Author Archives: mike

IWR’s Visit to Greece

Posted on April 27, 2022 by mike

IWR recently returned from a two-week trip of winery visits and tastings in Northern Greece, the Peloponnese and Crete.  We also conducted a comprehensive tasting of the wines of Central Greece, including Epirus, Thessaly and the Ionian Islands.  In this … Continue reading →

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Barden Wines: Sourcing Sta Rita Hills’ Finest Vineyards

Posted on March 27, 2022 by mike

Winemaker Doug Margerum has developed this label for his super premium wines sourced from the finest vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Barden white wines are barrel fermented, aged mainly in new French oak, go through battonage in 225 … Continue reading →

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Flora Springs of Napa Valley: New Releases of Soliloquy and Trilogy

Posted on March 9, 2022 by mike

Flora Spring is a family-owned and operated winery in Napa Valley producing superior quality, handcrafted wines.   The two wines reviewed here are their flagship white wine Soliloquy and red blend Trilogy.  In our review of the previous vintages of these … Continue reading →

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Vriniotis: Modern Greek Wines from the Aegean

Posted on December 5, 2021 by mike

Vriniotis is a modern family winery located in Evia (Euboea), which is among the Aegean Islands  in Central Greece.   It was established in the village of Gialtra in 2007 by 51-year old Konstantinos (Kostas) Vriniotis , although  the family’s association … Continue reading →

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Wine Art Estate: Creative Winemaking in Macedonia, Greece

Posted on October 25, 2021 by mike

Wine Art Estate is a boutique winery established  in 1993 in Drama by Yannis Papadopulous and Yannis Kalaizidis.  Drama is located in a landlocked area bordering Bulgaria in the northern half of east Macedonia (see map below).  While neglected as … Continue reading →

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   Wrath Vineyards of Monterey:  2019 Releases

Posted on September 1, 2021 by mike

Wrath is a small artisanal winery located along the foothills of the Santa Lucia Highlands in the Monterey AVA.  It crafts  high quality premium Pinot Noir Chardonnay, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc from its own 72-acre San Saba Estate Vineyard and … Continue reading →

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Clarice 2019 Pinot Noirs from the Santa Lucia Highlands

Posted on July 3, 2021 by mike

Adam Lee continues on a roll with his Clarice wines.  The 2019 vintage produced somewhat riper and earthier wines than previously, but all three are first-rate and tasting great.  As in our review of the 2018 vintage, we found it … Continue reading →

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Blue Rock Vineyard:  New Releases from Sonoma County

Posted on June 4, 2021 by mike

Blue Rock Vineyard  is a small artisanal winery in Alexander Valley that produces high quality  hand-crafted Bordeaux-inspired wines.  The owner of the winery is Kenny Kahn, a passionate vigneron who is one of a small group of producers in Alexander … Continue reading →

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Raventós i Blanc: Stunning New Releases

Posted on May 11, 2021 by mike

The house of Josep Raventós i Blanc was established in 1986 in Sant Sadurni d’ Anoia by Josep-Maria Raventós, a break away member of the Codorníu family, with the objective of making Cavas of exceptional quality. Today, Josep’s grandson Pepe … Continue reading →

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Rosé and Food: Enlivening Your Meals

Posted on May 10, 2021 by mike

Rosés can be served with anything—Julia Child There are a wide variety of dry rosés available on the market. Many entry level rosés are relatively light in style and perfect for sipping but don’t stand up well to food. Others, … Continue reading →

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