Tasting Notes – THE GRAPE BELT

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

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

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

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, […]

by Tom Riley

Contradiction? More Like Evolution.

Do I contradict myself ? Very well then I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.) – Walt Whitman You can call me a hypocrite if you’d like. I don’t care. Anyway, rules are made to be broken. At least that’s what the Catholic Church and the Boy Scouts taught me. For the past […]

by Tom Riley

Geek of the Week — Albariño

A few weekends ago the temperatures rose so high in the San Francisco Bay Area that if we had been able to bottle it we would now have enough heat to last us another 12 months. But if you listen to any of my family members or friends from back east, you’d think Thanksgiving was […]

by Tom Riley

Chasing The Ghost Of Rosalia Vintners

Following several days in the Veneto, immersed in the delicious and impressive wines of Soave, I made a short trip that had been years in the planning. Well, if not planning certainly in the imagining. I had heard the words Udine and Friuli so many times since I was a boy that these places had […]

by Tom Riley

2015 Michael Mondavi Family Animo Napa Valley Heritage Sauvignon Blanc

I like sauvignon blanc. A lot. I know it’s not everybody’s cup of tea but this versatile variety is a regular guest in our glasses and at the table. Depending on what’s being served, I can go for something tart and juicy from New Zealand, or a glass of flinty crispness from the Loire Valley, […]