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6 days ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
France’s third largest appellation (behind Languedoc-Roussillon and Bordeaux), the Cotes du Rhône often seems like a forgotten middle child as wine lovers argue about their preference for either Burgundy or Bordeaux. While the former is the home of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and the latter is known for red blends based on Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot and whites featuring Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon, the Rhône Valley is home to 37 grape varieties of which only a few are household names.
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1 week ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
Named for the mountain and town within its limits, the Saint Helena AVA sits towards the north of Napa Valley just below Calistoga.
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1 week ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
When it comes to background stories on grape names, Sangiovese has one of the most impressive of all, as it comes from the Latin sanguis Jovis, or blood of Jove, which refers to the Roman king of the gods, better known as Jupiter. And when it comes to the finest region in Tuscany (or all of Italy) for Sangiovese, DOCg Brunello di Montalcino reigns supreme.
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1 week ago | 
flipboard.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
5 hours agoSo, you’ve decided to start a whiskey collection. Maybe you fell in love with a peaty Scotch at a friend’s dinner party, or perhaps a bartender convinced you to try a small-batch bourbon that changed your life. Either way, you’re about to enter a world filled with history, craftsmanship, and—let’s …
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1 week ago | 
robbreport.com.au | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
A landmark alliance between a pair of the leading wineries in France and Australia has produced a uniquely delicious Syrah-Shiraz blend. Professional partnerships in the wine industry are far less frequent than fashion or watch collaborations.
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1 week ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
This story is from an installment of The Oeno Files, our weekly insider newsletter to the world of fine wine. Sign up here. Great athletes have been known to remember the minute details of games in the distant past with uncommon clarity. NBA star Jimmy Butler can tell you to the day when he first had a sip of wine, what it was, and who he drank it with.
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1 week ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
Professional partnerships in the wine industry are far less frequent than fashion or watch collaborations. But even if they were a dime a dozen, the oenological world would likely still be fervently excited about the just-released joint effort by Penfolds Grange and La Chapelle, which blends two of the world’s finest Syrahs—one grown in Australia, where the grape is called Shiraz, and the other in France—into a single bottle.
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2 weeks ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
We firmly believe that good pizza deserves good wine, and great pizza deserves even better wine. Sometimes all you want for dinner is a nice simple pizza but just because you’re not having a gourmet meal doesn’t mean you can’t pair pizza with an amazing wine. Let’s be honest if we saved all the “good” wine in our cellars for standout meals or special occasions, the majority of it would never be opened.
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2 weeks ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
This story is from an installment of The Oeno Files, our weekly insider newsletter to the world of fine wine. Sign up here. Although wine is often considered to be stuffy and tradition bound, it seems there is always something new in the vineyard or winery. Oak barrels from France were only introduced to Napa Valley around 50 years ago, and in the years since, we’ve heard a lot about alternative vessels like amphora and concrete eggs.
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2 weeks ago | 
robbreport.com | Mike DeSimone |Jeff Jenssen
We have always maintained that some of the best Pinot Noir outside of its home region of Burgundy comes from cool climate areas like Sonoma County and especially the Sonoma Coast AVA, both of which are among the coolest wine-growing climates in the country. Carneros was once called the coldest region in California and has been prime Pinot Noir territory for years. The style here tends to be juicy with fruit flavors of strawberry and raspberry with notes of vanilla and orange peel.
