Archive
Daily Glass: Pure Pleasure
Of course, it is Wine Wednesday – but this was just a happenstance. Not anything I planned.
A traditional dilemma – what to open?
Checked one wine fridge – no, nothing spoke to me. Next thought – maybe Field Recordings?
Again, without much thought – how about that bottle? I passed it a few times before. What vintage is that? Oh, 2019, that might be good. Ha! It is also a Syrah! Nice, my wife loves Syrah, might be her favorite red grape. Prefect, we have a bottle to open.
Talk about wines made in the vineyard. I discovered Field Recordings wines almost 15 years ago. At that time, the wines were more of a side project for Andrew Jones, a consulting grape grower. By nature of his profession, Andrew had relationships with many grape growers. More importantly, he knew the best plots in their vineyards, and thus he knew where to find the best grapes when he needed them. And little by little, Field Recordings became a powerhouse and a darling of Paso Robles, with the wines of unbound creativity.
My first Field Recordings wine was the wine called Fiction – here is my post about that experience: Music, Recorded in the Vineyard. This was love at first sight. Fiction by Field Recordings was my wine of the year in 2011. And Field Recordings is the only wine club I ever joined, and I’m still a member there. Over the years, there were literally a handful of Field Recordings wines I didn’t enjoy, because for the most part, my favorite descriptor for the Field Recordings wines is probably “mind-blowing” or maybe “mind-boggling”. As was the case today.
I opened the 2019 Field Recordings Zabala Zabala Vineyard Arroyo Seco (12.9 ABV, 100% Syrah) and poured it in the glass right away. The first whiff had a bit of the funk (love funk!) and a bramble. But on the palate… Oh my, the palate was a pure symphony. Well, a caveat – you have to love black pepper to call that experience a symphony. The palate was full of freshly ground, gorgeous, salivating black pepper. I experienced such purity only once before, while tasting the 2011 Michel Chapoutier Tournon Mathilda Shiraz from Australia. I was blown away by the purity of the pepper expression in that wine – and interestingly enough, after that first experience, I had a random success with the same vintage over a few years – but this is not the subject of this post.
This Zabala Syrah was literally mind-boggling (see, told ya, I just can’t avoid it). Dark bramble fruit, a little bit of funk, and lots and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Delicious, perfectly balanced, perfectly harmonious. A pure pleasure in the glass.
Maybe I just got lucky. I don’t have another bottle from the same vintage, so I will not be able to taste it in a year or a few years and report back. But we should enjoy the moment, and this moment in wine was immensely enjoyable. Wine should give you pleasure, and this was a pure pleasure.
So, what was your last mind-blowing wine experience?
And a Few Good Wines, Previously Was New Year 2026 Wine Escapades
For how long is it appropriate to celebrate the New Year?
Scrap that.
For how long is it appropriate to write a post about New Year’s celebratory wines? A week? Two? Four?
Okay, so as I’m writing this on the last day of the month, this is not a celebratory New Year’s post, but rather an account of wines we had an opportunity to experience.
As a tiny excuse to my tardiness, I want to mention that we celebrated the arrival of the New Year 2026 three times. So here are my notes from those celebrations.
Celebration #1- January 1st, New Year’s Day
To celebrate the New Year in style, I decided to do a Champagne-off between Pol Roger and Bollinger Champagnes. I have a lot of respect but very little experience with both, so I decided to compare them side by side.
This was definitely an interesting experiment. Upon opening, Bollinger had a somewhat restricted nose, but nice palate with a hint of toasted bread, apples, and lemons. Pol Roger had a beautiful, inviting nose with freshly baked bread, minerality, and green apples. However, it was mostly flat on the palate, so after the first few sips, we decided to drink Bollinger first.
30-40 minutes later, I poured another glass of Pol Roger, and oh, the palate changed dramatically. Now there was everything you want in champagne – toasted notes of the freshly baked bread, apples, lemons, crisp acidity – all elegantly woven together. So while both Champagnes were excellent, my preference lies with Pol Roger.
NV Pol Roger Champagne Reserve Brut (12.5% ABV)
Beautiful, inviting nose, with toasted bread and apples.
Palate initially mostly closed, just acidity. After 30-40 minutes, the palate is alive with toasted bread, apples, lemon, minerality, crisp acidity.
8+
NV Bollinger Champagne Special Cuvée Brut (12% ABV)
Beautiful nose, apples, brioche
Restrained on the palate, lemon, crisp acidity, lots of energy, very elegant.
8, excellent Champagne
I also tasted this sparkling wine, even though it was mostly used in a delicious holiday cocktail:
2021 Casasetaro Pietrafumante Caprettone Spumante Methodo Classico Italy (12.5% ABV, 100% Caprettone (new for me!) grape)
Crisp, refreshing, with steely, minerally acidity. This makes you crave oysters in a heartbeat.
8, excellent
2019 Saxum James Berry Vineyard Paso Robles Willow Creek District (15.9% ABV, 55% Grenache, 29% Mataro, 13% Syrah, 3% Carignan)
Of course, 7 years is not an age when you want to open Saxum wine. Black fruit on the nose with some baking spices. Dark and brooding on the palate, black fruit, cocoa, a hint of the forest floor. A bit more mellow after being open for 3 days, more pleasant to drink.
8, delicious
2017 ArPePe Nebbiolo Rosso di Valtellina DOC (13% ABV, 18 months total in big barrels and in bottle)
After a short breathing time, this wine showed brilliantly. Fresh cherries on the nose, restrained.
Cherries and violets on the palate, sandalwood, medium to full body, elegant, round, delicious. Glad we opened it.
8+, delicious
Second celebration:
On Saturday, we got together with friends to continue celebrating the New Year. This time, the wine lineup was a bit different, focusing more on the aged wines and the wines that might be past prime.
We started with a couple of Champagnes:
NV Veuve Fourny & Fils Champagne Brut Rosé Premiere Cru (12% ABV, disgorged 07/15)
Dark golden color
Apples, Almond extract, bread, tertiary aromas
Toasted bread on the palate, apples, brioche, cut through acidity even on day 6 after opening.
8+, while actual bubbles subsided, it was a very tasty wine. Really enjoyable even as a flat wine.
2017 Champagne Christophe Mignon Adn de Foudre Pinot Noir Brut Nature (12% ABV, disgorged 11/01/2024)
Bright Golden color
Apples and fresh bread
Apples, fresh bread, a touch of hazelnuts, cut through acidity. Very refreshing and very enjoyable.
8+, excellent, even on day 6
Next, this white wine was probably the most impressive out of all the wines we tasted that night:
2013 Domaine William Fevre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros (12.5% ABV)
Bright golden
A touch of gunflint, Granny Smith apples, lemon
Fresh, bright, apples, velvety smooth texture, great mid-palate presence, good structure, a distant hint of butter, impeccable balance.
9-/9, outstanding.
Then there were reds.
1999 Frog’s Leap Merlot Napa Valley (12.5% ABV)
1999 Simi Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (13.5% ABV)
Both wines were varietally correct upon opening, but it did felt that they were near the peak. No over yet, but having maybe only about 5 years of life left, before they will be officially declared past prime.
8- for each one.
2019 Revelry Vintners Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley (13.9% ABV, 22 months in French oak)
Dark garnet
Cassis, blackberries, eucalyptus
Cassis, mint, blackberries, sweet basil, round, smooth, medium to full body, perfect balance, medium-long finish.
8+/9-, a beautiful wine.
1993 Renwood Grandpère Zinfandel Shenandoah Valley (15% ABV, Bottle #19727 of 1904 cases produced)
Dark garnet
Black fruit, good intensity
Tart blackberries, coffee, a touch of toasted hazelnuts, good acidity, still present tannins with a pleasant grip on the tongue, delicious.
9-, I wish more wines would have this energy and deliver this much pleasure
Celebration Number 3
The week after, we celebrated the New Year. Again. With friends, of course.
First, a couple of Champagnes.
NV Monmarthe Champagne Privilege Brut Premiere Cru (12.5% ABV, 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay, aged for 36 months in the cellar)
Outstanding. Inviting nose, fresh apples with a touch of brioche.
Round, generous on the palate, roll-of-your-tongue delicious, fresh and elegant.
8+, excellent
NV Lété-Vautran Chammpagne Zéro Brut (12.5% ABV, 40% Pinot Meunier, 40% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir)
Crisp and fresh on the nose
Palate is crisp to the point of austerity. Elegant, full of energy, very lean.
8+, another wine that is begging to be paired with food
2022 Cayuse Vineyards Camaspelo Walla Walla Valley (13.8% ABV, Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant Bordeaux blend) – I know I was not supposed to touch this bottle, but I couldn’t resist the urge. This wine was clearly opened before its time. Probably 15-20 years would make it a bit more approachable from the get-go.
The wine was decanted, and yet the mineral, volcanic profile was the most prominent, same as with most any of the Cayuse wines in any case. After 2-3 days, the volcanic notes subsided, and the wine appeared more drinkable and enjoyable.
8, definitely needs time
2009 Tallulah Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley (14% ABV) – this was my last bottle. The wine was supposed to be special when I bought it, but it never reached that point. Well, until now, but with some reservations – even after decanting this wine, I had to wait for another 3-4 days for the wine to shine in varietally-correct way. But it did. It actually developed a cassis/mint/eucalyptus profile with a dash of dark chocolate.
8+ after extensive decanting.
There you have it, my friends – New Year 2026 wine escapade.
How was your January?
Struggles of the Winelover
Source: Pexels Cup of Couple
Yes, I’m on the streak. A self-focused experiment. I’m curious to see how many posts in a row I can write. Not just “hello – goodbye”, but posts with substance. Well, whatever. This is definitely not the topic of this post.
Oh, and here is a full disclosure – this post is about first-world problems. If you are not interested, you know where to click.
I bet you had no idea that winelovers struggle. No, not when we enjoy a glass of wine. When we enjoy wine, we simply ask for another glass. And no, not when we don’t enjoy wine. Then it is a very simple ask: “Can I have something else, please?” It is really that simple. If you don’t like the particular wine, there is no struggle – you just move on to the next.
The struggle starts when we need to choose the wine. At that moment, the struggle is real. A chain of thought might depend on the setting, but the unending back and forth is always the same.
When you are presented with the wine list at a restaurant, you need to decide based on price, based on mood, based on company, based on food. It always goes “this. Wait, no – this one. Hmmm. No, let’s go to a different region. Ah, yes, this one. No, wait, maybe this? Why is this so expensive? Ohh, why is this so cheap?” Well, got you. The last one is not real. If you know what you are doing, “why is it so cheap” is not the question you concern yourself with. But the rest of it? If you love wine and have ever chosen a bottle in a restaurant, tell me that I’m wrong. I dare you. Tell me that in the comments section. Go ahead, make my day.
The second one might be even worse. Now you need to select a wine for a dinner, get together with friends, a holiday, a birthday, an anniversary – you got the idea, right? This is where the struggle becomes even worse. When you need to choose a wine in the restaurant, you have a limited amount of time and a reasonably limited wine selection. None of it is in play at home. You start worrying about the wine months and months before the event – you can choose not to, of course, but only if you let yourself do this. Now think how many of us allow ourselves not do it, huh?
And here you are really screwed, as you have plenty of time to go “This! No, wait, that! Wait, no, no, I need something else”, following with “Is it too early? Can this already be past prime? It is my only bottle, should I open it now? What if it will be so much better in 10 years?”. And let’s not forget “Will they like it? Is that a good choice for that holiday? Is that special enough for the occasion? Maybe I can do better?” On, and on, and on. Endless. Frustrating. Annoying.
Why all of a sudden all of this soul-pouring sentiment? That’s easy, let me explain.
Any February is a tough month for the struggling winelover. You got Valentine’s Day in the middle of the short month, and then you have Open That Bottle Night (OTBN) on the last Saturday in February. And to add to the struggle, this particular February, we are flying to Florida to see our close friends, and they will have their wedding anniversary during our visit, so I definitely feel that I need to bring something appropriate to celebrate. There you go – three opportunities to struggle.
Source: Pexels Polina Tankilevitch
I still don’t know how we are celebrating Valentine’s Day. I’m sure we are not going to the restaurant, but we might decide to have some company. And it falls on Saturday this year, which is all the more reason to select a good bottle(s). In any case, what should we drink on Valentine’s Day? Yes, bubbles first, that is clear, but even that presents a dilemma. And what should follow the bubbles? What kind of red wine offers the best pairing for Valentine’s Day? If you have any thoughts – go ahead, don’t be shy.
Then the wedding anniversary – do I even have the right bottle for that? I have some vintage Champagnes, but nothing grand enough for the occasion. And while my friends generally like the wine, they are not wine geeks, so well-aged reds might not solicit the response I would want.
Last but not least is the mother of all winelover struggles – OTBN. The holiday was invented to help people crack open that special bottle still waiting for the right moment, which might never come. And yet OTBN is only one night, how many bottles can you open? Selecting the bottle for OTBN is ultra-difficult, especially when one has lots of wines in the quantity of … 1. When you have only one bottle, you need to decide if this is really the time, if the bottle can still improve, if the bottle is special enough. Ah, and please understand that “special” doesn’t mean “expensive”. A special bottle is simply a bottle with an attached memory, and for OTBN, we need to ensure that the bottle is special enough.
Here, I just shared my frustration with you, and I feel better. I even got some ideas for the wine to open on Valentine’s Day. And I’m pretty much decided on the OTBN bottles (it means nothing, really, everything can – and will – change quickly). But I do feel better at the moment.
So what would you tell me? Is this struggle real, or am I a spoiled, undeserving brat? You be the judge of it, but I know how it feels selecting a bottle for a month, in the endless loop between all the wine fridges and shelves. For me, it is definitely real. And for you? Hey, do tell your stories, I’m all ears…
“Drops of God” – A Must Watch For Winelovers
Rest assured – I have not suddenly turned into a movie critic.
But we just inhaled 8 episodes of the Drops of God series on Apple TV+. Apparently, we were late to the party, as the series premiered more than 2 years ago. And yet I accidentally came across it through a reel on Instagram. Next thing, my wife and I couldn’t stop watching it.
Set in France and Japan, you might think that the series is all about wine. But wine is a canvas, a truly mesmerizing canvas for anyone who loves the elixir of life, it is still only a canvas. The series is about love, family, friendship, sacrifices, passion, and wine’s unique ability to make people’s life better, bring people closer, and connect them.
That’s all I can tell you without any spoilers. And here is an official trailer:
Please, do yourself a favor – start watching it tonight. Who knows, you might want to thank me in the morning, when you are done watching it.
Cheers! Santé! 乾杯！
P.S. For some reason, the YouTube video above appeared to be broken on some of the devices. Just in case, here is a link to the show on Apple TV+.
Domaine Bousquet – Reaching New Heights
I might be ostracized for saying this, but I will risk saying this anyway – the wine world is simple. It might even be called predictable.
Here is how it works. Plant the vineyard. Make sure it produces good grapes. Make good wines. Learn about your vineyard. Divide it into plots. Learn how those plots are different. Identify better plots. Grow better grapes. Make better wines. Repeat. Next, make great wines.
See? I told you it is simple, right? So above is a simple recipe for success. Agreed?
Okay, let’s get back down to earth. The simplicity described above is only an appearance, a view from the outside. The simplicity is achieved through the countless amounts of hard work, passion, dedication, vision. Other than that, it is very simple.
Domaine Bousquet is less than 30 years old, and yet it is one of the most impressive wine businesses in the world. How? Anecdotal evidence is in the fact that I tasted lots and lots of wines from Domaine Bousquet, and I’m yet to find the wine I didn’t like. To take it into the real perspective, please allow me to quote myself:
I wrote about the history of Domaine Bousquet very extensively on these pages, so I’m not going to regurgitate everything that I already said – instead, I would like to suggest that you read this post, and also this one. However, I will illustrate my statement about the most impressive wine business with a few pictures. Here is what high altitude (1,200 m/4,000 ft) desert looked like in 1990 when Frenchman Jean Bousquet first fell in love with the area while on vacation in Argentina:
Source: Domaine Bousquet
Here is what it looks like today:
Source: Domaine Bousquet
Here is what domain Bousquet has accomplished in less than 30 years, after being formed in 1997:
Certified B corporation, certified regenerative organic, biodynamic, USDA organic… you can continue decoding the icons on your own. 5 million bottles are produced annually, and I never had a wine from Domaine Bousquet that I didn’t like. I rest my case.
Recently, I was offered to taste two of the latest wines from the Domaine Bousquet, and this is why I had to talk about a simple recipe for making good great wines.
These wines are vineyard-specific, and even block-specific – as we mentioned, this often happens when the great wines are made. Quoting information on the Domaine Bousquet website, these wines are “Crafted from organic grapes grown in our Eva Estate vineyard in Gualtallary, Tupungato at 1,257 meters above sea level, in the heart of the Uco Valley. This wine originates from a detailed study of 123 soil pits conducted with geologist Guillermo Corona, which identified distinct soil profiles and geomorphic units across the vineyard.”
Both wines were nothing short of stunning.
2024 Domaine Bousquet Ameri Eva Estate Organic Sauvignon Blanc (12.5% ABV, $35, grapes sourced from Plot No 9, fermented in French oak barrels (50% new, 50% second use), aged for 8 months in barrel and 6 months in bottle) had a very unique profile for the Sauvignon Blanc. It didn’t have the grapefruit, nor it have a cat pee. Instead, it was reminiscent of a nice, balanced Chardonnay, with a hint of buttery notes and a touch of honey. Delicious, balanced whitestone fruit, lemon, smooth but vibrant. If we need a style comparison, Pouilly-Fumé is the only Sauvignon Blanc that comes to mind, and otherwise, Ornellaia’s Poggio Alle Gazze would be my next best comparison. A delicious wine (8+), probably the best Sauvignon Blanc I tasted in a while. Oh yes, and this wine will age. It went from restrained fruity on the first day to tart and acidic on the second to the beautiful fruit medley on the third. Definitely worth the price in my opinion.
2022 Domaine Bousquet Ameri Wild Roots Block 3 Organic Malbec (14.5% ABV, $85, fermented with native yeasts in 400-liter oak barrels, followed by a 30-day maceration, aged for 12 months in French oak, one year in bottle) was even more impressive than the previous wine. Layers of luscious fruit, cedar, a hint of vanilla (a hallmark of Malbec in my book), minerality, a touch of black currant, perfectly integrated tannins, impeccable balance. This wine would easily compete with the best California Cabernet Sauvignons, for sure in a blind tasting. (9-), will also age nicely, considering the evolution over the 3-4 days the wine was opened.
Here you are, my friends. Two new wines from Domaine Bousquet, two next-level wines. still competitively priced considering the amount of pleasure they are offering. I’m not sure what’s next for Domaine Bousquet, but one thing is for sure – I expect more great wines to come our way.
Until the next time – cheers!
For the Love of Madeira
If I were to offer you a glass of Madeira, what would you say?
Okay, let’s take it up a notch: I assure you it will be a good Madeira.
Would you gladly accept it, or would you energetically decline?
I’m betting about 80% on the latter. And if you like wine, that would be simply your loss. But if you are in that 20%, accepting that glass of good Madeira would be a very wise decision.
Madeira has a long history of ups and downs, similar to many other wines. I wrote about Madeira a few times in the past (not enough!), so let me be obnoxious and quote one of my older posts about the history of Madeira.
Madeira wine takes its name from Madeira Island in Portugal. The history of Madeira, which started around the 15th century, is full of accidental discoveries, glory, overcoming of the hardship, rise and fall, and even love – if you are interested in the full story, you should take a look at the Madeira Wine website. In the 15th / 16th centuries, Madeira wine was created when wine was transported in barrels through the ocean to far away places such as India and China. It was found ( by accident, of course) that a long ocean voyage improves the taste of wine compared to the original one that went into the barrel. After many trial-and-error experiments, it became apparent that prolonged exposure to the warm weather was the culprit, and then the method of heating the wine up to 60°C (140°F) was invented. The process of heating up the wine is called Estufagem, and it is done after the wine is fermented in the oak barrels, same as any other wine – again, you can find more details online – you can find less colorful but more technical details on Wikipedia (click here). Just to give you a few more details from Madeira’s history, trade embargoes led to further improving Madeira by adding brandy spirits in order to preserve the wine. Barrels of Madeira left for a prolonged time under the rain led to the development of the new style of Madeira wine, called Rainwater.
In the 18th century, Madeira was one of the most popular wines in the world, especially in England and the United States. Madeira was used to toast the United States Declaration of Independence, and was highly regarded as a drink of distinction. Unfortunately, first mildew and then phylloxera epidemic delivered a way too powerful one-two punch, which the Madeira wine industry was unable to overcome. Madeira subsided to nearly a cooking wine level, and stayed like that for a long time. Luckily, overall uptake on the wine industry throughout the world helps to revive the Madeira industry, and now it is becoming possible to find a great drinking Madeira even in the US – and you will see why. And I have to note that one of the great qualities of Madeira is in the fact that, unlike practically any other wine, once you open a bottle of Madeira, it will stay the same more or less indefinitely, due to both the Estufagem method and fortification with the spirit.
Now that you have a bit of historical perspective, let’s take a deeper dive into Madeira wine.
Madeira is a beautiful island with a subtropical climate and luscious greenery. Madeira’s name means wood, oak – this is what the first settlers saw. Madeira’s climate sports tropical winds, hot summers, mild winters, and high humidity. It also offers lots of microclimates, from south to north. Mountains and forests cover 47% of the island, mostly with altitudes of up to 200 meters, reaching 700 meters in some areas.
There are about 475 hectares of vineyards growing on the island (about 1,200 acres), cultivated by 2,000 growers. Vineyards utilize a pergola system to ensure proper aeration.
Six main grapes are used in wine production on Madeira: Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Malvasia, Tinta Negra, and Terrantez. It is interesting to note that Verdelho and Verdejo are different grapes! Another interesting fact is that Tinta Negra can be vinified as white, rosé, or red.
After the harvest, the grapes are pressed and fermented as with any other wines. Fermentation is subsequently stopped, depending on the desired sweetness, by adding neutral spirit. Next, the heating process takes place. Less expensive wines are usually subjected to continuous heating in the steel tanks surrounded by coils for at least 90 days. Higher-end Madeiras, especially the single-harvest ones, are usually heated using the system called Canteiro, where the wine in the oak barrels is secured in place using wooden beams (canteiro) and heated by mother nature for a prolonged period of time, inside the winery.
The majority of Madeira wines are blends, with the labels indicating the age and type of grapes (it is also possible to make Madeira without indicating age and the grapes). The age designations can be 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, and 50 years. There are also single-harvest Madeiras, called Colheita, which should be aged for at least 5 years in oak, and Frasqueira which requires at least 20 years in oak. Another beauty of Madeira is in the fact that the wine can stay in the barrel indefinitely, and bottled only when needed – some of the known Frasqueiras exceed 200 years of age.
Three years ago, in 2022, I was lucky to attend the Madeira tasting in New York City, where I had an opportunity to taste some absolutely spectacular wines. The event included a Madeira Master Class as well as a walk-around tasting.
Here are the wines we tasted during the master class:
2009 Barbeito Single Harvest Tinta Negra
clean, open, light, easy to drink
2005 H.M. Borges Tinta Negra Colheita
Hazelnuts, dry fruit, figs, lemon, perfect acidity, beautiful dry fog finish. Lots of pleasure. Foie Gras would be perfect with it.
2001 Henriques and Henriques Malvasia Madeira
Complex herbaceous nose, nicely restrained
Salinity, acidity, supercomplex, dried fruit perfectly balanced
1999 Broadbent Tinta Negra Madeira Colheita
Chocolate, dried fruit compote, very restrained
Dried fruit, great acidity, toffee, tasty notes, outstanding.
1990 Pereira D’Oliveiras Malvasia Fresqueira Madeira
Bottled in 2018
Great herbaceous complexity, fall leaves, medicinal notes, eucalyptus
Amazing palate, dense, complex, loads of dried fruit and hazelnut. Superb.
1978 Blandy’s Fresqueira Terrantez Madeira
beautiful, herbal and vegetative notes, excellent balance, hazelnuts, salinity. Fresh and inviting.
There were lots of gems in the walk-around tasting, such as Justino’s 1996, 1997, and 50 years old Madeiras; D’Olivera Colheita and Fresqueira Madeiras from 2000, 1992, 1973, 1971, and 1969 (1969 was bottled only in 2022); Broadbent 10 years old Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, as well as 1999 Tinta Negra Colheita, and others.
As I said before, Madeira really needs to be experienced, and you have a perfect opportunity to do so.
Coming November 18th, you can experience the beauty of Madeira for yourself. Here are all the details:
Experience the Magic of Madeira – Sip, Taste & Vote!
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 | 5:30pm – 8:30pm
Ideal Glass Studio | 9 W 8th Street, New York, NY 10011
Six producers, six bartenders, one delicious adventure.
You can get 2 tickets for the price of one ($55) using this link.
✨ Your ticket includes:
- Walk-Around Tasting featuring six top Madeira producers — taste rare bottles, some worth over $100.
- Cocktail Competition – six NY bartenders crafting unique Madeira cocktails. Taste and vote for your favorite!
- Food Pairings by Chef Nuno of Leitão.
- Mini “Speed Tastings” with Wines of Portugal Ambassador Eugénio Jardim, exploring Madeira styles in fun, 15-minute bursts.
- Cocktail Seminar: Madeira Cocktails Made Easy with bartender Francesco Dionese — learn how to shake, stir, and sip Madeira at home. (seating is limited).
Don’t miss your opportunity – and you can thank me later. Cheers!
For the Love of Riesling
I love Riesling.
What do winelovers do when they love the wine?
That’s easy.
We want to share that love.
The biggest reward for a winelover is to offer someone a glass of wine and hear them say “oh, it is good!”.
Sharing the wine is the most enjoyable part of drinking the wine. We want the other people to experience the same joy as we do, we want them to experience the pleasure only the wine can deliver.
As I said before, I love Riesling.
Riesling might be the most underappreciated white grape. It is one of the main 3 white grapes (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Riesling). Riesling wines are made everywhere in the world – Germany, Alsace, Australia, New Zealand, New York (Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley), Canada, Oregon, California, and so on – and yet many of the wine drinkers wouldn’t even openly admit that they like Riesling and that they are happy to drink it.
It is hard to tell why that is. Many people associate the word Riesling with the word “Sweet”. It is a big mistake, as it means, for example, that they never experienced bone-dry, tongue-twisting Rieslings from the Claire Valley in Australia. I would even dare to say that the majority of the well-made Rieslings are not sweet, unless they are purposefully made to be sweet, such as BA or TBA German Rieslings. The main trait of Riesling, similarly to all other wines, is balance. As long as the Riesling is balanced, it is one of the most enjoyable white wines you can imagine. And it pairs well with the wide range of food. I’m telling you – Riesling is one of the best white wines in the world.
The love for wine needs to be shared. And so earlier in the year, I decided to do a Riesling wine tasting. My audience (family, future in-laws) wanted to learn more about the wines, and I have decided that tasting a bunch of Rieslings will offer an excellent educational opportunity (was I right? I have no idea, but I know we had fun).
Ask me to name three of my favorite Cabernet Sauvignon producers, and I will quickly become frustrated – can I give you at least 10? 20 or 30 would be even better. The same would be for a Chardonnay, Syrah, and Tempranillo. When it comes to Riesling, however, that would be an easy task. Grosset from Australia. Smith-Madrone from California. Brooks from Oregon. This is my “top 3 Riesling producers” list. I would absolutely love to do a comparative testing of these 3 Rieslings, but I managed to get only 2. I got Smith-Madrone Rieslings first, and then when I got the idea for the tasting, I wrote to Brooks, and they were kind enough to send me a nice vertical of Brooks Rieslings. I also asked Ravines Wine Cellars from Finger Lakes for a similar set, but got no reply, so my tasting consisted of a vertical of Smith-Madrone Rieslings from 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2023, and Brooks Ara Riesling from 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023 (both wineries didn’t produce wines in 2020).
It is important to note that Riesling can age very well, and aged Riesling is just a special experience. I did an online search and found out that it is rather hard to find aged Riesling anywhere, at least for the price I was willing to pay (age your Riesling, people, take my advice). I managed to find a bottle from 1997, which was seemingly in reasonable condition. At the same online store, I also managed to find a sparkling wine made out of Riesling, known in Germany as Sekt. I scored a bottle of Sekt at the same online store, and it became our first wine in the tasting.
The tasting was non-blind as it had more of an educational purpose than anything else. Here is what transpired during the tasting (outside of the fact that I numbered Brooks Rieslings in the wrong order, so we tasted them from the older vintages to the newer, where I really wanted to go in the opposite direction):
Wine #1: 2013 Dreissigacker Riesling Brut Rheinhessen (12.5% ABV)
bubbles were still present, lemon, a touch of sugar, well balanced, very nice overall. Believe it or not, but this was the first Sekt that I liked.
8-
Wine #2: 2018 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (14% ABV, 325 cases produced)
Beautiful color. Honey, petrol, explivit nose of tropical fruit
Great complexity, perfect balance, showing off an interplay of pear, apples, peach, even vanilla and quince. Delicious. 8
Wine #3: 2019 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (13% ABV, 225 cases produced) – a very interesting wine, as my tasting notes for day 1 and upon re-tasting the next day differ dramatically.
Day 1: Very unusual, some honeydew, hint of pear. 8-
Day 2: Superb. Lean. Acidity is through the roof, fresh, crisp. Needs 20 years to become amazing. 8++
Wine #4: 2021 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (12.5% ABV, 225 cases produced)
Day 1: Beautiful petrol and flowers on the nose
Fresh, petrol, complex, white fruit, excellent balance. 8+
Day 2: Petrol + earth. Beautiful, honey notes on the palate, much richer than ‘19. Still lean and mean. 8
Wine #5: 2022 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (12.5% ABV, 150 cases produced)
Day 1: Flowers, touch of brown sugar
Most complex so far – wow, beautiful. 8+
Day 2: Petrol, hint of tropical fruit. Lemon with a touch of honey, lean, crisp, built for aging, let’s say another 20-something years. 8++
Wine #6: 2023 Brooks Ara Riesling Willamette Valley (12.5% ABV, 100 cases produced)
Day 1: Very muted nose. Palate is young, nice, concentrated. 8-
Day 2: Nose almost non-existent. Very lean palate with a hint of honey mixed with lemon. Need to develop for a long, very long time.
Wine #7: 2023 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.2% ABV)
Light color
Candy on the nose
White flowers, fruit medley, bitter orange, crisp, spectacular. 8+
Wine #8: 2022 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.2% ABV)
A touch of petrol
White fruit, white apples, delicious. 8+
Wine #9: 2021 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.2% ABV)
Petrol, beautiful
Lots of complexity, apples, excellent. 8
Wine #10: 2019 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.3% ABV)
Complex aromatics, flowers
Flowers on the palate, a touch of honey, beautiful, complex. 8+
Wine #11: 2018 Smith-Madrone Riesling Spring Mountain (13.3% ABV)
Beautiful, hint of petrol, white fruit.
Wow, playful, amazing. 8++
Wine #12: 1997 Dr. Fischer Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett Mosel (8% ABV)
Apple juice all the way, past prime. Still an interesting experience.
As always in such tastings, it is fun to figure out the group’s favorite wine. There were 8 of us tasting the wines, and everybody were asked to decide on 3 of their most favorite wines (mine were #11, #8, and #5), and then we took a vote. To my surprise, we had a clear winner after the first round – wine #8, 2022 Smith-Madrone Riesling, was everyone’s favorite, with wine #11, 2018 Smith-Madrone Riesling getting 5 votes. It was interesting that even wine #12, 1997 Riesling, got 3 votes (for me, it was an interesting experience, but not the wine I want to drink again).
As you can see from the notes above, I had a chance to re-taste the wines, this time at a bit of a slower pace. It is very clear that Brooks Rieslings needed more time to open, as you see that on the second day they showed a lot more of what they got, but even then, I believe they would benefit from another 20 years in the cellar, or maybe more.
As I’m writing this, I’m already dreaming of setting up the tasting of 20+ years old Rieslings. Give me Grosset, Brooks, Smith-Madrone, Zind-Humbrecht, and maybe Markus Molitor, from the early 2000s – and this would make it an absolutely amazing tasting. By the way, talking about dreams – what would your dream Riesling tasting include?
I can’t speak for my guests, but I really enjoyed the opportunity to taste such beautiful wines side by side. While both Brooks and Smith-Madrone perfectly exhibited my beloved petrol, Brooks Rieslings on average were a bit leaner than Smith-Madrone, while Smith-Madrone exhibited a richer bouquet on the palate. I’m saying this not in the comparative sense – each one of these wines would make me super-happy any time.
There you are, my friends – my Riesling experience. Do you like Riesling? What are your favorite “go-to” Rieslings?
Beautiful Wines of Smith-Madrone
I love the wines of Smith-Madrone.
I’m not even trying to make it a secret.
Yes, I’m biased. But I’m not ashamed of it.
Stu Smith and his brother, Charlie, founded the winery in 1971 in the Spring Mountain District of Napa Valley. When Stu was buying a property overflowing with trees, he was told that he was making the mistake of his life. But the best wines are born out of conviction – add perseverance, gamption, hard work, ingenuity, and imagination – just get all of these ingredients, and you might also be able to make some beautiful wines.
I told you that I love the wines of Smith-Madrone. Usually, love doesn’t require proof. But if you insist, I have one – not only I wrote about wines of Smith-Madrone on multiple occasions, but their wines had been included in my Top Wines of the Year lists 4 times – #11 in 2018 (Riesling), #1 (Cook’s Flat Reserve) and #14 (Riesling) in 2019, #3 in 2023 (Cabernet Sauvignon), and #4 in 2024 (Cook’s Flat Reserve). I don’t have any other wines that so consistently appear in the Top Wines lists.
For many years, Smith-Madrone produced only three wines – Riesling, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon, with the addition of the Cook’s Flat Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon in exceptional years. A few years back, Rosé and Cabernet Franc joined the collection, and I was dying to try them ever since. This year, I finally got my hands on the wines (I rarely ask for samples, but this was one of such rare moments – I did ask…), so now I can share my tasting notes with you.
2019 Smith-Madrone Estate Riesling Spring Mountain District Napa Valley (13.3% ABV)
Light golden
Petrol mixed with honey and honeysuckle, a pure aromatherapy in the glass for a Riesling lover. Crisp, bright, honey with lemon in perfect harmony, clean and crisp finish with lots of energy.
9, a pure delight.
2021 Smith-Madrone Estate Chardonnay Spring Mountain District Napa Valley (14% ABV, 10 months in 50% new French oak)
Brilliant golden color
White plums and a touch of vanilla on the nose, a distant hint of gunflint (the wine is almost at room temperature). Apples, a touch of honey, vanilla, more apples, and a cleansing acidity. Delicious.
8+/9-, superb.
2023 Smith-Madrone Estate Rosé Spring Mountain District Napa Valley (14.2% ABV, 50% Merlot, 50% Cabernet Franc)
Beautiful, bright crimson red
Tart cherries, fresh, on the nose. Light, inviting, elegant.
Beautiful tart cherries on the palate, well present, round, delicious.
8+, delicious Rosé with character
2021 Smith-Madrone Estate Cabernet Franc Spring Mountain District Napa Valley (14.7% ABV, 89% Cabernet Franc, 11% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18 months in 60% new French oak)
Dark garnet
Ripe black currant, dark chocolate, fat, juicy, exciting. Delicious, black currant, dark chocolate, a rich California Cab Franc style, bell pepper came in later, together with a beautiful black pepper note, spicy and delicious.
8+/9-
Truth be told, I also got a sample of the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – but this is one of my most favorite Cabernet Sauvignons ever, so I couldn’t muster the courage to open the bottle yet, and will be waiting for the right occasion later this year – maybe a Thanksgiving celebration, as I did back in 2018.
I think both Rosé and Cabernet Franc are great additions to the portfolio. Both are produced in small quantities (131 cases of Rosé, 153 cases of Cabernet Franc), and Rosé is already gone (duh, summer is ending), but the Cab Franc is still available. And if we are talking about new additions, maybe we will see a sparkling wine one day? Or wait, I might have even a better idea – how about some late harvest Riesling? Knowing the quality of Smith-Madrone Riesling, if they were ever to produce a dessert-level Riesling, I’m sure it would be an absolute delight. Oh well, maybe one day…
Here you go, my friends. I hope you had a chance to discover the wines of Smith-Madrone for yourself. If you have not, head over to the Smith-Madrone website, admire the scenery of beautiful mountain vineyards, and get a few bottles for yourself to enjoy. I guarantee you will not regret it. Cheers!
An evening with friends, August 2025 Edition
I love to be the wine guy.
When someone says “I’ll cook, you bring wine”, I’m absolutely delighted to oblige. First, it is one of the greatest pleasures for the oenophile to choose wines for dinner. The only pleasure bigger than selecting wine is when your friend takes a sip and says “ah, this is delicious”. And of course, there is a side benefit of taking wine out of the house, where the wine is literally stored everywhere, but let’s leave that aside for a moment.
I generally don’t care too much about what exact dishes will be served. My goal is to have a wine “program”, to bring a range of experiences. If a particular wine doesn’t work with a particular dish, it is not a problem – we can enjoy food on its own, and wine on its own.
On Friday, we got together with friends for dinner, and I was happy to be the wine guy.
To play it simple, I decided to go with a “classic” line-up – bubbles, white, red, dessert. Here is what transpired.
My choice of bubbles was NV Champagne Pascal Leblond-Lenoir Brut Tradition (12.5% ABV). This is a very generous Champagne, it perfectly combines crispiness with generous body, apples and vanilla eloped with a fine mousse, delivering lots of pleasure with every sip. Everyone loved it, particularly being happy about this Champagne not being too acidic.
Next was the white wine – 2014 Ott Der Ott Grüner Veltliner Austria (12.5% ABV). White wine with age is a real joy, and this 11 years old wine unquestionably delivered. Whitestone fruit with a touch of petrol on the nose (yes, petrol, one of my favorite aromas). Round and elegant body, with more of the whitestone fruit, good earthy undertones, perfectly balanced and perfectly delicious.
Side note: Bernard Ott is one of the very best wine producers in Austria, practicing Biodynamic viticulture after visiting Domaine la Romanée Conti in 2006. And lastly, 2014 vintage was so difficult that no single vineyard wines were produced – I have to say this was a glorious wine from a difficult vintage.
Next, we opened 2009 Sauvella Luscinia Canta Costers del Segre DO (14.1% ABV, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache). I was blown away by this wine last year (number 7 on the Top 24 of 2024 list) – and the wine continued over deliver. Delicious, generous and round, with wallops of fresh dark fruit, perfect structure and perfect acidity. The wine showed a touch more sweetness and plumpness compared to our second red wine – 2005 Domaine De l’Île Margaux Cuvée Mer de Garonne Grand Vin Bordeaux Supérieur (13.5% ABV, 33% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Petite Verdot).
This is the second time this year I have enjoyed this wine, which comes from a unique place, a small island in the middle of the Gironde River, overlooking the great estates of Margaux. Perfectly Bordeaux, perfectly on point – a bit leaner than the previous wine, with a precise Bordeaux profile – cassis, eucalyptus, cedar box, a hint of bell pepper, and firm structure with a delicious finish. A pure delight in the glass, and an excellent accompaniment for the lamb stew, which was served as a main course.
Dessert time! Liquid dessert it is.
I always love an opportunity to open a bottle of dessert wine, especially with a group that would appreciate it.
I went through a few options, and somehow decided on 2020 Balderdash Cellars Kill Joy Late Harvest Viognier Eden Valley, California (10% ABV). The wine had a beautiful nose of tropical fruit, and a tropical fruit medley on the palate, not too sweet and with perfectly cleansing acidity. “Ohh, it is so good” was the group’s sentiment.
Here you are, my friends. Happy dinner. Happy diners. Happy memories. And as I’m finishing writing this, I’m ready for a repeat.
Wine and Cheese – A Rare Pleasure
What’s so rare about wine cheese? Nothing, of course. “Wine and cheese” is one of the most abused “topics” of a social gathering. “Ah, let’s get together, I will bring wine and you will bring cheese”. Easy and straightforward, right?
So let me ask you, when was the last time you enjoyed yellow cheddar with a sip of a nice Chardonnay? Never mind Chardonnay, do you think yellow cheddar will work well with a random Pinot Grigio? Or maybe an inexpensive Rioja? I will let you ponder that enjoyable yellow cheddar pairing for a while – let me know when you come up with a good answer.
Wine and food pairing “that works” is an art. When wine and food pairing is attempted, one of the best general results is when wine and food don’t fight each other. In the rare cases when food and wine work together, that creates a pleasure of the next level, a pure hedonistic joy.
There are many books written on the subject of food and wine pairing, so I’m not going to try to cover the subject within a few sentences on this blog. On a basic level, wine and food pairing work well either by contrasting or complementing flavors. For example, an effervescent Moscato d’Asti perfectly complements an angel cake, as the flavors are similar, but Asti elevates the mouthfeel with light bubbles and a touch of acidity. Nice Kabinett Riesling perfectly contrasts spicy Asian dish with its acidity and sweetness, offering a welcoming relief to your fired-up taste buds. Many of the pairings would fall somewhere in between, but the whole point is that a bite of food together with a sip of wine should give you more pleasure than each one on its own.
So, how can you go about finding pleasurable combinations of food and wine? Wait, no, this is a topic for another blog post. Let me rephrase the question – how do you find pleasurable combinations of cheese and wine?
The right answer is: it depends.
Why, it always depends, doesn’t it?
When it comes to cheese, there is one easy hack (workaround is a nicer word :)) – if we are talking about artisanal cheeses, the pairing gets easier. Similar to wines, artisanal cheeses are also a product of terroir – many European cheeses have a protected area of origin. For most of the cases, that means that those artisanal cheeses had been produced in the specific area for a while, and that in turn means that most likely, the wines were produced locally right next to cheese, and therefore they is a good chance that wine and cheese from the same place might pair together well.
I had a perfect opportunity to test this theory. I got an unusual birthday present last month – a selection of artisanal cheeses from the local cheese monger – five cheeses from France and Switzerland. Obviously, that presented a perfect opportunity to try that difficult cheese and wine pairing and see how it would work.
Here are the cheeses I got with a brief wine pairing recommendations collected through an internet search:
– 1 –
Schallenberg
Origin: Switzerland, Alpine region
Milk: Cow (raw)
Age: 10 months
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Riesling, Ice Wine
Red: Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Barbera
– 2 –
Hornbacher
Origin: Switzerland, Alpine region
Milk: Cow (raw)
Age: 11 months
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris
Other: (fortified dessert wines): Sherry, Port
– 3 –
Abbaye de Tamié
Traditional French cheese crafted by the monks at the Trappist Abbey of Tamié since the 12th century
Origin: France, Savoie, Rhône-Alpes
Milk: Cow (raw)
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Chardonnay, Savoie (Chasselas and others)
Red: Pinot Noir, Beaujolais, Gamay
Other: Champagne, other sparkling wines
– 4 –
Vacherousse d’Argental, double-cream Brie style
Origin: France, Lyon region
Milk: Cow
Suggested wine pairings:
Other: Champagne and other sparkling wines
White: Riesling, Grenache Blanc
– 5 –
Ovalie Cendrée
Origin: France, Loire Valley
Type: Goat (raw? Pasteurized?)
Suggested wine pairings:
White: Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling
Rosé
Red: Pineau d’Aunis
As you can tell, there was quite a range of wines suggested for the pairing, with Pinot Noir and Champagne being a common thread.
I get it about Champagne, as well-made Champagne possibly is the most versatile food pairing wine out there. Pinot Noir sounded a bit surprising, as I think many Pinot Noirs would easily overpower cheeses. And of course, Riesling makes perfect sense to pair with the cheeses, alongside the dessert wines.
While there is a good range of wines that might work with my cheese selection, the goal of this exercise was to get pleasure, not to conduct a comprehensive research of cheese and wine pairings, thus I had to limit the selection of the wines. I had a bottle of Champagne that I wanted to open for a while. I decided to go with Pinot Noir for the red, and luckily (for everyone), I settled on the Burgundian version and not Oregon or California. And last but not east, instead of looking for a right Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling, I settled on the beautiful rendition of Chenin Blanc from Loire (of course!) from one of the best (best?) producers, Domaine Huet, basing my decision on the fact that one of the cheeses was coming from Loire region, thus giving me hope that local wine will pair well with local cheese.
Here are brief notes about the wines and their pairing with the cheeses:
NV Champagne Domaine les Monts Fournois Premier Cru (12.5% ABV, 70% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Meunier, Bottled in June 2016, Disgorged in September 2022) – superb. A classic nose of brioche and apples, followed by toasted bread and apples on the palate with cleansing acidity. Elegant, supple, delicious. Worked well with all cheeses.
2019 Domaine Huet Clos du Bourg Sec Vouvray AOC (13.5% ABV)
What a delight! Beautiful light golden color, elegant nose of whitestone fruit and a hint of nutmeg, inviting and enticing. Round, roll-off-your-tongue experience on the palate, an elegant white fruit medley, balanced acidity, a welcoming complexity with a medium-long finish. The wine was a riot paired with ashy goat, Ovalie Cendrée.
2019 Domaine Rebourgeon-Mure Cuvée de Maison Dieu Bourgogne (13.5% ABV, 14-18 months in partially new oak barrels)
Elegant would be the best descriptor. The wine was soft and approachable, with red fruit on the nose and more of the red fruit on the palate, medium body, soft and delicate. If I were just to open it to drink on its own, I think I would be disappointed. But paired with cheese, the wine shone, matching nearly perfectly pretty much all the cheeses we had in the tasting. I think my personal favorite was pairing with two of the Swiss hard cheeses, but again, this Burgundian Pinot worked perfectly with all 5 cheeses.
We also opened one more bottle in the evening – 1998 Mondavi Moscato d’Oro Napa Valley – we did’t pair it with the cheese (I’m sure that the pairing would be superb), but it was delicious on its own, with light sweetness of honey notes and still good acidity, still fresh – a delightful finish to the tasty night.
Here you are, my friends – a story of the rare pleasure – a successful pairing of the wine and cheese. Do you have your own stories about wine and cheese?
Last Bottle Sign Up ($10 credit)
Talk-A-Vino 