In 1996, Concannon was the first Livermore Valley vineyard to place its land into a permanent conservation easement. Felt good in the mouth with soft tannins and taste of cherry, black plums and some toasty oak. Last year I reviewed a 2007 Petite Sirah from Concannon Vineyard , so I was delighted to recently receive the 2008 vintage. MORE >>

In January, I tasted one of Australia’s most well-known wines, the Jacob’s Creek, Steingarten Riesling. Incidentally, he also mentioned that they have held back two palettes of 1996 Steingarten Riesling for worldwide release of a mature Riesling. Unfortunately, the bottle was not showing well that day. Yes, in a sense. MORE >>

It’s not every evening I get to taste ten white Burgundies with a decade or so of age. But they’re also a category that has not been aging well in the bottle, thanks primarily to the issue of “premox,” or premature oxidation, the cause of which is little known despite plaguing bottles since the 1996 vintage. follows after the jump. MORE >>

My father kicked him out of the cellar and said to him "My job is to make wine, your job is to taste it, not to tell me how to make it." Neal Rosenthal came to visit in 1996 and he tasted the wines and said that the wine was good, but not overly exciting. He was tasting the 1995's. Denis. It remains with them today. MORE >>

Then again, you might be influenced by the way experts taste in Burgundy, which is red first and then white. was able to have an early, more private tasting and seminar with Martin Tesch , whom I met a few years back when Wines of Germany organized a tour. Martin Tesch. Riesling fans know it is the soil that makes the wine. MORE >>