Author Archive

White wines from France’s Rhone region aren’t particularly well known and, at least in this country, don’t get all that much respect. You don’t see many of them on store shelves or restaurant wine lists, and you don’t see many of them reviewed, for that matter.

Which is a shame, … more

Don’t dismiss a wine just because it doesn’t have a cork. Screwcap, Tetrapak, box … The type of closure is no longer a reflection of quality. These wines show just that.

I have always wondered how to approach Chianti, which is not only the one Italian red wine that most Americans know, but the one Italian red wine that wine snobs turn their noses up at. If I review it, I run the risk of alienating both groups — a neat … more

This white blend from Bordeaux has been in and out of the $10 Hall since I started it 10 years ago — but not because of quality. Rather, what once was a $10 wine has been as expensive as $15 in around here, and though I like it a lot, it’s not … more

One of the biggest winners in Trader Joe’s decision to open its first Dallas store on Lower Greenville in East Dallas could well be Oak Cliff. The reason? Because Oak Cliff’s redevelopment is following more or less the same path that East Dallas’ has taken, and Trader Joe’s arrival points … more

If most wine drinkers know Freixenet, it’s from the black bottle that they see at the grocery store. And the black bottle is decent enough $9 Spanish sparkling wine, or cava.

Sometimes, though, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll see the black bottle’s cousin, a rose cava called Rosado ($9, purchased, … more

Cheap wine is more popular than ever, but the wine industry — and especially the wine writing part of it — seems to resent cheap wine more than ever. Their reasons aren’t quite clear, but chalk up much of the backlash to the fact they’re tired of cheap wine, and want to get back to making and writing about the expensive stuff. We can be a bit snobbish, no?

Some of you might think I don’t like California wine, given how often California wine comes in for criticism. Nothing could be further from the truth. I dislike dishonest and cynical wine, and a lot of that just happens to come from California.

I am pleased to report, however, that … more

The Spanish have been making vin ordinaire for what seems like forever, but given that Spanish wine has traditionally been overlooked in the U.S., the only cheap Spanish table wine that most of us know is Sangre de Toro.

Which is too bad, since the company behind Protocolo does a … more

One of the reasons why I enjoy cheap Italian wine so much — besides its quality, of course — is the sense of adventure that is part of tasting the wines. For one thing, the grapes aren’t what we’re used to in the U.S. For another, the Italians often seem … more