Casa Costa Piane is making prosecco safe for the world. Col Fondo in style, even if it’s not noted on the bottle, this is bony, stony, and foggy. True, I... read more →
Three years back I tried to enter this into a sparkling wine festival. It was rejected because supposedly the attendees wouldn’t be able to accept the sludge in the bottle.... read more →
One day the price will go up, when Lambrusco (finally) gets sexy. But until then, it’s our secret. Love this purple fizz, that is earthy, brambly, a touch tannic and... read more →
Sure it’s got a hint of unfermented sugar fruit but there is something more, deeper and a touch more serious. Think Jane Austen: sophisticated characters + commercial appeal. Also comes... read more →
In this issue I’ve a few traditional wines that just are beauties even if they aren’t natural at heart. This is one. It is compellingly gorgeous. If you can find... read more →
Fabio Bartolomei is an ex-patriot Scott who is Italian, who moved to Spain and is a nut who is a little mad genius of a hybrid. He’s happy at an... read more →
Damned serious wine from a single vineyard, called El Cuchillejo, with high elevation, almost 1000 meters. These are 60-year-old vines grown on grape-loving clay calcareous soils. No pea protein or... read more →
Fabio makes this attention-getting lowish acid wine from old-vine malvar culled from the slopes around Madrid. The color is rosé, the spirit is orange. Low in acid which makes this... read more →
Talk about a wine growing on you. Over a period of four days, this really crawled into my bed. At first pop the fruit subdued nicely, impressed by the balance.... read more →
This is Rafa Bernabé’s project, reviving old vines and old methods, such as this skin contact, orange wine offering, raised in tinajas, those old clay jars (not buried). He uses... read more →