Wine Witch – Fantastic, Affordable Wine Suggestions

Posts Tagged ‘United States’

Yes, you read the title correctly – NEW MEXICO.  The Wine Witch is going out a bit on a limb here.  This is absolutely the best U.S. sparkling wine at this price point and probably better than most at twice the price.  California be afraid.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of life’s great pleasures for us winos is working our way through a progressive flight of wines. You could organize your own event with friends or attend a wine dinner sponsored by a local restaurant. However, the very best way to do this is a winery tour.

Read the rest of this entry »

OK – the first thing that needs to be cleared up is the use of the word Champagne.  All Champagne is sparkling wine, but very little sparkling wine is Champagne.  You may recall from other posts that the French name their wines after where they are grown and not the grape in the bottle.  Champagne is a rather small wine region in France, and technically only wines that come from there have the right to be called Champagne.  Wine makers outside of France (especially the U.S. and Southern Hemishpere) hoping to cash in on Champagne’s mystic often call their sparkling wines Champagne.  They shouldn’t, but they do and the Wine Witch is not going to start swimming against the tide here.  If you see sparkling wines in this post or other reviews called Champagne when they are not, just relax and go with it.  We all know what we are talking about here.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yellow Tail is an Australian producer that has taken the U.S. by storm.  They cover most of the major varietals and their wines are widely available.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chardonnay is probably the premier white varietal – certainly in the U.S..  There is almost a limitless range of Chardonnay styles and almost every wine producing country or region has Charonnay.  One of the biggest factors impacting the final result is the age old question – To Oak,  or Not to Oak.  If you have a dedicated Chardonnay drinker on your gift list, the Wine Witch is going to guess that they fall on the “to oak” side of the question.  While there are some lovely unoaked Chardonnays out there, most Chardonnay has seen some wood.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chardonnay is probably the world’s premier white varietal and among at least U.S. consumers, Kendall Jackson is probably the best known.  Almost any wine list has it, and it is certainly an old, reliable friend if there is nothing else you recognize.

Read the rest of this entry »

Zinfandel is a grape unique to the United States.  This varietal makes some powerful, jammy wines.  Mature vineyards show off Zinfandel best so look for labeling that says “old vines” when shopping for Zin.  Please, please do not confuse what we are talking about here with White Zinfandel which is a whole other thing.  This wine is deep red verging on purple – no pink.

Read the rest of this entry »

Gewurtztraminer – now that is an impressive looking word.  Let me sound it out for you – guh-VOORTS-truh-MEE-ner.  Try saying it a few times.  It will begin rolling off your tongue.  I can hear your question – why would I want to bother learning how to say this?  I would never want to order this wine.  Ah, but you do.  This is one of the very most distinctive varietals out there – white or red.  By the way, it is a white.  Even a wine neophyte would be able to pick out a gewurtz (it’s nickname)  from a series of whites in a blind tasting.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ok, I know – a really bad pun, but I couldn’t resist.  I have already shared some thoughts on my favorite while varietal, Sauvignon Blanc, so I thought it time to move on to some musings on reds.

Syrah or Shiraz is the same grape.  In France it Syrah and makes some of the big red Rhones that they are famous for.  The Australians, just being cheeky by nature, call it Shiraz.  Lately the U.S. producers seem to use the names interchangeably. 

Read the rest of this entry »