Your wine wants to be enjoyed.That’s why it exists.But a great problem for many wine lovers is stockpiling so much wine that bottles are forgotten, left to die a slow fading death without ever breathing fresh air. A shame. Here’s what we do to solve that problem in our cellar. We tell the wine, early […]
With any great European wine region, change can be difficult and slow. In France, change happens at a glacial pace, slowly over generations. In Italy, it’s a bit faster but still controlled by the federal government and mountains of bureaucracy and paperwork. In Spain, it’s a bit different. It’s not that change happens fast in […]
Every quarter Cotroneo’s Wine and Spirits in White Bear Lake is kind enough to let me take over a section of the store. This set up is called, creatively, “Jason’s Picks” (I came up with that one) and consists of ten wines that I select around a particular theme. We kick off the quarter with […]
The Twin Cities Wine Awards Grand Tasting was all we hoped it would be and more. Last Monday night the best of the local wine scene along with fantastic consumers celebrated, high fived, hugged, and laughed. And it was magical. Photo: the power trio of local wine lists. Desta Klein of Meritage (best wine list, […]
WHAT I’M DRINKING NOW: Mont Gravet White and Red from Cotes de Gascogne, Southwestern France Price: Around $10 a bottle I highlighted these wines earlier in the summer, but I want to mention them again. Bargain wines from the countryside of France are common. What is not common is to have them taste great. Here are […]
It’s a week of micro-announcements, as opposed to the long format essay of weeks past. Easy to read and digest! Call it the Cliff Notes version of the newsletter. Here ya go. ** Congrats to the freshly minted new Somms of 2018! Last Saturday dozens of hopefuls gathered in Wayzata for the Court of Master […]
WHAT I’M DRINKING NOW: Fèlsina Chianti Colli Senesi 2016 from Tuscany, Italy Price: Low $20’s Great Chianti is one of my vices. I can’t get enough of the stuff, and when you go down the rabbit hole of learning about Chianti it seems to taste even better. Which is typical of the pleasures of life, be […]
