So fun! I’ve just had Elena Walch Sauvignon Vigna “Castel Ringberg” 2022 which is fantastic. I finished a CdP, had a couple beers and a 2022 August Kesseler Riesling. Just bought 2 Portuguese wines so I don’t have to drink my in-laws wine while I am visiting. 🫣 I have been drinking a lot for me!
Nice! It was only last year or so I tried my first Italian Sauvignon Blanc from Alto Adige, we sipped it as part of a blind taste test agiainst 5 other SB's and only a pricey Napa SB beat it out - it was definitely the surprise find of the tasting, I had no idea SB was a player in Italy.
Killed the rock costume! Drank some amazing 2014 and 2015 Yakima Valley Merlot from Stevens Winery this week and one or two bottles of Soave. Looks like you tasted through some good ones -- how are you liking the L3? I can't remember, did you opt for in-person or the online course?
Oooo, nice. I am trying to get Dallas more into Merlot and Zin - he's very poo-poohey on those two varieties, not that he *hates* them, just that he's never excited about them.
And I'm in-person with the WSET! Since I'm just getting started in this industry I figured all the face time possible would be best, plus this way I get to do study groups with the other students 1-2x per week. So technically I drank a LOT more than what I mentioned in this video but holy crap, it's too much. Rare moment in my life where I'm struggling to not be sick of ****ing wine. :P
Ahh yeah, gotta get Dallas on the Merlot train! It's such a versatile variety I feel like the mental picture people have is often colored by a few specific examples that they hated since Merlot done badly (as it unfortunately often is) is basically undrinkable.
Decent chance you've both tasted wines from all of these regions already, but here would be my "learn to love merlot" crash course for merlot deniers LOL: start with some high quality Sonoma county or Santa Cruz mountains Merlot (Thumbprint or Ridge are both exceptional) to dispel the structureless fruit bomb stigma for Cali merlot, then hit some Yakima Valley/Red Mountain merlot (the Stevensmerlot from Steven's winery if you can track it down is unreal value, 2014 makes a play at the best I've ever had - this is sometimes in stock at random TotalWine locations) which can be insanely complex and elegant especially with some bottle age, then any decent Pomerol to get that leaner old world style with more vegetal notes and sanguine notes. Premium Italian Merlot (e.g. Querciabella) is its own beast. And then if we're just testing the merlotty waters there's always the odd Left Bank blend that's merlot dominant (e.g. Chateau Lilian Laduoys).
Of course I'll immediately follow that statement with the extreme hypocrisy of saying I generally don't like Zin myself -- I just typically find it to be too ripe and fruity without much else going on, though I know there's exceptions (and very open to recommendations if you have em).
Anyway good call on the in-person course, kind of wish my brother and I had done that for the sake of study groups and hanging with like-minded winos, but the online course was the only way we could take it at the same time from halfway across the country. Definitely going to do the live version if I ever make the diploma mistake -- but I'm in no rush 😂
That Steven's winery definitely caught my eye in your previous comment - I looked 'em up online and bookmarked it but will have to eyeball my local Total Wine, too. And Ridge is one I've definitely had and enjoyed. Regarding France, I'm pretty sure Dallas' bias is purely for New World Merlot. He ain't kicking a Pomerol to the curb unless it's already empty :P (Pomerol was also my first ever well-aged wine, a 1990 that I had 3 or 4 years ago, and it was revelatory.)
As for Zin, Turley out of Paso is the benchmark - they have multiple single vineyard Zins each with their own terroir-driven profile, then a couple lower priced Zins that are still incredible for the price. And I'm quite fond of Primitivo myself. There's a lot of cheap bottles that are forgettable, and it can be hard to convince yourself to pay more for something you're not sure ever delivers, but it's kinda like Pinot Grigio - you get what you pay for, and complex, layered versions *do* exist in that higher $25-$35 range! There's actually a number of both Zin and Primitivo (made with the Italian clone) coming out of Temecula these days, notably from Cougar Winery, Robert Renzoni, and Vitagliano.
Hell yeah, I hope you can track it down! In extremely classic small-winery fashion they haven't updated their website since the internet was invented and the most recent vintage they have on their "current" wine list is 2012, so you almost wouldn't know they are still in business. Thankfully every decade or so someone posts a blurry picture on their Yelp page, so I choose to believe they've just transcended the need for a traditional web presence.
I've def had some very good quality Zins (lots from Ridge, a bunch from Sonoma and a handful from Paso), but never Turley so I'll have to track down a bottle. Zero experience with Temecula wine, but I've been hearing more buzz about it lately. Cool that they're doing more with Primitivo, I tend to prefer it stylistically to Zin, so will def give it a try next time I can find it!
So fun! I’ve just had Elena Walch Sauvignon Vigna “Castel Ringberg” 2022 which is fantastic. I finished a CdP, had a couple beers and a 2022 August Kesseler Riesling. Just bought 2 Portuguese wines so I don’t have to drink my in-laws wine while I am visiting. 🫣 I have been drinking a lot for me!
Nice! It was only last year or so I tried my first Italian Sauvignon Blanc from Alto Adige, we sipped it as part of a blind taste test agiainst 5 other SB's and only a pricey Napa SB beat it out - it was definitely the surprise find of the tasting, I had no idea SB was a player in Italy.
Killed the rock costume! Drank some amazing 2014 and 2015 Yakima Valley Merlot from Stevens Winery this week and one or two bottles of Soave. Looks like you tasted through some good ones -- how are you liking the L3? I can't remember, did you opt for in-person or the online course?
Oooo, nice. I am trying to get Dallas more into Merlot and Zin - he's very poo-poohey on those two varieties, not that he *hates* them, just that he's never excited about them.
And I'm in-person with the WSET! Since I'm just getting started in this industry I figured all the face time possible would be best, plus this way I get to do study groups with the other students 1-2x per week. So technically I drank a LOT more than what I mentioned in this video but holy crap, it's too much. Rare moment in my life where I'm struggling to not be sick of ****ing wine. :P
Ahh yeah, gotta get Dallas on the Merlot train! It's such a versatile variety I feel like the mental picture people have is often colored by a few specific examples that they hated since Merlot done badly (as it unfortunately often is) is basically undrinkable.
Decent chance you've both tasted wines from all of these regions already, but here would be my "learn to love merlot" crash course for merlot deniers LOL: start with some high quality Sonoma county or Santa Cruz mountains Merlot (Thumbprint or Ridge are both exceptional) to dispel the structureless fruit bomb stigma for Cali merlot, then hit some Yakima Valley/Red Mountain merlot (the Stevensmerlot from Steven's winery if you can track it down is unreal value, 2014 makes a play at the best I've ever had - this is sometimes in stock at random TotalWine locations) which can be insanely complex and elegant especially with some bottle age, then any decent Pomerol to get that leaner old world style with more vegetal notes and sanguine notes. Premium Italian Merlot (e.g. Querciabella) is its own beast. And then if we're just testing the merlotty waters there's always the odd Left Bank blend that's merlot dominant (e.g. Chateau Lilian Laduoys).
Of course I'll immediately follow that statement with the extreme hypocrisy of saying I generally don't like Zin myself -- I just typically find it to be too ripe and fruity without much else going on, though I know there's exceptions (and very open to recommendations if you have em).
Anyway good call on the in-person course, kind of wish my brother and I had done that for the sake of study groups and hanging with like-minded winos, but the online course was the only way we could take it at the same time from halfway across the country. Definitely going to do the live version if I ever make the diploma mistake -- but I'm in no rush 😂
That Steven's winery definitely caught my eye in your previous comment - I looked 'em up online and bookmarked it but will have to eyeball my local Total Wine, too. And Ridge is one I've definitely had and enjoyed. Regarding France, I'm pretty sure Dallas' bias is purely for New World Merlot. He ain't kicking a Pomerol to the curb unless it's already empty :P (Pomerol was also my first ever well-aged wine, a 1990 that I had 3 or 4 years ago, and it was revelatory.)
As for Zin, Turley out of Paso is the benchmark - they have multiple single vineyard Zins each with their own terroir-driven profile, then a couple lower priced Zins that are still incredible for the price. And I'm quite fond of Primitivo myself. There's a lot of cheap bottles that are forgettable, and it can be hard to convince yourself to pay more for something you're not sure ever delivers, but it's kinda like Pinot Grigio - you get what you pay for, and complex, layered versions *do* exist in that higher $25-$35 range! There's actually a number of both Zin and Primitivo (made with the Italian clone) coming out of Temecula these days, notably from Cougar Winery, Robert Renzoni, and Vitagliano.
Hell yeah, I hope you can track it down! In extremely classic small-winery fashion they haven't updated their website since the internet was invented and the most recent vintage they have on their "current" wine list is 2012, so you almost wouldn't know they are still in business. Thankfully every decade or so someone posts a blurry picture on their Yelp page, so I choose to believe they've just transcended the need for a traditional web presence.
I've def had some very good quality Zins (lots from Ridge, a bunch from Sonoma and a handful from Paso), but never Turley so I'll have to track down a bottle. Zero experience with Temecula wine, but I've been hearing more buzz about it lately. Cool that they're doing more with Primitivo, I tend to prefer it stylistically to Zin, so will def give it a try next time I can find it!
Tbh i was secretly hoping Stevens WAS still selling the 2012 like it was no big deal not a library wine at all ;P