But maybe there will be more buyers, such as the Stamford Management Group, which is raising $100 million for a fund to buy Bordeaux and jade antiques. The arrest of Rudy Kurniawan on March 8 coincided with the top in the fine wine market this year. tastes to old wine and Burgundy since the broader Liv-Ex 100 has not fallen as sharply.

This was a scholarly trip with a group of very well-educated educators, with a focus on the wines and wineries of Groupo Faustino. Our leader was the very affable and fun Javier pictured above with an equally fun member of our group. Ah, Rioja! The wines were delicious as well! The evening was very hot.

Francisco answers the question here: " This is a traditional management we do since the 1990s and we introduce this concepts in the CREA groups of Uruguay. Viticulture is a key factor in quality grapes. Rules about irrigation differ all over the world. So we will have years with more or less rain that will give some vintage variations.".

During this week, journalists are divided into small groups to taste the wines of various regions each day. am in the "blind" tasting group with several other top name journalists and together we will taste the whites and the reds of the Grand Cru Classe De Graves "blind.". Do you see this beautiful chateau in the picture above?

Peter Liem organized a group of people to drink several special Sherries and to eat things like lightly steamed fresh shrimp, fried dungeness crab, steamed whole fish, and fried rice with salted fish. Not too long ago I had the pleasure of eating dinner at Fu Leen, the seafood restaurant in Manhattan's Chinatown. my stars.

Many people from all over the world came here just to taste from this select group. As a group, these were basically terroir-focused producers who marched to the tune of their own drummer. So fab! The day started out great with a glass in my hand and a few dozen producers pouring their vin clairs and champagne. It works for the style.

particularly love doing this over a meal with a relaxed group of people who will participate in the conversation and laugh with one another as we swing from kind-of-accurate to wildly wrong in our attempts to identify wine. I love blind tasting. did this last year at about this time , and now again. began to think Chablis. really cannot say.

Hotel barges are ideal for people looking for either an individual cruise with other like-minded people, or for those choosing a whole barge charter for a family or group of friends. Small groups (2 to 14 max) allow for dialog with winemakers. I'd usually stop at a winery, enoteca, or even a vineyard. Wine is a magnificent portal.

member of our group found it interesting that there were precisely fourteen people at the table, and we all had golden carrots made extra gold by the gold sauce. "Krug champagne!". The hotel (managed by Relais & Chateau) is gorgeous and the atmosphere is very refined and relaxed. As you can see, it is quite a work of art and delicious.

am in the 'blind tasting group' filled with names you usually see in the international wine columns. so here I am, a Chateau Fourcas Dupre, tasting an incredible line-up of more than forty wines. The day started off as every day should. in a Relais & Chateau hotel called Chateau Cordeillan Bages owned by the Cazes family.

In 1984, the entire Cordier Group was sold to the Suez Group. Very excited to visit this first growth Chateau in Sauternes, which is located on the high ground near the villages of Bommes.  As a first growth it is ranked first in the 1855 classification. Chateau Lafaurie-Peyraguey has an interesting history. Soils & Vineyard.

group of lanky young men in white euro tapered shirts and jeans turned to gawk as her heels clicked past. Here and there one could catch a glimpse of a group who looked as though they escaped from a lavish Gucci billboard advertisement. First and curiously the attendees skew younger than the other fairs and appear mostly under thirty.

The Grand Auxerrois vineyard is a group of wines from the Auxerrois, the Tonnerrois, the Vézelien and the Jovinien. Fabulous 11th edition of the Grands Jours for trade and media in Burgundy. This was my 3rd time at the event (which takes place every two years) and involves tasting the wines of various regions each day of the week.

50% of the attendees came from the international wholesale, retail and specialist retail segment, while the restaurant and the hotelier trade made up the second-largest visitor group. so I've been to the London wine far and now, just got back from ProWein 2012, International Trade Fair Wines and Spirits,in Düsseldorf, Germany. News prowein

Restaurant Wine List for iPad was developed by Automatic for NYC’s Metronome Hospitality Group. If you're a restaurateur and you're tired of constantly updating your wine list on paper menus, have no fear. the iPad now has an app that's perfect for restaurants, lounges, wine bars and connoisseurs called Restaurant Wine List.

Joe and Levi opened the brown wines at least a day in advance and they showed incredibly well, the wines were stunning as a group. Not long ago Joe Salamone and Levi Dalton put together a Sherry dinner at the wonderful Prune on the lower east side, and I was lucky enough to attend. This was a merry situation, we were feeling the love.

In “ The Emperor of Wine ,” Elin McCoy writes that Parker and his friend Victor Morgenroth tried various systems of rating and evaluating wines in their (blind) tasting group in the mid-seventies. ” Ironically, score inflation is the most likely threat to the 100-point system today. Care to guess which they were?

Citing data from the Beverage Information group, John Gillespie of Wine market Council said that the latest estimate for the size of the wine market is 291 million cases, up from 278 million cases the year prior. When asked the last time he had mistaken Burgundy for Bordeaux, Harry Waugh famously replied, “not since lunch.”

Only one team guessed 2002, the correct answer, the group from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. The business school students sniffed, swirled and spit the three glasses of Sauternes in front of them. Most teams got this one right. But then came the harder question: which vintage did those two wines come from? A: 1950).

Why not relieve ourselves of the burden of ordering wines in such tiny groups (87 points, 88 points, 89 points, etc.) and instead work within larger groups, accepting that there are no exact measurements for wine quality. This sort of system puts wines in large groups and requires me to do some thinking on my own, and I like that.

Telling someone that a wine has a nutty flavor is meaningless unless you can share the aroma and discuss its traits as a group.". Quick! What is one of the most sensual, aromatic products in the world, right up there with exquisite perfume and exotic flowers? Wine, of course. Well done!" Le Nez du Vin ," she whispered. Tracy Ellen Kamens, Ed.D,

Such a great group of people, a pleasure to be with them and to look forward to this experience each year. The reds were absolutely underwhelming as a group - I was very much uninspired. Every year at around this time we get together over dinner and share the wines. chose two bottles from the late 1990's by de Montille.

becoming the Group’s head office and a place dedicated to Mediterranean lifestyle and wine-growing culture. Afterward, we had a group dinner in the elegant restaurant of the Bertrand winery. Gérard Bertrand owns five estates in the best wine regions of the Languedoc. Lunch followed with the winemakers and their wines. Voila!

haven't had a wine from Santorini in over a year now, as after an initial love affair, I had a group of wines that showed too much sulfur and not enough deliciousness, and I kind of retreated. Well, of the last few months anyway. So I'll compile them in a best-of-the-unposted list from the last part of 2011. And more Sherry.

Breadth of wines is probably healthier than all the money funneling into a small group of wines and a broader index of wines is up 13% over the past year, but with declines in the past quarter. What has hints of red fruits, leather, tobacco, and tulips? Why, the wine investment market! So maybe there is some sanity. Bordeaux China

Before lunch, though, Jean-Rene gave our group a very extensive, insider’s view of the high tech winery with all its bells and whistles. Christian Seely led a very interesting test, in which we tasted two groups of base wine: Group 1 was 2008 Merlot, and Group 2 was Cabernet Franc. the woman’s voice says, incredulous.

An old Bodega along with wines of very high quality was purchased by a group including billionaire Joaquin Rivero Valcare. Instead of trying to write about individual visits, I thought it would be fun to summarize a bit and share some highlights. Emilio Hidalgo was my first visit to a Sherry Bodega. We should taste another barrel." Are you?

He assembled a crew of New York based judges in addition to an esteemed group of enologists from the Spanish Federation of Associations of Oenologists and TAPAS to judge hundreds of wines and thus showcase the diversity and richness tempranillo has to offer. Like Tempranillo? Ever tried an Oregon Tempranillo?

Terrazas de los Andes is part of the Moët Hennessy Wine Estates group, which includes Cloudy Bay, Green Point, Domaine Chandon, Bodegas Chandon, and Newton Vineyard. Last week I came home from work at the usual time (10:15pm) just wanting a nice red wine to sip on, with maybe a few bites of cheese or chocolate. Malbec Argentina

Though diverse as a group, what unites them is their distinctive terroir. Some excellent wines this week, an assortment of reds and whites from around the globe. Terrezas de los Andes. Reserva Malbec 2009. The vanilla notes from Barrel aging provided elegance and made this a fabulous food wine - especially for its under $15 price. 21.99.

Jay Miller received a $15,000 speaker’s fee for speaking to a group in Navarra, which according to this account, was for the wine trade and media. How do wineries prepare for a visiting critic? In Murcia, a region in the southwest of Spain, the answer this month is: they charge. The total sum sought from wineries was €29,000 ($40,000).

really fun group of people and a well executed program. We were promised a "week of fine and rare wine" and really experienced it today with this 1966 Port, 1971 Chateau d'Yquem, '82 Conterno Barolo. and Anthony Hanson MW of Christies giving a tutored tasting of red and white Cru Burgundy as well as a talk on the auction process.

small and select group of journalists are listening to the charismatic Andrea speak about the history of Lapostolle, with its passionate founders and tradition of French winemakers (Michel Rolland is a consultant) and taste the 2010 and 2009 vintages. Andrea Leon. There had just been an earthquake and the season had been wet.

Celebrated wine critic Peter Liem selected a group of Sherries and April Bloomfield, celebrated chef at The Spotte d Pig (among other places), created a menu to pair with the wines. Although I am no longer the least bit surprised, I continue to take great pleasure in expanding my experiences with the versatility of Sherry at the table.

The little-known grape varieties planted in volcanic soil on their own roots (phylloxera never swam ashore) often at 1,000 meters or more make for a distinctive grouping of wines. This week, our “set of titanium corkscrews” award goes to Jose Pastor. It’s also a philosophical difference over scoring. And consumers too.”

poured this wine at a tasting in NYC recently and the group really liked it. As the fall weather starts to arrive, here’s a great wine for the seasonal transition: SP68 red from Arianna Occhipinti. Hailing from an organic vineyard in Sicily, the wine blends the summer joy of Frappato with the more structure of Nero d’Avola.

Having banded together for the last eleven years (making some wine together in the form of a cooperative and also as a marketing and promotional tool) this group calling itself the Sudpfalz Connection is very exciting and energized. Volker Gies. The members of the "Sudpfalz Connexion" are: - Sven Leiner, Weingut Leiner.

so on the trip, our group will also be stopping at the winery of Weingut Markus Schneider. markus schneider belvini. According to the web site (a rather creative and loose Google translation) Schneider likes to make fresh, concentrated wine with more mineral than fruit and works on the principle ("less is more.).

Easy or not, Joe inspires deep affection, respect, and love from an enormous group of people. Joe Dressner was a rare type of person. He made his living selling wine, but unlike most salespeople, he had no interest in pushing his products or reaching the widest possible audience. If not, no problem, your loss. He will be greatly missed.

As a group, these were all small producers. Cesar Baeza of Brotherhood, also a producer of a sparkling wine, exuded charm and reminded our group that Brotherhood was making "champagne" (they are allowed to say this on the label) since before California was part of the United States! Matt Spaccarelli of Benmarl. Do you live in NYC?

There were several Champagnes on the table, as Bonhomie brings in a small but wonderful group of Champagnes, wines that you should unhesitatingly seek out if you enjoy Champagne. Apparently a lot of people know about this combination, this antithetical pairing of delicately nuanced Champagne with the greasy heavy fist of fried food.

As a whole, the wines showed fantastically well, just an excellent group of wines. Cédric Bouchard is one of the leaders of the new wave in Champagne. He comes from a Champagne family - his father is an old school grower, but Cédric does things differently. There is another aspect to Bouchard's wines that I find particularly interesting.

Daniel Johnnes is also the Wine Director for Daniel Boulud's Dinex Group, including. Rajeev Vaidya. Very excited to read in the latest issue of Wine Spectator that Daniel Boulud, one of my favorite NY chefs, is on the cover of the September 2011 issue representing French Chefs in America. manner. His passion for guest education – and guest.

Feiring is with Joly to judge wine for Joly’s Renaissance group, which awards stars to wines they accept in their traveling show. When one California winemaker learned he did not make the cut, he retorted: “I had not known the group was looking for bacteria-ridden wines that were so natural six bottles out of twelve had to be thrown out.

But this time the group putting on the trip told her "You've been buying wine from us for years and we want to say thank you, this isn't about getting you to buy anything." While taking a long walk the other day after work, I stopped in at a wine store where I used to shop, but never really go anymore. The hams can age for years.

Founded by Eric Vogt, a wine collector formerly of Boston Consulting Group, eProvenance can provide a detailed history of wine’s temperature during transit via an RFID tag inserted into either a case or tacked on to a pallet of wine. In our recent discussion on “cooked&# wine , Louise from eProvenance joined the discussion.

The talented group includes winemakers from California, Australia, France and Germany. Still blistering hot and still uncorking some nice Finger Lakes wines to help deal with the heat and still dining on summer salads, but added some corn on the cob to change it up a notch, I guess. am just interested in the cold wine.

The article did remind me of the Congressional Wine Caucus, an informal, bipartisan group of over 200 members of Congress–&# the anti-Tea Party&# as @sippingsister put it–that Thompson heads. The New York Times ran a front-page story on Congressman Mike Thompson recently. That would have more than a whiff of inconsistency.

In recent years Equipo Navazos , the group that seeks out and bottles a series of very special Sherries, has helped to spur interest in drinking Sherry among a new generation of wine lovers. If you became interested in Sherry sometime before the past few years, you might have learned some things that perhaps are not entirely true. Anyway.as

yet am curious to see the results of the competition and how the group of 21 - 35 year old judges voted. Very interesting meeting today with the publishers of Vineyard & Winery Management , Dennis Black and Bill Traverso who also run wine competitions. Since I wrote a thesis on millennials I have my own thoughts.

5) By dangling mice in the air and feeding one group resveratrol, a compound in red wine, researchers concluded that red wine is good for: a) bankers. In honor or “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me&# bringing their weekly news quiz to the NYT , we offer a news roundup this week in quiz format. a) Luxury resorts. b) Walnut trees.

It was originally Honifogel but there was a woman whose last name was Honifogel who sued the group and they changed the designation name to Smaragd" "Who were the growers who started it," I asked. My good friend Peter returned from Champagne the other day and to my great happiness, he came for dinner that very night. Modern?!?

Although he’s not that into wine (it does happen from time to time but he’s still a great guy), he loved the wine as did the others in our group who don’t even usually drink white wine. had the wine again recently (actually, it was the “gold capsule&# bottling) with a small tasting group and it was singing.

A group of friends that know each other through their sons’ school has a tasting every so often. I’ve been fortunate enough to lead the smart and fun group in about ten tastings over the past couple of years. The group liked the wine a lot. But at least someone from the group nailed it again!

And as Chateau Kirwan specializes in conducting food and wine pairing lunches for visiting groups you can imagine how much thought and attention went into matching the courses. Chteau Kirwan 1998. News chateau kirwan

Well, that's how I've been feeling about you, the group of people who read this blog. I began writing this blog in September of 2006 and although some things about the way I write the blog have changed, some things have remained constant throughout. try to write about what I'm learning and experiencing, and why it is important to me.

small group of producers from Georgia, one of them American born, came to NYC to showcase their wines. "Have you had Georgian wine?" I had some today and it is very cool. The region is the oldest in the world, filled with many local grape varieties. This way the wine keeps its mineral content and is "natural" in the fullest sense of the word.

And politicians pandering to motorcycle groups. Ah, Memorial Day. Grilling. Veterans. It also happens to be the kickoff to summer drinking season and here in the Northeast, we had terrific weather. My wine highlight of the weekend was uncorking a Domaine Baudry 2010 rosé, made from cabernet franc in the Loire appellation of Chinon.

But, in reality, a flight is a grouping of similar objects , like a flight of stairs or a flight of geese. Thus the same term applies to cabernets, pinots, or other small pours of wine, grouped together. Reader question: Why is a flight of wines called a “flight&# ? Are you happy with the term? reader mail

This group of three people went on to sample three more red wines, including a Douro, a Chateau La Rame Bordeaux, and something else - I cannot remember what. I met a friend the other night at a wine bar. good place to meet a friend and enjoy a glass of wine together. I don't know," one of them said. Tell us about the wines you have."

The party was fabulous -- many couples and groups having fun, lots of people socializing and getting to know their new best friend over Gruner Veltliner. Austria Uncorked on May 4 presented a fabulous opportunity for NYC wine folks to experience what is quickly turning out to be the "coolest" wine to enjoy at wine bars, or bring to parties.

introduced this wine to my tasting group who all gave it high marks. Think of Beaujolais and "Blanc" isn't typically the first color you think of. After all, Beaujolais, south of Burgundy, is home to the red wine grape Gamay, with the area known for its signature soils. Beaujolais Blanc, Chateau du Chatelard Beaujolais 2009.

The dinner was held in their amazing old wine cellar where a small group of wine lovers gathered at a long table to eat, drink and talk about wine ad infinitum. It was a very interesting group of winemakers, brand managers, wine journalists, importers, consultants, and PR people. Now for the wines and foods that went with them.

must say, I was quite disappointed with how the wines showed, as a group. But if this tasting is representative of the wines as a group, then perhaps Eric Asimov was right when he said after hearing about my theory, and I'm paraphrasing here, "Hmm, I don't think I agree. some do not. But what are the basic German Rieslings?

The "excellent" group consists of wines that are truly memorable, wines that inspire me to seek out and buy these and wines like them. The "excellent" and "very good" groups are wines that I would happily buy at the given price. Here are some wines that I drank in March that did not appear on this blog. The nose is really beautiful.

My favorite way to blind taste is to get together with a group of friends and ask everyone to bring a bottle to serve to the group. A lot of people don't like blind tasting, but I enjoy it a lot. The point for me is not to try to guess the wine, although that is fun and definitely a part of the learning experience. It's good fun.

Spot the consumer groups on the list! What drives policymaking that affects wine consumers? Thanks to opensecrets.org , we get a glimpse into how the sausage like HR 1161 gets made. via WII. Further discussion of the political coloring of beer and wine donors. wine politics

Needless to say, beer and wine producer groups object to the legislation (here’s a letter they co-signed last month). Last year, a rag-tag coalition introduced a piece of legislation that threatened wine shipments. It’s not even Halloween but the scary news is that, like Poltergeist II, this horror show is baaaaaack.

“A generation ago, the New Zealand wine industry launched Sauvignon Blanc in Britain and put New Zealand wines on the map,&# says Bill Redelmeier of Southbrook Vineyards, who spearheaded the group effort to promote Canada’s cool climate Chardonnays to international media. First off, the seminar was very well organized.

If you are categorizing, I think that 2009 is a vintage that can be grouped with 2005 - growers achieved high levels of ripeness and did so without having to sort out a lot of grapes. Fourrier's importer Neal Rosenthal organized the event. Equally instructive is tasting the same wines from 2008 and 2009. So different from the 2009.

French researcher warned a Bordeaux trade group this week that the region will be too warm to grow red wine grapes to long-lived wines–by as early as 2050. SIPPED: more Zin Man. The ad about Zin man , riffing on the Old Spice guy, got a big thumbs up from all of you. They are planning 8-10 more ads this year. SPIT: Celebrity status.

spent a weekend there a few years back, with Philip the galent host taking our small group to various wineries and restaurants. Now that I am off to Decouvertes en Vallee du Rhone next week, I was checking in with Wine & Spirits Educational Trust fellow-graduate Philip Reddaway, a former UK based adman (Mad Man?) Thursday 1st December.

However, a group is still pushing the legislature to adopt a measure. SPIT: wine shelf. Looks like they’ll need a mega cleanup in aisle 7! Fail blog/youtube ]. DESTROYED: international treasure. In Austria, vandals have uprooted and chopped to bits a 500-year-old vine. Hit the comments on what their punishment should be. SPIT: spelling.

The segment on wine fraud highlighted an investor group that lost 50,000 when the wines it purchased were never delivered. Wine investment fraud may run £30 million a year according to a source in a BBC investigative segment that aired last night. Perhaps he should have bought wines to drink, rather than ones for speculating on.

This fledgling group received validation when Jeffrey Grosset releasing his first off-dry Riesling in 2010. The Contours vineyard at Pewsey Vale, Eden Valley. The Seppelt Drumborg Riesling 2010 has the fresh lime aromas of a young Aussie Riesling. The Australians like their Rieslings young, fresh and dry. Australian wine

The other night, wine importer Joe Dressner was honored by a large group of his colleagues, clients, and friends. To be honored by the people who one actually works with - that is a very high honor. And it is well deserved in this case. Joe and his partners are creative and highly intelligent about the growers and producers they work with.

Neal Rosenthal and his wife Kerry Madigan made lunch for a group of people and opened a slew of wines to share. This past weekend I participated in one of the greatest wine events of my life. This was not a business lunch. The only wine business people in attendance were people who work for Neal and Kerry. The wines were very special.

think of a theme that should be interesting to the group and find the wines - done. It was a great group of people and we had a ball together, and we dined in comfort and style at Alto where my good friend Levi Dalton took care of us in his typical gracious style.Here are the wines we drank along with a couple of thoughts. Premoxed!

Usually I put them into groups - excellent, very good, and so on, but I had so many great wines in December that I will simply list my favorites without any qualification. December tends to be a good month for wine drinking. Everyone reaches into the cellar for the good bottles to help celebrate the passing of another year. Very impressive.

Typically, I have different stores (familiar with my objective) send me "themes" of wines in groups of 2, 3, and 4. So today all I knew about the below two wines (tasted blind) was that they were Pinot Noir, and one was from CA and one FR. And Pinot Noir from CA can be from many AVAs in Northern California. finish is med plus.

The "excellent" group consists of wines that are truly memorable, wines that inspire me to seek out and buy these and wines like them. The "excellent" and "very good" groups are wines that I would happily buy at the given price. Within each group, I will list the wines in the approximate order of enjoyment. FANTASTIC.

The Saint Veran was delicious, and had such intense minerality one of the group thought it was oaked. Cecile Mathiaud pouring wine at the December 8, 2010 Burgundy Training Seminar Imagine how lucky you would be to experience Burgundy right in the middle of Manhattan! Yet it was rich, buttery, and racy, with intense acidity.

As with most great wines, there are fantastically expensive bottles and modestly priced bottles, and when thinking about the wines as a group, price does not necessarily indicate quality. Money isn't everything when it comes to Champagne. The first wine we drank was the 1981 Krug Collection , about $700, imported by Moet/Hennessy/Diageo.

Just recently, I decided to ask the stores to create "themed" tastings, which is more similar to the MW program in which students are given 12 wines grouped into "themes" and asked what the wines are. Have you tried a themed tasting? So tonight we had one of our first themed tastings of three Pinot Noirs.

The French insurance group AXA bought the estate in 1987 and is the sole owner of the 33-acre vineyard with vineyards including Grand Cru Romanee St. “Welcome to Domaine De D’Arlot,&# says Sylvain Pellegrinelli, technical director at this gorgeous AXA property in Premeaux, located near the south of Nuits St. George. In the Winery.

It's exciting to work with a group of people growing those grapes and making those unique wines. I'm an age-group winner in a half-marathon and I've run several marathons. This is the final post about my conversation with Neal Rosenthal. We talked a bit more as we finished our lunch. How do you grow your business? BG: I guess so.

NR: The only way to understand what we do is face to face, not in a mass group tasting experience. More conversation with Neal Rosenthal: Finished with our tour of the grounds, we went inside the house for a look around. Neal showed me his root cellar, where he grabbed a bunch of his potatoes for our lunch. Are they for cooking or for eating?

As a group, all the winemakers were passionate, some flush with cash, others relying on other sources of income such as weddings, or bed and breakfasts. … so when you think of Portugal, you probably think of Port, yes? And it’s true, Port has been the signature drink of the country for decades. About Lisbon. Meeting Producers.

He gave our group a small talk about his estate, which includes a modern underground cellar near Villa Evelina. You've heard of Franciacorta, yes? It is the high end Italian sparkler people compare to the best French champagne. The combination of the soil, elevation, and climate work together to produce very good grapes for sparkling wine.

The hosts knew him well and it was a great place to spend the last night as a group. AXA Millesimes has many wine properties around the world - including Disznoko, an ancient property in Tokaji which the French insurance company restored. Lazlo is a very intelligent, kind, man who is passionate about wine and very excited to show us Disznoko.

Before lunch, though, Jean-Rene gave our group a very extensive, insider’s view of the high tech winery with all its bells and whistles. Christian Seely led a very interesting test, in which we tasted two groups of base wine: Group 1 was 2008 Merlot, and Group 2 was Cabernet Franc. Visiting Pichon Longueville.

On Monday October 25, 2010, The Consorzio Vino Chianti presented an exclusive reception and dinner at Maialino Restaurant, the newest restaurant from Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group, Maialino is a neighborhood Roman trattoria overlooking Gramercy Park. Violet, ripe cherries, coffee, cocoa, mint with floral finish.

Following the success of the first Wines of Israel tasting, the Israeli Economic Mission with the help of the Dunn Robbins group put on the 2nd Wines of Israel event today in NYC (following a similar event in Houston this past Monday). Though I was able to sneak around and taste the wines of some [.].

The "excellent" group consists of wines that are truly memorable, wines that inspire me to seek out and buy these and wines like them. The "excellent" and "very good" groups are wines that I would happily buy at the given price. Within each group, I will list the wines in the approximate order of enjoyment. Yes, I do.

The current President Piero Antinori pointed out that Italians in general do not like "groups", but this one is composed of competitors who are also friends. On October 25th at The New York Public Library The Instituto Grandi Marchi presented their “Premium Brands”. He said, "Each bottle should share all these qualities with the drinker".

Before lunch, though, Jean-Rene gave our group a very extensive, insider’s view of the high tech winery with all its bells and whistles. Christian Seely led a very interesting test, in which we tasted two groups of base wine: Group 1 was 2008 Merlot, and Group 2 was Cabernet Franc. Sunday: Dinner in a Chateau.

Starting November 1, a group will debut a white and a red under the label Kind Vines , exclusively at Bashas’, a grocery store. You want that wine on the shelf in Flagstaff, AZ? It’ll be $7.99–plus a $2 refundable deposit. Are you into this idea, in theory? Have your say in the latest poll!

If this bottle is any indication, Delhommeau is a nice addition to the existing super-group of Muscadet producers, and if you're into Muscadet, you should find a bottle. I was very fortunate to be invited to dinner by JD Headrick , the philosophical and articulate wine importer based in North Carolina. By the way, Rouge Tomate is really good.

It wasn't Theise or Skurnik who sent the samples, it was a group called Rieslings of Europe (I think, I cannot find the box). A few weeks ago a sample box containing two bottles of wine showed up at my house. And I definitely would have started with something a lot less expensive. There would be nothing to compare it to. Now, about Riesling.I

Twenty other states, including New York, have legal gray areas and thus could be up for a challenge soon from gun-rights groups. Three hundred people a week are injured in “ glassings &# in British pubs. The rate is so high that doctors have recommended substituting plastic tumblers for all glasses. We will find out here, apparently.