could write about the fabulous Israeli Cab or the not so fabulous French Bordeaux, the overrated California red, or awful Israel Merlot (it was BAD) but who cares?!?!! The 2005 Rashi Barolo made from the Nebbiolo grape is a wine I carried when i was in the restaurant business. Merlot, Cab, Syrah - been there done that. Worth a shot! MORE >>

opened it and read it to Simon: "I am moving to California. So I started to say "Well in Piedmont, they use a grape called Nebbiolo to make their finest wines." All the while, Frank kept the wine flowing while extraordinary morsels kept appearing from the kitchen. offered to help if I could, and Simon and I exchanged numbers. I'm 36. MORE >>

No, it was not from Argentina, Chile or California. By this point though Spanish missionaries had brought wine all the way into what is now California. And what really got me was that neither of them were your run-of-the-mill California stand by's. nebbiolo. The next step is trying the nebbiolo. Mexico. Cetto. MORE >>

When shopping for wine in a place like Sam's Club one should focus on bottles not from California (unless the wine buyer caught the wine geek bug one day and ordered some boutique stuff that is quite good and in that case stock up before it is gone) but -in my experience- South American and certain Spanish and Italian wines of good quality. MORE >>

California? The grapes that grow in the valleys and mountains of the peninsula when done well can be clean and crisp whether red or white and can have a gripping structure while not weighing down the palate yet can have depth on the level of some nebbiolo or Aglianico wines. France? Italy? Maybe Argentina or Spain? What about Greece? MORE >>