The Underground Wine Letter

CHARITY WINE AUCTIONS ANNOUNCE EXCITING EVENTS FOR 2013

Christine Graham — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:58:04 +0000

Vintage Affaire, 31st Annual — Saturday, June 22, Woodside, California Central Coast Wine Classic, 29th Annual — Thursday, July 11 through Sunday, July 14, Avila Beach, California St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church Cellar Classic, 4th Annual — Saturday, June 29, Los Olivos,...

ARE NUTRITIONAL LABELS COMING TO ALCOHOLIC DRINKS?

John Tilson — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 04:58:47 +0000

This is the question posed in a recent Associated Press article by Mary Clare Jalonick. Here is the first part of that article: ”Alcoholic beverages soon could have nutritional labels like those on food packaging, but only if the producers want to put them there. The Treasury Department, which...

THE BLENDING GAME: ROSÉ & MORE

John Tilson — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:57:29 +0000

Yes, it’s that time of year. Summer is nearly here, and the rosé campaign is in full swing. New wines continue to arrive, and I am spending a lot of time tasting, drinking, and writing about the new 2012s. The first article was recently published (to read that article click here) and more will...

ATTENTION ALL WINE CONSUMERS: WINE INGREDIENT LABELING IS HERE!

John Tilson — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:49:58 +0000

HERE IS THE FIRST LABEL FROM RIDGE VINEYARDS WITH INGREDIENT LABELING Ridge is now listing all the ingredients going into its wines on the back label. This is a historic event and is fully explained on their website in an article entitled “Why is Ridge adding INGREDIENTS to its back labels?”...

2012 ROSÉS

John Tilson — Mon, 13 May 2013 13:16:04 +0000

SPRING IS HERE AND SUMMER IS AROUND THE CORNER – IT’S ROSÉ TIME! Ah spring! What a nice time of the year. The flowers are blooming, everything is green, the birds are singing, and the weather is mild. Spring vegetables are abundant and thoughts revolve around lighter foods and being...

UNDER THE RADAR AND VALUE PRICED WHITE WINES, SPARKLING WINES, AND RED WINES FOR SPRING

John Tilson — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:09:20 +0000

FEATURING A SELECTION OF WINES FROM AUSTRIA, CALIFORNIA, ITALY, FRANCE, AND SPAIN One of the nice things about wine is that there are many choices to choose from. But, while to some this is a challenge to be approached with gusto, to others it is daunting. But, no matter where you are in the...

IN PURSUIT OF BALANCE 2013

John Tilson — Sun, 05 May 2013 23:28:14 +0000

Featuring California Chardonnay and California Pinot Noir Los Angeles, CA February 6, 2013 This is the third year for this event which was conceived by Rajat Parr of Sandhi Wines and Jasmine Hirsch of Hirsch Vineyards. This year the event was held in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Previously,...

CALERA WINE COMPANY

John Tilson — Fri, 03 May 2013 23:27:22 +0000

My history with Calera goes back to the very beginning in the early 1970s. More recently, I visited the winery again in 2011 and wrote an article entitled Kudos For Calera. And now I have just tasted the current releases (including the stunning 2010 Mt. Harlan Pinot Noirs) and revisited the winery...

Retrospective Review: Volume III, Number 5 (April-May 1982)

John Tilson — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:48:18 +0000

In the spring of 1982, Volume III, Number 5 offered the following articles: One Winedrinker’s Opinion – The Absurdity of Classifying American Cabernet Sauvignon, Coming Attractions, More 1979 Red Burgundies, California Cabernet Sauvignons, More 1978 Bordeaux, California Chardonnays, More...

DOMAINE FRÉDÉRIC ESMONIN

John Tilson — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 01:10:00 +0000

HIGH QUALITY LIMITED PRODUCTION BURGUNDIES AT ATTRACTIVE PRICES This small domaine in Les Estournelles, Gevrey-Chambertin has approximately 10 acres of vineyards. The production of each wine is very small with the average production of each of the vineyard designated wines varying from around 75...