Wine and restaurant reviews
A pretty big story broke last week in the world of wine. But you wouldn’t know about unless you read wine blogs. On November 30, Jim Budd published a story on his wine blog Jim’s Loire. In it he includes emails that suggest that Pancho Campo, a well connected wine professional in Spain, was charging […]
This weekend I stopped by Calvert Woodley, a landmark DC establishment for wine. I wanted to pick up some French wine, and I wanted to attend a tasting of some wines imported by Robert “Bobby” Kacher. Kacher is a well known importer and a resident of DC. He was gracious as he multitasked conversations and […]
There aren’t many interesting restaurants very close to my neighborhood. Most dinners involve a drive to Old Town at least, if not DC. But this weekend we decided to go Bosnian at the Cosmopolitan Grill, located (a bit incongruously) right next to our gym along Route 1. Tom Sietsema in the Post gave the place […]
Earlier this season Gabriele and I spent some time in St. Augustine, Florida. We were there last year as well, and had an excellent meal at a restaurant called Collage that introduced us to Foley Pinot Noir. We could of course have returned there, but part of the fun of vacationing is trying new places. […]
Here are links to more information on the wines discussed in the video below: Elderton Ashmead 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Chateau Lascaux Coteaux de Languedoc 2006 Thorn Clarke Terra Barossa Shiraz/Cabernet/Petit Verdot
Saturday night Gabriele and I had dinner at Geranio in Old Town Alexandria. We’d spent the day preparing our house as best we could for Hurricane Irene. Our backyard has drainage issues during any heavy storm, so we were concerned about water getting into our basement. However we had made reservations at Geranio partly due […]
Here are the wines discussed in the video below: Chateau Haut Bicou 2009 Tabula Rasa 2007 Rhone Blend Nick Stephen’s Bordeaux Undiscovered blog has a nice list of affordable wines here, and Robert Wellesley covers a lot of quality Pinot Noir here.
Earlier this year Gabriele and I rented a cabin in the high country of North Carolina, in the northwest corner of the state. It’s beautiful country down there and we had a fun and relaxing time. For dining out the most promising option was Boone, about 20 miles from where we were staying. Boone is […]
Welcome to the third installment of Parente on Parker. In this series I take a look at some of Robert Parker’s picks for the best wines in the world under $25, and see how his reviews stack up. Here are the three wines discussed today, with links to additional information: 2009 Barbera D’Alba from Andrea […]
Today’s video talks about how French wines can often vary greatly year to year. The wine used as an example is Domaine Grand Veneur Clos Sixte Lirac, and the differences between the 2006, 2007 and 2009 vintages. Lirac is a region in the southern Rhone area of France, very close to the more famous Chateauneuf […]
Last weekend Gabriele and I took a drive to the outskirts of Fairfax for dinner at Villa Mozart. We’d been in a bit of a “favorite restaurant” rut, and someone I met through work recommended the restaurant highly. The restaurant is small and quaint, and there is an atmosphere of fine dining from the moment […]
Here’s my second installment of Parente on Parker, with me reviewing some of Robert Parker’s picks of the world’s best wine values $25 or less. Today I’m discussing two Pinot Noirs that we definitely do not see agree on. I then suggest two others that are really good and should have been included in his […]