Wine Review: James Charles Riesling 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! Bogati Family Winery is back on the blog, baby! When Riesling Month came together I had to get in contact with my favorite  guys in Virginia to get their James Charles Riesling involved! So here it is, and it's closing out an entire month of Riesling rated reviews! Bogati Family Winery has four labels:...

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Saké Quickie: Gekkeikan Nigori

Another Gekkeikan Saké from California! Filtered through a broader mesh than normal and with zero carbon filtering, the Nigori  style of Saké is cloudy from rice particles that remain with the Saké instead of being completely filtered out. This one is full bodied and chalky and it's got a simple profile of melons and bananas. The acidity is kinda out of...

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Wine Quickie: Inurrieta Cuatrocientos Crianza 2016

This Crianza from Navarra, Spain, is 66% Cabernet Sauvignon, 23% Merlot, 6% Syrah, and 5% Graciano. It was aged for 14 months in French Allier and American oak barrels. And at first  it was just flat and didn't show much character at all. But then I let it sit for a bit and it started to come out. There’s dark fruits, mocha, black pepper, dried herbs, and lots of...

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Wine Review: Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett 2016

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! Dr. Peter Pauly is the grandchild of Zacharias Bergweiler, historically one of the most esteemed Moselle winemakers. Already during his early studies at Geisenheim, the only German institution to award higher academic degrees in winemaking, Dr. Peter Pauly worked on the family wine estate before completely taking...

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Wine Quickie: Castillo Monjardin La Cantera Garnacha 2018

This is 100% Garnacha from seventy-year-old vines on Castillo Monjardin's estate La Cantera vineyard in Navarra, Spain. The wine is fermented in stainless steel and then spends one year in French barriques. The color of the wine is a vibrant garnet and the nose is explosively expressive with black cherries, strawberry jam, violets, chocolate, and toasty oak. It just smells...

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Wine Quickie: Rodney Strong Rosé of Pinot Noir 2018

I was fortunate enough to be invited to this month's #PinkSociety chat that featured this wine. And although it was full of cool people and conversations, I was not all that much of a fan of the wine itself (which surprises me because I really do like Rodney Strong). Everybody else seemed to like it, so don't take my word for it. There's aromas and flavors of watermelon,...

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Wine Review: Dr. Pauly-Bergweiler Noble House Riesling QBA 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! Dr. Peter Pauly is the grandchild of Zacharias Bergweiler, historically one of the most esteemed Moselle winemakers. Already during his early studies at Geisenheim, the only German institution to award higher academic degrees in winemaking, Dr. Peter Pauly worked on the family wine estate before completely taking...

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Saké Quickie: Gekkeikan Black & Gold

Saké is pretty limited here on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and most of what you'll find is by California's Gekkeikan rather than Japanese Saké. Because I'm just starting out in my Saké journey I'm fine with this because it seems to me like Gekkeikan produces some good stuff when you take price into consideration. And, really, Saké overall is a category where you...

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Video Unboxing: Forbidden Geek DC Comics Mystery Box #1

Check out Forbidden Geek at ForbiddenGeek.com...

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Wine Quickie: Ochoa Calendas Tinto 2017

You know how much of a nerd I am and that anything space related gets me excited, especially when it's on a wine bottle, so I gave a little cheer when this showed up on my doorstep. I love that label. The Roman New Year was Calendas of March, which is also when the vines in Ochoa's vineyards come back to life. Their motto is "the moon is always there, even if we can't...

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All Hail Riesling, The Ruler of the Rhine and Our Hearts!

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! German wine is a wonder and dangerously close to not being possible. The position it holds on the planet and its altitude makes it cold for most of the year, so the plant growing season is longer and more drawn out than most wine varieties can handle, and they won't ripen in time before winter. But thanks to the...

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Wine Quickie: Matchbook Petit Verdot 2016

Matchbook Wine Company is one of the best winery friends of the blog and they're located in Dunnigan Hills, California. The 2016 vintage is the very first of their Petit Verdot varietal and it consists of 88% Petit Verdot, 11% Malbec, and 1% Teroldego. Each variety spent 13 months in oak barrels separately, and then after being blended it spent another 13 months...

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Saké Quickie: Hakutsuru Superior Junmai Ginjo

I've decided that my next challenge in education is saké, and not only does education include study but also consumption. My favorite part of this saké is the mouthfeel because it's well rounded out and silky and smooth with a touch of oil. It has springtime flowers and melon with a touch of lime peel on the nose and palate, and it's just a laid back and enjoyable saké...

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Wine Review: Heinz Eifel Kabinett Riesling 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! In 1979 Heinz Eifel founded Römerhof (Roman Yard) in Trittenheim in the heart of the Mosel Valley. When his daughter, Anne Eifel-Spohr, received her oenology degree from Geisenheim University in 2000, Eifel set out to collaborate with her on top-quality wines that reflected tradition while simultaneously respecting...

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Little Guy Wine Shop Looking to Help Little Guy Winemakers

MARK PRIOR BURBANK, CA – May 15, 2019, the California Wine Exchange launched on Kickstarter yesterday (May 14th) an effort to buck distribution standards and offer wines from mostly craft and boutique winemakers from within the Golden State. Mark Prior, founder of the California Wine Exchange [CWE], believes that too many great California wines go undiscovered...and...

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Wine Bloggers Off-Topic #1: What is the perfect movie?

Every month I'll be asking a group of wine bloggers and social media influencers an off-topic question that they can answer in as short or as long of a format as they want. We write so much about one topic that it's nice to write about something else once in awhile, like other opinions or passions, and I really like learning more about others in our community beyond that...

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Wine Quickie: Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Franc 2016

Oooooh yeeeeeaaah! I love Cabernet Franc and I love Washington State and I love this wine! It's medium bodied with excellent structure, moderate tannin, a  rich and silky mouthfeel, and a hot and peppery finish. There's notes of plums, blackberries, green peppers, and sweet tobacco. All together this is some outfreakingstanding New Word Cab Franc!...

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Wine Review: Heinz Eifel Shine Dry Riesling 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! In 1979 Heinz Eifel founded Römerhof (Roman Yard) in Trittenheim in the heart of the Mosel Valley. When his daughter, Anne Eifel-Spohr, received her oenology degree from Geisenheim University in 2000, Eifel set out to collaborate with her on top-quality wines that reflected tradition while simultaneously respecting...

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Wine Quickie: Tinto Rey Rosé 2018

Tinto Rey is a label line by Matchbook Wine Company, who is one of the best winery friends of the blog. The winery and vineyards are located in Dunnigan Hills, California, and the Tinto Rey line's purpose is to produce Spanish style and Spanish varietal wines there. So I'm surprised that this is labeled as a Rosé instead of a Rosado, but not surprised when...

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Loire Valley Wines: Food & Wine Pairings for Fresh, Fruity and Friendly Moments

Loire Valley is probably my favorite wine region on the planet, and this is a great infographic on pairing Loire wines with food. If the text is difficult to read then just click on the image! Follow @LoireValleyWine #LoireLovers or visit Loire Valley Wines website for more information....

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Wine Review: Dr. H. Thanisch Bernkasteler Badstube Riesling Kabinett 2018

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! The wine-growing tradition of the Dr. Hugo Thanisch family can be traced back more than 350 years. In 1636, the name was mentioned for the first time in the registers of Bernkastel-Kues. The quality of the family's wines soon extended their excellent reputation far beyond the Mosel valley. At the end of the 18th century,...

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Wine Quickie: Mossback Russian River Chardonnay 2017

Mossback is the Sonoma label line by Matchbook Wine Company, who is one of the best winery friends of the blog. The line was created when they decided that they needed to make a good Pinot Noir, but that's rather difficult in Dunnigan Hills. So their winemaker used his connections in Sonoma to get his hands on some fruit, and Mossback was created! This Russian River...

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Cooking with wine while keeping it simple and inexpensive

Working in the retail sector of the wine industry, I know that when a customer says “I need a wine for cooking” what they’re really saying is “I want the cheap stuff". But here’s the thing: you can get quality wine for cheap that will result in a better dish. Seriously, you really can, but you just need to know where to look. And, like Julia Child always...

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Wine Quickie: Chateau Batailley Pauillac Grand Cru Classé 2014

Oh my goooooodneeeeesss! Poured some wine at an event one night and ended up coming home with half a bottle of this gorgeous $90 Bordeaux. It's medium bodied with excellent structure, tight and dusty tannin, and uplifting acidity. It's super spicy with pepper and clove and exotic spices, earthy with wet wood and black tea, and the fruit of currant and stewed plum and strawberries,...

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Wine Review: Dr. H. Thanisch Feinherb Riesling 2017

May is Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net! The wine-growing tradition of the Dr. Hugo Thanisch family can be traced back more than 350 years. In 1636, the name was mentioned for the first time in the registers of Bernkastel-Kues. The quality of the family's wines soon extended their excellent reputation far beyond the Mosel valley. At the end of the 18th century,...

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Wine Quickie: Mossback Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon 2016

Mossback is the Sonoma label line by Matchbook Wine Company, who is one of the best winery friends of the blog. The line was created when they decided that they needed to make a good Pinot Noir, but that's rather difficult in Dunnigan Hills. So their winemaker used his connections in Sonoma to get his hands on some fruit, and Mossback was created! The 2016 Chalk...

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How To Store Wine Correctly At Home

Knowing how to store wine correctly isn’t only for fine wine enthusiasts—it’s good knowledge to have in general. If you buy a bottle of wine, or have been gifted a good vintage, you need to know how to store it so it doesn’t lose its flavor. If you want to get into wine collecting, quite simply, you need to buy the right kinds of wine. Fine wines are those rare finds...

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Sign up for "Wine Bloggers Off-Topic"!

Hello, wine bloggers and social media influencers! We all do a lot of cool stuff related to wine, but sometimes it's nice to write about something different for a change. And it's always nice to learn more about the people in our online wine community beyond their love of wine. So I'm looking to start a monthly series on the blog called "Wine Bloggers Off-Topic" where...

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Wine Quickie: Ferzo Terre di Chieti Pecorino 2017

The grape here is Pecorino and the region is Terre di Chieti in Abruzzi, Italy. It's a full bodied and lush fruit gusher with bright acidity and a lively personality. There's stone fruit, pineapple, white flowers, and lime zest. If you're looking for a white wine with big personality and some good weight to it then this Pecorino is for you. I think it's just awesom...

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May Wine Pick: Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling 2017

The entire month of May will be Riesling Month on TheWineStalker.net, so all of the full reviews will be Rieslings! I've got six Rieslings from Germany, one from Virginia, and this one from Washington State. But Riesling isn't all that's going on this month! Also penciled in are four wine quickies from my good friends at Matchbook, three wine quickies from Navarra (Spain),...

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