I went to the big Michael Skurnik / Terry Theise tasting last week, the only tasting in NYC where one can gaze upon Robert De Niro's father while sampling wine. arrived quite late and had nowhere near enough time to taste everything. Where am I getting all of this Champagne vintage and climate information from? MORE >>

In the spirit of full disclosure, Jack informs Ridikulous that Robert Parker wrote that “Donaghy Estates tastes like the urine of Satan after a hefty portion of asparagus.” Okay, only about five years late on this. They both spit it out and retch. Jack wonders how he is ever going to sell 10,000 cases of this wine? MORE >>

It’s always interesting to taste wines with a winemaker at hand to ask questions – the J Vineyards Pinot Gris ($16) from the Russian River valley struck me as full bodied, fragrant, floral, and volumptuous.The reason, I discover, is that Bursick was able to add this fullness and tropical fragrance in the course of fermentation. MORE >>

After tasting older vintages of collectible wines before an auction, the bottles are routinely smashed. DAMAGED : some tentative information on the state of Japan’s sake breweries. tasting sized poursSIPPED and SMASHED: Lafite empties. An empty bottle of Lafite 1982 fetches $1,500. CNN ]. SIPPED: counterfeit bottle. MORE >>

In addition to Domodimonti we tasted other specialty items from Marche, as well as fabulous Amaro digestifs from Varnelli. Not all "natural" wines are delicious, yet Domodimonti manages to strike the right balance between quality taste and staying true to the environment. Do you like sulfates in your wines? No one does. THE VINEYARD. MORE >>