Last year I reviewed a 2007 Petite Sirah from Concannon Vineyard , so I was delighted to recently receive the 2008 vintage. The Conservancy collection includes Pitite Sirah, Merlot, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. could not wait to open the 2008 Petite Sirah. The color was a very dark purple. The wine was perfect. MORE >>

did pass on a few nice California reds though and stayed with the Finger Lakes and a Salmon Run Meritage 2008 ( $11 ), a blend of 54% Cabernet Franc, 39.5% Merlot. Grilled a few NY strip steaks this past week-end and looked forward to opening a nice red wine for change. Seemed to be stuck on Finger Lakes white wines all summer. MORE >>

The blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Peite Verdot and Malbec was again delightful. Tonight was one of them nights when Shirley did not feel like cooking, I was not hungry and the NCAA Basketball National Championship was being played. game I have not missed in 38 years. This one was another blend called Mercury Rising. MORE >>

would have pulled out a nice Gewurztraminer if I had one, but settled for a Fontana Candida Frascati Superiore DOC 2008. Getting time to clean out the old wine fridge. Shirley keeps doing her part by challenging me to come up with a pairing for some of her weird dinner experiments. Here the grapes for Frascati are grown. MORE >>

I've been holding out on the wine reviews until everything gets back to normal after my surgery. At present, my Cardiologist has OK'd 3-4 oz. of wine per day and, for me, that just don't cut it. do cheat a bit and I also skip some evenings. That is what happened with the first bottles I opened. little lighter bodied than what I'm used to in Zin. MORE >>