When I received an invitation to the Slow Wine 2020 US Tour stop in New York City, I had to ask myself if I understood when “Slow” means with regard to wine. I didn’t. I still don’t. So I went to the show on February 24 and enjoyed a great seminar and tasting of Cerasuolo (“Cherry”) d’Abruzzo Rosé wines, ones I’d never tasted and had barely heard of. And then I went around the tables and sampled about another 10 or 12 supposedly “slow” wines. At least I did the…

The Barolo region of Itlay's Piedmont is home to one of the world's most distinctive wines...and often one of its more expensive. There are 59 wine regions in Piedmont (Pee-ah-mon-tay) and it's home to a lot more great red wines: Barbera, Brachetto, Dolcetto, Friesa, and Grignolia, but for my money, Barolos are what you want. White wines from there include Asti, Gavi, and Arneis. The berries (grapes) of Barolo wines are small, very tannic, rather high in acid, and there's only one variety: Nebbiolo.  Barolos must be at least 13%…

On January 27 I spent a couple hours at NYC's Gotham Hall at Broadway and 36th for Benvenuto Brunello, a grand tasting of Brunello Di Montalcino wines. Put on by The Consortium of the Brunello of Montalcino Wine, established in  1967 on the day that the region gained DOCG (Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita) status, the highest in Italy's wine regions, guests chose from and tasted wines from among 40 providers, each of which offered between two and six wines, mostly Brunellos and Rossos, their younger siblings. Brunellos are…

This is an old Wine-Flair.com post but it offers a lot of good advice for people looking to visit a winery this winter...which is a really fun thing to do since you probably aren't going to the beach (or as we say in Jersey, "down the shore. No matter where you live--in places as diverse as Ohio, Virginia or New Mexico--you'll probably have your own version of "wine country," often with some unique offerings, for sure some local flavor and color (in both the literal and figurative senses) and places…

I’ve just tried two very different but very delicious Paso Robles gems. Here they are: Folkway Revelator 2016: This Bordeaux-like blend sells for about $25 (or less) and is about half Cabernet Sauvignon, one quarter Cab Franc and one quarter Merlot. Deep red, very balanced with noticeable but polished tannins and flavors of black cherry, coffee and cocoa. Villa San Juliette Chorum Reserve Red 2014: A truly extraordinary and almost unheard-of blend of 32% Syrah, 16% Grenache, 14% Petit Verdot, 12% Cabernet Franc, 12% Alicante Bouschet, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon and…