This week’s featured wine literally made me sit up straighter in my chair after my first taste. I looked at the bottle, took another sip, and thought “did I open an expensive bottle by mistake?” As readers of this blog know, I am always searching for affordable wines with exceptional taste, and this wine has…… MORE
I have to hand it to the Bogle family: they have been making high quality, affordable wines for over 50 years now. You may have seen their Phantom label in stores, a rich red blend I have reviewed previously. Juggernaut is their latest venture, a small production division harvesting grapes from their best hillside vineyard…… MORE
Part 3 in the “Wines of Italy” series, Brian Demay and sommelier Steve Tartaglia tackle the history of Central Italian wines, including the legend of Chianti’s Black Rooster, and they taste the Montenidoli Vernaccia, a delicious Mocali Rosso Di Montalcino, and the Cirelli La Collina Biologica Montepulciano d’Abruzzo (below). They also discuss the rise of…… MORE
I talk a lot about oak aging on this blog. Over the years I have learned a lot about the different types of oak barrels winemakers use, and the specific flavors the different types of oak impart to the wines; everything from caramel, cinnamon and vanilla to mocha, oregano and pepper. Each winemaker has a…… MORE
We all have our favorites. I find a really good California Cabernet hard to beat, but often the price of a “good one” puts it out of reach for more than just the occasional drink. I end up trying a bunch of bad ones, my frustration builds, and to restore my faith in reasonably-priced red…… MORE
One cold day about 10 years ago my wife and I were at a wine tasting in New York. We tasted a lot of wines that day, none were particularly good. A friend of ours said “When you’re done, come on over to the bar.” We did, and he and his friend had open a…… MORE
I had a revelation this week: could this be the perfect Thanksgiving wine? I think the answer to that question is yes. This dry sparkling Lambrusco from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region is not only delicious on so many levels, but also unbelievably affordable. A wine friend of mine recommended this bottle and I was delighted with…… MORE
Paula Kollstedt, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Cincinnati Chapter, talks to Brian Demay about an exciting new breakthrough in Alzheimer’s treatment, the latest research, and the ways the association helps not only patients, but caregivers. #Alzheimers #Treatment #Biogen #aducanumab… MORE
When I was a boy my father smoked a pipe. If you close your eyes and picture a stereotypical professor, that was my Dad: mustache, tweed coat with elbow patches, cup of coffee, pipe, smoke wafting around his head as he graded papers. I never cared for the smell of the pipe smoke, but I…… MORE
In this podcast, Brian Demay and Wine Ambassador Jim Teegarden from Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits highlight three newly released, super-premium Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons: Caymus Special Selection Cabernet (2015) Joseph Phelps Insignia (2016) & Robert Mondavi The Reserve Cabernet (2016) What makes these wines premium? In this once-in-a-lifetime tasting, Brian and Jim discuss the…… MORE
