Jancis Robinson – THE GRAPE BELT

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

It Must Be Refreshing!

In a talk at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone a few months back, noted British wine writer, Jancis Robinson MW, explained her top criteria for any wine she encounters: “It must be refreshing!” Given that simple yet demanding yardstick, I think Robinson would have found a great deal to like about almost all […]

by Tom Riley

To Love Wine Means To Love Learning

For the past three years I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to attend the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers. Now in its 11th year, the symposium, held at the Meadowood Resort in St. Helena, brings together writers at all levels of the global wine trade, from the famous to those just getting started. Along with […]

by Tom Riley

Geek Of The Week — Claret

A recent note from one of my older brothers stopped me in my tracks. Despite being a well-read and worldly man, and one who certainly loves a good glass of wine, he admitted that he didn’t really know what the word claret meant. If he didn’t know, how many other folks who love wine don’t understand […]