THE GRAPE BELT

A Quick Trip to Italy

The past 15 months have been a global horror show in countless ways. So many lives lost, so many left without family, so many left facing lives of illness and disability. And then there are the millions upon millions of jobs and businesses lost, fortunes evaporated, savings engulfed. When COVID-19 hit hard in March of […]

by Tom Riley

Take Your Time

Two weeks ago I was all set to take part in a virtual Zoom tasting of Bodegas LAN’s top cuvee, a reserva named Culmen, with a group of other wine writers and representatives of the winery. (https://bodegaslan.com/en/) As with too many things in this plague year, my day fell apart and I was unable to participate. […]

by Tom Riley

Making New Friends in Rioja

Most wineries, except for the behemoths that are proud of their size and strength, want you to believe that they are committed more to quality than quantity. They’ll say it to anybody who listens, and keep saying it just in case somebody within shouting distance didn’t get the message. Unfortunately, not all of them are […]

by Tom Riley

Time to Get On Top of Cariñena

I have to confess that I have been an undisciplined wine shopper lately, not on the look-out for a good bargain nearly as often as I should be. Too much of the time I stick to known producers and a few favorite grapes, when I should be poking around in search of something new and […]

by Tom Riley

Vive la France!

One of the beautiful things about wine is that it is an infinite subject. You can never learn it all. And, if you could, as soon as you did, there would be more to learn. Wine will always be too big for us to get our arms and heads around. But that doesn’t stop a […]

by Tom Riley

The Arrogant Frog — Worth A Kiss

A few years ago I introduced readers of The Grape Belt to the wines of Domaine Paul Mas from the Languedoc region in southern France, extolling their impressive combination of quality and low prices. (https://thegrapebelt.com/2016/07/20/head-to-the-south-of-france/) Well, we’re back again with a look at a few more of their wines, this time under the whimsical label, The […]

by Tom Riley

Transitions

When we moved to California in 1996 my wine knowledge was in its infancy. My enthusiasm was growing but I didn’t know a whole lot. We weren’t in Alameda long before we heard about Rosenblum wines, which were made here in town. I know a good research opportunity when I see one, and wasted no […]

by Tom Riley

Can It Get Any Better?

If you had told me a year ago, or even six months, that I’d be excited about the growing potential of canned wine, I would have laughed and said I don’t think so. There’s a fair chance my tone of voice would have been condescending. Yes, I would have laughed. And, I would have been […]

by Tom Riley

Fizz Worth Finding

It hasn’t been that long since the canned wines from Drew Baker at Old Westminster Winery in Maryland surprised me in all sorts of good ways. But when I looked recently at the other samples he had sent, I was less than thrilled. He had offered to send a few bottles for me to try, […]

by Tom Riley

Can I Get You Some Wine?

While the weather in many parts of the country is beyond horrible right now, in not too many weeks we will be staring summer square in the face. We’ll start spending more time on the patio, in the backyard, at the beach, or around the pool. And we’re going to want something to drink. So, […]