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Monday, June 30, 2014

July Wine Pick: La Vis Dipinti 2013 Pinot Grigio

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.

Before I found this wine I never thought I could fall in love with an Italian Pinot Grigio. Yet here I am, in love with an Italian Pinot Grigio. La Vis Dipinti is made in the Dolomites, way up north in Trentino Alto Adige. Dipinti translates from Italian to paintings in English.

Its floral and waxy aroma reminds me of one of those Yankee Candles my wife likes so much. Also on the nose are peach and stoney minerality. The palate shows melon and apricot with a finish of lime. The heavier body weight and the smooth mouth feel is more along the lines of an Oregon Pinot Gris than an Italian Pinot Grigio. It's more juicy than crisp.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Dean Martin says you're not drunk just yet

You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on. - Dean Martin

You're not drunk if you can lie of the floor without holding on. - Dean Martin

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Sulfites in wine: the truth you may not like

This is what your wine guy thinks of your sulfite kick but won't tell you:

He wants no added sulfites! See? Nobody cares.

It's true. I know you've made this life decision but you're wrong and being as foolish as the I-don't-have-celiac-disease-but-I'm-gluten-free trend. Sorry, but somebody had to tell you. There's about 400 parts per million sulfites in a salad. There's about 40 parts per million sulfites in a bottle of wine. Crackers have more sulfites than that. That should be enough to kill any argument but if not, let's keep going...

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Captain Picard on Cape Cod's First Crush Winery

Why the fuck are there kids on a bottle of alcohol?

Frolicking children on a wine label might not be the best idea. It's not just me, Jean-Luc agrees.

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Distill Wars Episode II: Whisky vs Whiskey

So they think the original way to spell the name of the spirit in question was Whiskey. Then the Scots dropped the E and started calling theirs Whisky just to be different from the Irish. You know, to be unique. Like when somebody names their kid Jordyn, forever burdening them with a lifetime of correcting people.

I love, and always have loved, Scotch whisky. The problem with great Scotch is it's too fucking expensive. Back in my early-to-mid-twenties, for reasons lost in time, I had a tradition of doing shots of Jameson Irish Whiskey in massive quantities during winter storms before I braved the cold and started shoveling. I can't handle that kind of shenanigans anymore while remaining a responsible adult and still expecting myself to get up in the morning, so these days it's a taste of Porto or Australian sticky that keeps me warm instead.

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Rosé these days. Sheesh.


I'm a sucker for dry rosé. Very rarely will I find one that I don't like. But dear lord, the hype window each spring is so small, is only for the last years vintage, and there's too damn many of them! By the time June comes around you can't give away the leftovers, and the following spring you've still got a shit ton of the old vintage that nobody wants!

#RETAILPROBLEMS

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The Adventures of Aglianico - A Complete History of an Ancient Wine

My Nana and Me
Last fall I was just starting an all-out-crazy-study-campaign to get my CSW. I knew my stuff but I didn't know my stuff if I did not sell it. During Thanksgiving dinner my dad asked if I knew of any wines from Avellino. His father's father came over from Sicily and his father's mother came over from Ireland, while his mother's side was from Avellino, Italy. I don't know where you live but here on Cape Cod Sicilian wine is readily available but Avellonian wine is not. So I started looking into the wines of Campania, the Italian region that includes Avellino. I found that most of what I could get from Campania was bulk and jug wine. Then I came across a wine called Taurasi. It turned out Taurasi is a town that makes wine from a grape called Aglianico, and it's the most famous fine wine of Campania. And guess where Taurasi is? It's in the province of Avellino. Well, eff me running. I ordered a bottle and gave it to him for Christmas. Myself, being both a wine geek and history geek, couldn't let it end there. I've got blood ties to this wine. I had to know more about Taurasi and Aglianico. PICTURED: My Nana and me.

Aglianico is an old-ass grape. It's been with us since the early days of civilization so it's seen some things. Moscato may be the oldest around (and some say it could be the origin of all vitis vinifera) but that doesn't interest me so screw that. This is the biography of Aglianico, one of the most ancient wine grapes we have the pleasure of knowing, people who cared for it and drank its wine, the places it's been, and the historical events it witnessed around its vineyards.

Sunday, June 1, 2014

June Wine Pick: Grace Lane 2011 Riesling

This WINE PICK of the month was written for the Luke's of Cape Cod website.


The first vines were planted in Yakima Valley in 1863 and in 1983 it became the first AVA established in Washington State. Planting the vineyards on the hill slopes near the Cascade Mountains gives the vines the perfect angle for sunlight to take full advantage of Washington's long days and cool nights. Yakima is now a sub-appellation located in the larger Columbia Valley AVA, whose dry Rieslings are world renowned.

This Riesling is NOT SWEET! Let's make that clear right off the bat. It's quite dry, so sweet-wine-haters need not be afraid. You'll love this one.
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