installed new scanners which now allow up to 2 liters of liquid to be brought on board in the hand luggage. Or at least this is what the article said.
I did a bit of research online, and this seemed to hold water. My actual confirmation came once I checked in for my flight back home – the airline restrictions clearly stated that I can bring with me up to 72 oz of liquid in the hand luggage – if you wish, go do the math – this will amount to 2 liters give or take.
And voila, the bottle safely made it home, and we were all set for the blind Rosé tasting.
Last fall, I was privy to a fascinating event I still need to write about (I suck as a blogger, feel free to say it out loud). In the event, we tasted a vertical (!) of Sasha Lichine top-of-the-line Rosé – Chateau d’Esclans Les Clans and Garrus wines. The wines were absolutely spectacular, and while they don’t qualify as celebrity wines, I kind of forced my way with including one of the Chateau d’Esclans Rosé into the tasting, more as a hallmark than for an actual competition.
And now, finally, we can talk about what transpired in the tasting.
We had 2 of the sparkling celebrity Rosé and 9 of the still wines. We decided to taste sparkling wines blindly, but separately from the still wines.
Here is brief information about celebrity wines in our tasting:
NV Archer Roose Rosé Pays d’Oc, France (13% ABV, blend of Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache, and Caladoc).
Celebrity: Elizabeth Banks, actress, producer, writer and director
NV Avaline Rosé Vin de France (13% ABV, blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Caladoc)
Celebrity: actress and author Cameron Diaz and entrepreneur/business executive Katherine Power. Wine originally launched in 2020.
NV Bellissima Zero Sugar Rosé Veneto IGT Italy (12.5% ABV, 100% Pinot Grigio)
Celebrity: supermodel and actress Christie Brinkley. Still wines line launched in 2023
2022 Château d’Esclans Les Clans Rosé Côtes de Provence (14% ABV, Grenache, Rolle). Not specifically a “celebrity” Rosé, but one of the very top Rosé in existence.
2023 Forever Young Rosé Côtes de Provence (12.5% ABV, 55% Grenache, 40% Cinsault, 5% Syrah)
Celebrity: The Real Housewives of New York City alum and entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel, alongside French vintner Valérie Rousselle and nightlife impresario Seth Greenberg; Produced by Château Roubine, established in 1307 and one of only 18 Cru Classé estates in Provence.
2025 Hampton Water Rosé South of France (13% ABV, 60% Grenache, 15% Cinsault, 15% Mourvèdre, 10% Syrah)
Celebrity: Jon Bon Jovi and his son Jesse. Winemaker: Gérard Bertrand, famous Languedoc winemaker
2025 Invivo X Rosé South of France (12.4% ABV, 60% Grenache, 20% Cinsault, 20% Syrah)
Celebrity: Sarah Jessica Parker
NV Kylie Minogue Prosecco Rosé DOC Italy (11% ABV, 85% Glera, 15% Pinot Noir)
Celebrity: Kylie Minogue; producer: Zonin estate
NV Lve French Sparkling Rosé Vin de France (11.5% ABV, blend of Pinot Noir, Grenache, Ugni Blanc, Colombard, and Chardonnay)
Celebrity: John Legend, musician; wine produced in collaboration with Raymond Vineyard from Napa
2025 Miraval Rosé Côtes de Provence (12% ABV, blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, and Rolle)
Celebrity: Brad Pitt; wine made in cooperation with Perrin Family
2025 Queen Rosé Côtes de Provence (13% ABV, 70% Grenache, 30% Cinsault)
Celebrity: Roger Taylor, the legendary drummer of the rock band Queen, in collaboration with Sony Music and the historic French winery Les Caves du Commandeur
Now, to the tasting:
We didn’t want to mix sparkling and still wines in the tasting, so we had two of the sparkling wines first with some appetizers, and then proceeded with the still wines. We still tasted them blind, and it is interesting that our preferences were split precisely across “gender lines” 🙂 Boys preferred wine #2, French Sparkling Rosé, and all the girls also unanimously went with wine #1, Prosecco.
Here are my brief notes for the still Rosé wines:
#3: Spectacular nose, gunflint, strawberries, grapefruit. Gunflint on the palate, sapidity, very nice, Chardonnay like.
#4: Pine needle. Lots of strawberries, still pine needle on the palate. Interesting.
#5: Carrot juice, strawberries on the nose. More strawberries and cleansing acidity on the palate, very nice.
#6: Interesting, nice, strawberries on the nose. More strawberries on the palate, good structure, delicious.
#7: wow, similar to #6, tart acidity, crisp, great finish.
#8 – very funky, hint of petrol, mineral. Lots of minerality on the palate.
#9 – sapidity, strawberries, restrained, nice, tart, not bad at all.
#10 – clean, open, inviting, great. Beautiful palate with strawberries, good acidity and perfect balance.
#11 – nice, strawberries, restrained, a little tart. Very good overall.
As you can tell from these brief notes, most of the wines showed quite well, so we could expect a very interesting voting and very interesting results.
We actually had to take the vote twice, and in a moment you will understand why.
We usually have a simple rule – every person can vote twice for their favorite wines, and the wine with the most votes wins the popular vote.
Here is how the first round ended up:
Wine #3 – 7
Wine #4 – 0
Wine #5 – 1
Wine #6 – 2
Wine #7 – 1
Wine #8 – 0
Wine #9 – 2
Wine #10 – 3
Wine #11 – 2
Everybody pretty much agreed that the wine #3 tasted not like a simple Rosé, but rather like a fine wine in its own right. As we knew that Château d’Esclans Les Clans was one of the wines we tasted, we decided that that was wine #3, and thus it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the Rosés to be judged against purposefully made “Rosé first growth”. Thus we decided to take another vote, this time excluding wine #3 from the vote.
Here are the results of the new vote:
Wine #4 – 1
Wine #5 – 1
Wind #6 – 2
Wine #7 – 2
Wine #8 – 0
Wine #9 – 1
Wine #10 – 5
Wine #11 – 2
As always, the reveal was the most exciting part, and we learned that our suspicion about wine #3 was correct; it was Château d’Esclans Les Clans. The winning wine happened to be Queen Rosé, which made me very happy – I was not lugging it from London for nothing 🙂
Here is now the list of wines according to our tasting order:
#1 – NV Kylie Minogue Prosecco Rosé DOC Italy
#2 – NV Lve French Sparkling Rosé Vin de France
#3 – 2022 Chateau d’Esclans Les Clans Rosé Côtes de Provence
#4 – NV Bellissima Zero Sugar Rosé Veneto IGT Italy
#5 – 2025 Miraval Rosé Côtes de Provence
#6 – 2025 Hampton Water Rosé South of France
#7 – 2025 Invivo X Rosé South of France
#8 – NV Archer Roose Rosé Pays d’Oc, France
#9 – 2023 Forever Young Rosé Côtes de Provence
#10 – 2025 Queen Rosé Côtes de Provence
#11 – NV Avaline Rosé Vin de France
I would say that overall, the celebrity Rosé fared quite well, with the exception of the wine #8. And I would be happy to drink that Queen Rosé at any time – maybe one day it will make it to the states.
There you are, my friends – an exciting and fun tasting, and something that you can – and should – do at home.
Until the next time – cheers!
When in Texas…
Local wine is one of the great pleasures of travel. Local wines offer an opportunity to try something new, something you can not buy at your favorite wine store back at home, you can’t buy online (maybe you can, but there will always be a hassle). Besides, there are countless stories of wine tasting delicious “at the source” and not the same when you bring them home.
While this is true everywhere, it is even a bigger issue in the United States. US wine laws are moronic (sorry, I don’t have a better word), whether you want to buy them in your favorite local wine store or online. I live in Connecticut, and while I can buy wines from pretty much anywhere in the world, in terms of “local wines” I can only buy a few of the Connecticut and New York State wines. Okay, I think on occasion I have seen wines from Virginia, but those would be extremely rare. And most of the wineries in other states (outside of California, Oregon, and Washington) wouldn’t even ship wine to Connecticut. Well, I was not planning to write a rant, so let’s get back to our topic.
I had to spend a week in Texas for work, which means what? An opportunity to drink some Texan wines!
Whenever I’m visiting Texas, I’m always excited to try some new wines, even if they come from the familiar producers. This trip was no exception – my first stop was at the local H.E.B. store, a Texas parlor of fine food, to pick up some water and, of course, wine. The store had a nice selection to choose from:
So I ended up with these 3 bottles, which I tasted over the course of a few days – here are my notes:
2021 Becker Vineyards Prairie Rotie Texas (15.1% ABV, 32% Mourvèdre, 24% Grenache, 18% Petite Sirah, 13% Counoise, 13% Cinsault)
Garnet
Tobacco, cherries, mineral notes
Red and black fruit, mineral notes, tobacco, pencil shavings, black currant, cherries, nice layers of flavor, good balance, good acidity, long finish.
8+, excellent
Day 4, still excellent. Elegant, pleasant. Same rating.
NV Duchman Family Winery Grape Growers BBQ White (13.5% ABV, proprietary Mediterranean blend)
Straw yellow
A hint of wildflowers and honeysuckle
Sweet white fruit on the palate, ripe white plums, honey. Acidity is present, leveling off the finish into rather a pleasant experience.
7+, this wine is exactly as it is called – I see it perfectly pairing with tangy ribs, sweet sausage and similar BBQ delicacies.
2021 McPherson Cellars EVS windblown Texas High Plains (13.7% ABV, 25% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah, 20% Carignan, 18% Petite Sirah, 17% Grenache)
Dark garnet, practically black
Restrained, blackberries, savory and herbal, with some barnyard coming in late
Uplifting, bright, lots of juicy red and black fruit. Needs to breathe for a few minutes. It became better an hour later, but it was even better the next day.
Much more balanced, black pepper, restrained dark fruit, cleansing acidity with long and energetic finish.
8/8+
There you are, my friends. When traveling, drink local, you will never regret it. Cheers!
Tales of Kosher Alcohol
Wine is wine, right? So is whiskey, tequila, vodka, rum, and all the other liquors, do you agree?
Leaving cost aside, when choosing alcohol, your typical selection categories are “sustainable”, “organic”, “vegan”, “artisanal”, “biodynamic”, plus all the “certified” categories. And then there is a world of kosher, which trumpets all of those.
I’m sure many of you have heard of kosher food and many rules associated with it, in purchasing the ingredients, cooking, and consuming (don’t mix meat and dairy, for example). But wine is wine, right?
Ahh, no. There is kosher wine, and there is all other wine. And even the word “kosher” by itself is not enough when it comes to wine – the most important word on the bottle of kosher wine is not an appellation, not the name of the producer, not the name of the grape. The most important word is Mevushal.
Okay, if you are just buying the wine for yourself, and you observe kashrut laws, for the wine to be marked as kosher would be a perfectly safe choice. However, if you plan to drink that kosher wine anywhere outside of your house, you want to bring it to a kosher restaurant or to an event, this is where just the word “kosher” is not enough – the word you are looking for is “Mevushal”. The word must be present on the label, or you better leave your bottle at home.
Similar to any food which can be kosher or not, the kosher laws in winemaking are applied at all different stages of wine production, basically from planting and caring for the vineyard until the wine finally goes into the bottle. I have no intentions of diving too deep into the rules – just ask your trusted AI friend, and you will get as much (or much more) information as you want. But as we already said many times, just the word “kosher” on the bottle is not enough.
The kashrut laws extend further than just the liquid in the bottle. It also covers the service, the process of opening the bottle and pouring it into the glasses. And here is the culprit. The moment a non-Jewish person opens the bottle of kosher wine, the wine becomes non-kosher. same goes for the non-Jewish person pouring the wine into the glasses. And as you can imagine, this is an absolutely standard service situation, at any restaurant and any event. So now, finally, Mevushal is to the rescue! If the wine is marked “Mevushal”, then anyone can open the bottle and serve the wine, and it will continue being kosher!
While important for the kashrut, Mevushal used to be almost a swear word among wine lovers. 20-30 years ago, no wine aficionado would touch the wine marked as Mevushal. The reason is simple. To ensure that kosher wine remains kosher no matter who pours it, the wine had to undergo the Mevushal process.
Actually, if you like wine and want to know what “mevushal” means, the translation itself should really scare you – the word means “to cook” or “to boil“. If you ever have forgotten a bottle of wine in the car on a hot summer day, you perfectly know why “cooked wine” is such a swear word in the wine lover’s lexicon. So to become “mevushal”, the entirety of the wine had to be heated up to 180°F (82°C) – then the wine becomes mevushal and can be handled by anyone. And in the old days, the wine would also become undrinkable for the absolute majority of wine lovers. But thanks to modern science and technology, the mevushal process now is very similar to flash pasteurization – wine is heated very quickly, for less than a minute, and then immediately cooled off, thus avoiding inflicting any essential damage on the taste of the wine.
Whew, I hope you got it now. The kosher, mevushal, and the whole nine yards associated with it.
But, the fun with kosher alcohol is only starting now. As you now learned how sacred the grapes are in the Jewish religion, the game with all other types of alcohol becomes even more complicated, as you never know where the pitfalls are located.
Basically, you can look at it like this: if the liquor has anything to do with grapes in any shape and form (grapes/grape juice, wine barrels, whatever else you can think of), unless the bottle is marked as “kosher”, it can’t be served at a kosher restaurant or an event. For example, the vodka made from potatoes or wheat is perfectly appropriate. If the vodka is made from grapes – not at all, unless the bottle says it is kosher. If vodka was flavored by the wine/grape byproduct – again “NO”, unless it is marked “kosher”.
It all might sound somewhat innocent until you realize that lots and lots of higher-end scotches are “non-kosher” – for example, the majority of the Macallan scotches are not kosher. All of the double-wood, sherry cask, port cask, burgundy wine cask finishes and so on render the whisky “non-kosher” and can’t be served. That also affects quite a few of the Anejo tequilas… You really need to spend time to figure out a full pedigree on a bottle of scotch you are planning to serve at your event, or risk it being rejected by the caterer.
Anyway, you might imagine that I didn’t wake up in the morning with the thought “why don’t I write an extensive post about kosher alcohol laws”. Had to plan for a big event later on, so all the learnings were necessary and fresh, hence the desire to share.
We got together to taste some wines and to decide on our choices. The Georgian kosher wine I was able to procure would be a fine choice – tasty, not overpowering, well balanced – but “not mevushal” on the back label rendered it a “no go” option.
Tequila seems to be a popular choice of a sipping alcohol nowadays, and if it is just a blanco, no wood aging is involved, it is fine. Basically, all of tequila blanco is a safe choice even without saying “kosher” on the bottle, it is made out of the agave plant. The problem with good tequila is availability – for example, even the Ocho you can see in the picture is not really available, so we are going with Don Abraham Blanco, which is also hard to procure.
I already explained the problem with scotch, so the only options are the scotch which was not aged or finished in any of the wine casks. Balvenie 14 is simply too expensive, so we tasted both Johnnie Walker 18 and Tomintoul 16, and settled on the Johnnie Walker 18 as it was a bit more structured than Tomintoul.
There you are, my friends. Here is my story of selecting proper kosher wines for an event – and my hope that now you are a tiny bit more educated about the intricacies of kosher alcohol than before.
Until next time – cheers!
Wine on the Go
Wine on the Go sounds too broad, and it definitely is. It is not my desire to write a 50-page essay to describe all permutations of travel options and wine drinking options.
The topic of today’s conversation is air travel, and conversely, the wine at the airport.
Generally, an airport is not the place to seek wine experiences. Of course, that depends. If you are in Europe, I guess your chances of a glass of decent wine are not zero, and having access to a nice airport lounge might improve them even further.
But traveling in the US, the airport is not a place for a decent wine – unless you like to grossly overpay for third-tier mass-produced substance. Except on those rare occasions when you come across Vino Volo.
I wrote about Vino Volo many times in the past. My problem is that I mostly travel on United out of Newark airport, and United severed ties with Vino Volo many years ago, so unless I’m on a non-United flight out of Terminal B in Newark, I don’t get to stop by Vino Volo.
As it’s been a while, let me give a little brief about Vino Volo, courtesy of Wikipedia:
“Vino Volo (Italian for “wine flight”) is a food and wine bar with a boutique wine shop. Founded by Doug Tomlinson in 2004 and bought by French travel and publishing giant Lagardère Group in 2017, the company operates in airports across the U.S. and Canada.”
Luckily, my last trip was taking me to Terminal B, and hence I had time to have a decent glass of wine at Vino Volo. Actually, even better – 3 glasses.
What I love about Vino Volo is that it is not just a wine bar – Vino Volo offers a variety of tasting flights, often including locally produced wines. It seems that New Jersey wines didn’t catch Vino Volo’s attention yet (which is a mistake, as New Jersey now makes quite a few very decent wines), so after extensive internal debate I settled for the tasting flights called Reds Around the World.
The flight included 3 wines from Argentina, Italy, and France, sufficient for a quick trip around the world. I also got a chicken pesto sandwich with a side of potato chips for a late lunch. Potato chips had cheesy popcorn mixed with them, which I ignored at first, until I tried them with wine… More below in the notes.
Here are my notes:
2024 Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec Argentina –
Inviting nose with tart cherries
Tart cherries on the palate, crisp, earthy, hint of blackberries and mint.
This was very nice with my pesto chicken sandwich, but – it was great with cheese popcorn! I don’t like popcorn and always thought that “popcorn and wine” was overrated – until I tried this popcorn with this wine! I’m now a convert 🙂
2024 Umani Ronchi Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Italy –
Open, inviting nose, a hint of fruit compote
Tart, crisp cherries, firm structure, fresh, with lots of energy.
If the previous wine was great with popcorn, this wine was simply wow!
2023 M. Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône France –
Blackberries and blueberries on the nose
Fresh blueberries on the palate, wow, round delicious!
And this wine worked very well with the sandwich – go figure…
There you are, my friends. Three wines on the go, one great experience. And the discovery of a wine and popcorn “together greatness”.
What are your favorite wine places on the go?
Following State Dinner, [Re]Discovering Hopkins Vineyard
State Dinners are always fun.
Right?
Well, never been to one, so I can only assume. But no matter, we are here only for the wine, and maybe food.
I had been following the subject of State Dinners for as long as this blog has existed. For example, here is a post analyzing the selection of wines at Obama’s state dinner at the end of his presidency. You expect that the State Dinner represents your country, so only the best of the best should be served – yet when it comes to hundreds of thousands of wines (I’m talking about different labels and vintages, not production quantities) available, it is clear that deciding on “best” is not a simple task.
Once I heard of the dinner in honor of the King of England’s state visit, I knew I had to do some sleuthing. This time, it was very easy, as all information was clearly presented on White House’s website. Having an experience with web links disappearing with time, I will respectfully allow myself to copy the information from the White House website, so it will be available here for anyone who comes across this post some years later – here is the link to the original information.
MENU
First Course
Garden Vegetable Velouté (Hearts of Palm, Toasted Shallots, Micro Mint)Second Course
Spring Herbed Ravioli (Ricotta Cheese, Morels, Parmesan Emulsion)Third Course
Dover Sole Meunière (Potato Pavé, Spring Ramps, Snow Peas, Parsley Oil)Dessert
White House Honey & Vanilla Bean Crémeux (Flourless Chocolate Gâteau, Almond Joconde, Crème Fraîche Ice Cream)WINES
The following wines were selected to complement the menu while honoring the shared heritage and enduring friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom, and celebrating the strength of American winemaking today.
Hopkins Riesling “Heritage” 2024, Hopkins Vineyard, Connecticut
The Penner-Ash Pinot Noir “Willamette Valley” 2022, Penner-Ash Wine Cellars, Oregon
The Newton Chardonnay “Unfiltered” 2022, Newton Vineyard, California
Food sounds great, but we are here for the wines, so let’s talk about them.
First, highlighted in blue above is the explanation for the rationale behind choosing the wines. And knowing Melania’s level of attention to detail, we also have to assume that while representing the heritage is important, the wines have to pair well with the food.
I can perfectly see how Penner-Ash Pinot Noir, the wine from one of the most respected producers in Oregon, can perfectly match that pasta, anchoring on the Morel mushroom element, probably to perfectly complement the dish.
While I’m not really familiar with Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, any California Chardonnay can be considered “iconic”, so again, I can see it perfectly complementing delicate Dover Sole in buttery sauce.
Which leaves us with Hopkins Heritage Riesling, and here we need to take a pause.
I have to be honest. When I saw a wine from Connecticut to be one of the 3 wines served at the State Dinner, my first reaction was “what?????? come again????”. I live in Connecticut. A few years back, we visited several Connecticut wineries with friends, and we were not very impressed.
Okay, so I wrote “a few years back” above, and then decided to check if I wrote anything about that visit. Well, yes, I did. And if 11 still qualifies as “a few”, we are good, but nevertheless, that visit took place in 2015. Yes, 11 years ago – a good chunk of time in the life of a winery.
In any case, I completely forgot the details of that trip – only a general (not a great one) impression. And you can imagine my surprise seeing a Connecticut wine presented at one of the highest honors in the country. But – I live in Connecticut, remember? Google Maps to the rescue – the Hopkins Vineyard winery is only 1.5 hours away, so it was rather a no-brainer – we have to visit the winery over the weekend and taste the Connecticut Riesling worthy of serving at the State Dinner.
Finding the place was easy. Beautiful location, right by the lake. The winery was quite busy on an average Saturday in May, which is probably not surprising considering all the press they got. Obviously, Riesling had a special recognition. And it was not available for tasting, but we could buy a bottle, one per person. We decided to take a tasting flight, but before we talk about it, let’s answer possibly the most burning question: how did that Hopkins Vineyard Heritage Riesling end up served at the State Dinner?
First, I asked the gentleman who was pouring the wines. He said that he heard that someone had just called from the White House and asked for the wine to be sent there. I was not satisfied with this answer, as in my mind, it can’t be that simple. Then, when we were practically leaving, by pure chance, I ran into Hilary Hopkins Criollo, who happened to be the 10th-generation owner of the Hopkins Vineyard. I asked her the same question: how did it happen that your Riesling was served at the State Dinner, hoping to hear that it was some special connection she had. But actually, the story was exactly as I was already told. Some weeks prior to the State Dinner, Hilary got a call from the White House staff, asking her to send 4 bottles of her Riesling for tasting. A week or so later, she got another call, asking her to send 4 cases of that Riesling to the White House. End of story.
In retrospect, it all makes sense. The dinner was in honor of the King of England, so serving the wine from New England creates a perfect connection to the history. Hopkins Vineyard is the oldest family-owned winery in Connecticut, and the estate was founded in 1787, which makes it almost the same age as the USA itself – another great connection to the heritage, one of the important selection criteria mentioned on the White House website. And lastly, having tasted wines from many wineries in New England, and having tasted Hopkins Vineyards Heritage Riesling, this was potentially the best choice for serving a crisp white wine to complement the first dish on the menu above.
Now, let’s get back to the wines we tasted. You can build your own tasting set, so we took Chardonnay (easy choice :)), Cabernet Franc (a must on the East Coast), Saperavi (how can I resist), and Lemberger (another easy choice). Here are my notes:
2022 Hopkins Vineyard Chardonnay
At first, the nose is closed.
Nice, simple, good acidity, a hint of clove
After it warmed up a bit and opened a bit, a very nice Chardonnay with apples and vanilla. Definitely a solid effort.
2023 Hopkins Vineyard Cabernet Franc
Bell pepper (a hint of)
Bell pepper on the palate, black pepper, round and generous. A bit too warm.
2023 Hopkins Vineyard Saperavi
Mostly herbal nose
Varietally correct palate, needs to be served colder, but it is okay. Mostly acidic finish.
2024 Hopkins Vineyard Lemberger
Hint of dark fruit
Barnyard notes, nice and supple. Quaffable. Needs time to open up.
The Chardonnay was my favorite from this flight. For the reds, they were warmer than I would prefer for my palate, and overall, they were okay but not exciting.
We got our two bottles of Riesling and went back home. But of course, it was impossible to resist, so after a quick chill in the sleeve, the bottle was opened.
2024 Hopkins Vineyard Heritage Riesling Western Connecticut Highlands (12% ABVF, $33)
Light straw
Hint of tropical fruit on the nose, a hint of honey
Crisp, clear, vibrant, and elegant, a distant hint of tropical fruit, good balance, and great acidity on the finish.
8, very impressive
As you know, one way or another, I usually try to taste the wine over a period of a few days. It happened that I was finishing this bottle 6 days after it was first opened (I simply pumped the air out, as I always do), and the wine was still well drinkable. On the palate, the profile changed a bit, becoming more reminiscent of the East Coast Vidal, thus well adhering to the notion of East Coast terroir if we can define such a thing. But again, still very well drinkable.
Here you are, my friends. A winery rediscovered. And the wine worthy of a king, made (almost) in my backyard. The inner collector of experiences has a huge smile on its face. I still have another bottle to enjoy at some point, but the plan is to lose it for the next 5-10 years.
Until the next time – cheers!
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