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 The Ridolfi family has been making wine in Tuscany for centuries. Their Montalcino estate is perched at a 1,000-foot elevation where 11 hectares are planted to Brunello vines. Their 2019 Brunello shows exceptional depth and character. With a half-hour’s aeration, the pure blackberry and cherry fruit of the grape emerges and is enhanced by lovely floral, herb, earth, cocoa and spice elements. The flavors are big and bold and show layers of rich blackberry and cherry fruit plus hints of cocoa, dried roses, herbs, vanilla and subtle baking spices. It is delicious and satisfying with layers of flavor, a rich texture, and a long finish. It can age well for another two decades.
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May 7, 2024:
Within my household, I am the wine scholar - educator, wine school owner, Master of Wine - but my husband is Monsieur le Sommelier. He buys the wine and collects wine, and I share the drinking. Recent circumstances have made me the sole wine drinker in the family and separated us from our large cellar to boot. Now I am a wine buyer.
Short of time, I turned to my local wine shop in Harlem, The Winery, which is run by Eric White, a former student of mine who has done me proud. It's a small shop that by necessity offers carefully chosen wines from a thoughtful taster. I have had no end of delight in exploring its shelves. The following wines are a few examples.
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Michael Franz
June 26, 2024: Over this past weekend, judges gathered in San Diego for the 21st running of the Critics Challenge International Wine and Spirits Competition, an unusual judging conducted entirely by professional wine reviewers who aren't involved in the buying or selling side of the wine trade. The competition was conceived by our friend the late Robert Whitley, who had the wisdom to tap the knowledge and unencumbered objectivity of his fellow wine journalists to create an unprecedented approach to large-scale wine evaluation. The wines reviewed here were the cream of the vast number of entries, all of which were tasted blind before being deemed Platinum Award winners. They were then blind tasted again to assure extraordinary quality, and are reviewed here in detail.
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Christy Frank
June 26, 2024: Pinotage. It's one of those 'love it or hate it' grapes. Actually, it seems to be more of a 'hate it' grape. In the minds of many wine people of a certain age, Pinotage brings to mind notes of burnt rubber, iodine and the sort of old, stinky smoke that used to exist in New York bars when smoking was still allowed inside. This doesn't reflect the true state of Pinotage today, and it was never the case for all Pinotage anyway, but the collective memory of the wine industry is long and stubborn and old tasting grid habits are hard to break. In any case, at the risk of jumping to quickly to the conclusion of this column, my belief is that you don't in fact hate Pinotage...you just haven't tasted the right one yet.
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June 19, 2024: I love lamb chops for many reasons. They cook quickly and simply. They can easily be dressed up or down with everything from a minty pesto to a serving of kimchee. They partner beautifully with a variety of red wines. And when flavorful lamb chops are paired with the right wine, the wine becomes itself more delicious. There are a couple of different types of lamb chops to choose from. Quick cooking loin chops, which usually weigh 3 to 4 ounces each, have a narrow bone that runs up the middle of the chop. Smaller rib chops, which are cut from the rack of lamb, may be single or double cut. I am partial to these small chops myself because they have more fat than other cuts rib chops and are therefore the most tender and tasty of all the cuts. For very small chops, use two (or more) of them for each serving.
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Mary Ewing-MulliganMay 7, 2024:
Within my household, I am the wine scholar - educator, wine school owner, Master of Wine - but my husband is Monsieur le Sommelier. He buys the wine and collects wine, and I share the drinking. Recent circumstances have made me the sole wine drinker in the family and separated us from our large cellar to boot. Now I am a wine buyer.
Short of time, I turned to my local wine shop in Harlem, The Winery, which is run by Eric White, a former student of mine who has done me proud. It's a small shop that by necessity offers carefully chosen wines from a thoughtful taster. I have had no end of delight in exploring its shelves. The following wines are a few examples.
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Happy Surprises from a Local Harlem Wine Shop
Platinum Award Winning Wines: The 21th Annual Critics Challenge International Wine Competition
All I'm Saying is, Give Pinotage a Try
Happy Surprises from a Local Harlem Wine Shop