The area around Asti – in the Piedmont region of Italy – is most famous for its sparkling and semi-sparkling wines, notably Asti, which until 1994 was known as Asti Spumante (immortalized with the rhyme “pop off the top, and rock with my posse” for you denizens of late-1980s Hip Hop), a sparkling white which… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Wine, Drinks & Cocktails
Don’t disdain the rosé, embrace it
One of the silver-lining experiences of being underemployed – besides being able to think and write about food all day, which might just be a platinum lining – is that my greatly diminished, or, um, nonexistent, wine budget has led me to drink wines that I’ve owned for a while. If my net worth was… Continue Reading
Rocca Bella Negroamaro 2007
The corner store in my neighborhood – and I use neighborhood loosely, as the “corner store” is actually nearly two miles away from my house – has a selection of wines that are priced at $9.99 each, or 3 for $25. Typically, this sort of pricing scheme for wine makes me nervous because it normally… Continue Reading
Paringa Individual Vineyard Sparkling Shiraz 2004
I must apologize to you and to the wine. This wine deserves a much more flattering photograph, but, alas, JR and I drank every last drop and so I ask that you will just imagine if you will, the large bowl of a fancy red-wine glass, filled about a quarter of the way with a… Continue Reading
don Rodolfo Vina Cornejo Costas Tannat 2006
Tannat is a highly tannic varietal, with one theory on the origin of its name being that it is derived from “tannin”. Makes sense to me: tannin, Tannat. In its native France, it is blended with less tannic varietals and then aged in oak to counter its inherent tannins. But in the high altitude of… Continue Reading