Ahh, the difference between the picture in your head and the reality. I know that I’ve written “Month in Wines” posts in the past, to discuss the wines I had during a given month. What I didn’t realize was that the last “Month in Wines” post was written 9 years ago, in 2015. Oh well, such is life. Let’s get to our subject – the wines I had during January of this year. I would say that January, and December for that matter, are usually a bit more special, as both months are centered around holidays and celebrations. For a variety of reasons, we got to celebrate New Year, our most favorite holid ..read more

Do you ever get the feeling that you already did something, and then, after spending a good half an hour looking for it you realize that you only thought about doing that but actually you never have? This is my story with the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux tasting – I already had 3 opportunities to write about this Bordeaux Grand Crus tasting, and have not done that – and was sure that I did – but only in my mind. Thus finally I want to correct the situation so I will have an actual record. Let’s start with a short explanation of UGCB, the Union des Grands Crus de Bordeaux. UGCB was founded ..read more

Italian wines are special. Well, this statement says a lot and nothing at the same time. Remember, wine is personable and subjective. Everyone has a right to have their own opinion, and that opinion can only be subjective. What makes Italian wines special? I will allow myself to make a bold claim – Italian wines are distinguishable. At least the well-made Italian wines produced from the core Italian grape varieties. What I’m saying is that when you taste Chianti, Brunello, Nero d’Avola, Montepulciano, Barolo and others, you might not identify the exact wine and the exact producer, but you woul ..read more

“Uncovered” is an interesting word. On one side, it means that something is simply not covered, like a grill left uncovered for the night. Uncovered also means that a discovery will be made, a secret will be revealed, something will “lose its cover”. I intend to talk about both meanings. Let’s talk about revealing. I have a secret closet – compartment, shelf, what have you. I don’t like it. It bothers me. I always remember it exists, and it is daunting and depressing. This closet contains posts that should’ve been written and never were. I’m not talking about just some interesting post ideas w ..read more

2023 is almost over, which means that the time has come for the hotly anticipated perennial Talk-a-Vino feature – the list of top wine experiences of the year. 2023 was an interesting year for a variety of reasons, some of which are obvious, and some of which are not, but this is not the time and not the place to discuss it. We are here to dreadfully decide on the list of 24 23 best wines of the year – and share that list with you, my readers. To explain how this top list is created, instead of re-writing the same explanation every year using barely different words, let me just quote what I ex ..read more

And just like that another year became history. I wish you a healthy and peaceful New Year 2024, filled with smiles, love, laughter, great wines, and memorable experiences ..read more

While I don’t celebrate Christmas, I still love the lights. I grew up celebrating the arrival of the New Year, and while this was borrowed from the Christmas traditions, there was always a tree for the New Year, ornaments, and lights. It might be just me, but it seems that the holiday light displays are becoming more widespread, for sure when made as attractions. Or maybe it was always around and I just never took my time to notice them – but I definitely do now. Newport Rhode Island is one of our favorite travel destinations in general, and particularly during Christmas. We visited Newport ba ..read more

What are happy wines you may ask?  Can the wine be happy? Can the wine be unhappy? Can the wine actually express emotion? The first two questions probably don’t have an answer. But can the wine express emotion? You bet. That’s the whole point of wine appreciation. The wine that gives you joy. The wine that brings back happy memories. The wine that gives you happiness. The wine that gives you pleasure. The wine that doesn’t leave you indifferent. Not every wine in your glass will do that for you – but some will. I think it will be fair to call them Happy Wines. Happy wines are those that p ..read more

Ode to Cab. Or we can just call it a Love Letter to Cabernet Sauvignon. As an oenophile, I always try to maintain my “grape neutrality”. I can never name my favorite type of wine, never mind favorite wine. If you will hard press me against the wall with this question, I might say that it is Rioja, but the reality is a lot more complex than that. If you search through articles in this blog, you will find a full range of wine styles and grapes. There are many blogs out there that cover specific region(s) or specific types of wine – but when I started writing close to 15 years ago, I knew that I ..read more

I love Rioja wines. This is not a secret for anyone who has been following this blog for some time. But despite such a strong proclamation, this love is not unconditional. Rather, it is very selective. I have more of an exclusive club in Rioja. This is a club with a very limited membership. Anyone can apply, but only a select few can become members. Those in the club enjoy unconditional love and forgiveness for their little mistakes. For the rest of them… well, good luck making the cut. I guess I need to change my opening line. I’m a Rioja snob. I love Rioja, but this love is very selective. T ..read more