Monthly Archives: January 2012

• A Dream Come True

  For years I’ve heard colleagues and friends speak of the beauty of South Africa’s Winelands.  Comments such as “the Western Cape is the world’s most beautiful wine country” and “you can’t imagine how beautiful Stellenbosch and the surrounding Winelands are”, have made me want to see for myself. I have always dreamed of coming to Read More

  Posted in In the News, Wine Regions

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  • January 31, 2012
  • by Don Lahey

• A Barrel and Wine Marriage

  I decided to try out a new Chardonnay tonight and I noticed some nice smokey, vanilla notes which caught my curiosity as to what type of barrel they could’ve used to age this wine.  You can find a ton of wines aged in an American Oak, French Oak, or even Stainless Steel Barrel and they Read More

  Posted in Wine Education

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  • January 27, 2012
  • by Kristina Manning

• Don’s January Collector’s Series Top Picks

  I must confess that red Bordeaux was my first wine love, but rather than have that youthful romance create a tender spot on my palate for the oceans of mediocre red Bordeaux that flow to our shores, it has made me hypercritical of Bordeaux reds that don’t measure up or simply under deliver.  Happily, this Read More

  Posted in Featured Selections, Notes from the Panel

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  • January 20, 2012
  • by Don Lahey

• Don’s January Premier Series Top Picks

  Well, a new year hasn’t made it any easier to come up with just two top picks, but the bottle stops here, so here it goes.  The Carmen Reserva Chardonnay and Reserva Carmenere are both splendid wines, and it is far more difficult than consumers realize for a winery to excel equally with red and Read More

  Posted in Featured Selections, Notes from the Panel

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  • by Don Lahey

• 11 Piños Bobal Old Vines and Pork Chops Anyone?

  I’ve come to realize that I have a thing for Spanish wines.  Whether I’m perusing at a local wine boutique, trying the different varietals at a wine festival, or grabbing a bottle featured right here in our club, I’ll always give a wine from Spain a little more attention.  But when I see an old Read More

  Posted in Recipes and Pairings

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  • January 14, 2012
  • by Kristina Manning

• What to Look for in 2012

  South Africa is the world’s ninth largest producer of wine and in recent years, South African wine has become the fastest growing imported wine into the United States.  Although hardly a match yet in sheer volume for Argentina, Australia, France, Italy, or Spain, there is no denying that South Africa is making an array of Read More

  Posted in In the News, Wine Regions

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  • January 11, 2012
  • by Don Lahey