Michael Pinkus Wine Review - On the Road with the Grape Guy

Report from - Wines of Chile Tasting ... September 27, 2011

07 Feb 2012

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

It's always fun when the Chileans come to town. You get to try some amazing wines at at some pretty amazing prices (in a good way) and find out what the "best country to make wine in" is up to. I like to think of Chile as the great copycat of the world - they seem to be able to make any wine in any style - and given time they can mimick anywhere. They can make Sauvignon Blancs that are New Zealand-esque. Shiraz that rivals Australia. Cabernets as juicy and rich as any Californian. And surprisingly of late, Pinot Noir that bridge the gap between Burgundian earthy and the Californian juicy. I have a special relationship with Chilean wine: my first love in the red world was a Chilean red, suggested to be by a female companion I was hoping to be romantically involved with ... we did not work out, but my love for Chilean wine has grown ever since.

Today in Toronto 34 Chilean producers wowwed us with their products ... and also presented a number of their award winning and organic wines. We'll start with the award winners that caught my taste buds, then move on to some of the licensee picks, before looking at what the rest of the room had in store for drinkers of Chilean juice. I will be presenting scores mostly based on my 5-star scale. (see the wines by clicking here)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.

Report from - Verona Italy - Day 5: Even More Winery Tours ... Tuesday, January 31, 2012

02 Feb 2012

Details: Category: On the Road with the Grape Guy

I've never been one for museums ... sorry ma ... yes my mother has taken me to a few in my day, usually to see some art exhibits and such that she could not drag my dad to ... but I have to admit, very little interests me in those surroundings. I walk thru them quickly looking at this and that, stopping at the few things that catch my eye, but for the most part museums aren't my bag. My wife would think that kinda surprising I'm sure, she teases me about being a little effeminate because of my love for wine and theater ... she also finds it odd I like Abba and am probably one of the few people in this world that doesn't think the Johnny Hates Jazz album doesn't suck - but that's another story. Today's tour of the Veneto region took us east, to the Soave region. We first started out at the Museo di Bolca ... a fossil museum ... now this was a funny excursion that was riddled with all kinds of fumbles: the museum didn't know we were coming, they had to turn the heat on, and nobody could guide us through; I self-toured with a couple of other writers then went for a coffee up the hill at a bar and waited for the others to finish. It was then off to Cantina di Soave - a co-op winery, a castle stop and a small yet intriguing winery called Massimago (owned by a 27 year young woman with a dream) ... along the way we stumbled onto the most interesting place. Let's take a look ... (take a look at the pictures from the last day - click here)

To read about more interesting adventures thru the world of wine check out the On the Road With the Grape Guy blog.