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A Good Wine Makes for a Better Read
2007-10-26 21:02:00
Fall is finally here - that time of year to get cozy on the sofa under a nice burning lamp, a lovely bottle of wine, and a terrific read. For those of you following Frank Cipparone?s Italian Picks, a great novel to dive into while drinking the Ornello Molon Raboso 2003; the Cristina Ascheri Langhe ...
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Grgich Hills 2004 Zinfandel
2007-10-26 18:01:00
The aroma of spicy, peppery raisins soaked in Dr. Pepper, but in a good way. This is classic, peppery California zinfandel, yet the blue fruits of the 7% petit sirah add an even greater sense of richness. The mid-palate isn’t nearly as sweet as the nose suggests, likely the result of substantial tannins that need ...
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The Top Ten Wines for Fall, PLCB Style
2007-10-24 20:40:00
These are the top  wines for the next month or so. Grab them when you can! You can use our Wine Finder to locate all these wines. Bodega Norton 2005 Malbec Reserva (Chile) PLCB: $12/Outside of Pennsylvania: $13-$20 This wine is everywhere right now, and its worth picking up a few bottles at the current ($12) PLCB price. The structure ...
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2007, the First Great Pennsylvania Vintage
2007-10-24 19:00:00
Eric really should have told me to take the right infront of the Amish lass picking flowers. She was there everytime I sped past. Eric Miller’s voice, recorded and replayed several times over the feeble speaker on my cellphone, is calmly giving directions to turn right at Mansion street.   After a few more circles through ...
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Italian Pick of The Week, 10/22/07
2007-10-22 16:05:00
Casa Librandi Ciro, “Duca di San Felice” Riserva, 2003, DOC, Calabria The Ciro DOC is home to Gaglioppo, a vigorous grape known as “The Black Prince”. Genetically related to Sicilian Frappato, it was used in ancient times to make crimissa. Today it ...
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Italian Pick of The Week
2007-10-15 23:10:00
Cristina Ascheri Langhe Arneis, 2006, Piemonte In a land of Barbaresco and Barolo this grape is truly, in the local patois, an unruly child, the one who doesn’t quite fit in. Once planted among rows of Nebbiolo because its scented clusters diverted birds and bees away from the more “important” varietal, Arneis had as low ...
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Mondavi 1991 Cabernet Sauvignon ?Reserve?
2007-10-12 22:51:00
From the moment I opened the bottle, this wine was one surprise after another. The color didn’t imply that the juice was 16 years old, and the nose, though redolent of the subtle aromas of leather and tobacco, developed a cinnamon-rolled blackberry character after a few minutes of air. And while the palate started off ...
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A Year in Wine
2007-10-09 17:57:00
“If I got anything out of this relationship, it is cheek meat.” We will be having rainbow snapper for dinner. Kay had bought them at a fish monger on Saturday on a whim. They were pin-striped in a shimmer of chilly gold and pale and their eyes sparkling wildly, as if caught half-way through ...
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Italian Pick of The Week
2007-10-08 13:30:00
Ornella Molon Raboso, 2003, Pieve DOC, Veneto Though it has been vinified since the pre-Roman era and was once an important wine for trade by Venetian merchants (when it was known as recaldina), Raboso literally lost ground to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the 1960s. As was the case with many indigenous varietals, it might have ...
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Italian Pick of The Week 10/01/07
2007-09-29 17:57:00
Castello di Verduno Pelaverga “Basadone”, 2004, DOC, Piemonte In a region famous for its Nebbiolo based wines there are a number of varietals that don’t get the attention they deserve, and this is one. Pelaverga is an ancient cultivar native to the Langhe, once planted alongside Barbera and Nebbiolo, ...
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Top Eight Wines for October
2007-09-25 18:13:00
   Here are the top eight wines available in the PLCB stores in the good state of Pennslvania. Even if you don’t live here, these are worth seeking out. Don’t forget to check out our new wine glasses while you are here. Primo Estate 2006 La Biondina, Adelaide $12 Grotto fresh! A simple and fun wine without any ...
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Italian Pick of The Week 9/24/07
2007-09-24 15:31:00
Roagna Dolcetto d’Alba, 2005, DOC, Piemonte The name Dolcetto derives from dolcezza, meaning sweetness, and refers to the berries of the varietal, a quality that does not show up in the wines of its seven DOC zones. Roagna is regarded as a ...
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Alexander Valley Vineyards 2004 ?Top of the Crop? Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexa
2007-09-21 05:04:00
A bottling from AVV’s new Reserve line, this Cabernet is a good step forward for this family-owned winery. The aromatics begin with a whiff of buttered  popcorn flowing into fresh tobacco and basil along with a solid dose of blackberry. On the palate, the wine hits off with eucalyptus and  graphite under a core of  just-ripe cherries and hazelnuts.  Tart cherries and ...
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Italian Pick of The Week, 9/18/07
2007-09-19 03:32:00
Cantine Cardeto “Rupestro”, 2002, IGT, Umbria Even though Sangiovese is Italy’s most prolific and widely planted grape it is popularly associated with Tuscany- Chianti to be specific. In the hils near Orvieto, blended with Canaiolo, Ciliegiolo, and a touch ...
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Eric Arnold?s First Big Crush
2007-09-17 21:47:00
Eric Arnold is in love.  Not simply with wine, or New Zealand wines, or the people who grow and create those wines.  No, Eric is in love with the whole damn mess of it all.  First Big Crush is a book about a man with a lot of passion, not necessarily a lot of sense, and a ...

The September Newsletter
2007-09-17 06:03:00
Check out the wine buys after the jump…
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The Wines of Italy September13
2007-09-11 19:40:00
Coast to Coast Terradora DiPaolo Falanghina “Irpina”,DOC, 2003 Campania ...
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Italian Pick of the Week 9/11/07
2007-09-11 19:16:00
Feudo Maccari “ReNoto”, 2005, IGT, Sicilia Sicily is developing a reputation as the “California” of Italian wine, a region where ambiguous regulations allow winemakers latitude regarding production and freedom to experiment. The inclusion ...
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Italian Pick of The Week, 8/27/07
2007-08-26 19:57:00
Argiolas “Perdera”, Isola dei Nuraghi IGT, 2004…Monica is a varietal indigenous to Sardegna, believed to have been introduced, as was Cannonau, by Spanish monks in the 11th century. There are two DOC zones where it predominates, however trhis version from a well known producer includes Carignano and Bovale Sardo to tone down some of Monica’s ...
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Italian Pick of The Week, 8/20/07
2007-08-19 18:23:00
Pieropan Soave Classico, 2004, Veneto…Thirty or forty years ago Soave, as was the case with its Tuscan cousin Chianti, suffered the ignominy of becoming a “brand” name, a generic term for mass produced, easy drinking Italian white wine. A lightweight in style and aesthetics, the Pinot Grigio of its day. Leonildo Pieropan and other astute ...
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A Sideways Blast into the Past
2007-08-14 04:45:00
Just going through some old files on the wine school’s web server when I found an old promo for a yet-to-be-released movie called Sideways. The school had been given about 20 seats to the Philadelphia premiere, but the theater was almost empty!
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Lagar de Pintos Albarino, 2005
2007-08-13 22:13:00
Not that they needed it, but the recent infusion of Mediterranean themed “small plate” menus on the local dining scene has opened palates to the quality and value of Spanish wines. Tempranillo, garnacha, and all those riojopowerhouses, however, have kept exotic indigenous varietals on the fringes, and this full bodied biancofrom Rias Baixas in Spain’s ...
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Italian Pick of The Week, 8/13/07
2007-08-13 05:43:00
Montesole Fiano di Avellino, 2003, Campania…This varietal stands out from the unassuming crowd of white wines from the region, all of them interesting in their own right but whose nuances are not easily discerned. Fiano has sometimes been referred to as “pesto in a bottle”, a bit overstated but as accurate a descriptor as any ...
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L?Oca?s Anchovies
2007-08-10 21:47:00
This past week, we held the second Sommelier Smackdown to be catered by L’Oca, the delicious Italian restaurant across the street from the school. Also for the second time, they provided us with house-cured white anchovies that reminded most of the people in attendance how delicious these little fishies can be. Far from those vaguely ...
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Domaine de la Janasse 2006 Cotes du Rhone Blanc
2007-08-10 21:39:00
The nose is rich with mushrooms and spice, though there’s a certain dried apricot perfume there from the viognier, too. You can definitely smell the oak here, which was lavished on this wine but doesn’t overpower it. On the palate, this white is every bit as deep and nuanced as the nose implies, with a ...
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Italian Pick of the Week, 8/06/07
2007-08-07 04:22:00
Bertani “Le Lave”, 2002, Veneto…Old and New World styles synthesize in this full bodied,creamy blend born of volcanic soil that is the antithesis of vapid, watery white wines from the Veneto. Garganega, the basis of true Soave Classico, plays a 40% supporting role in this “Super Venetian” IGT to Chardonnay that has been fully fermented ...
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The August Newsletter
2007-07-31 01:58:00
Get the goods after the jump…
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Italian Pick of The Week, 7/28/07
2007-07-29 16:22:00
Saladini Pilastri Rosso Piceno, 2004, Marche….Viticulture in the coastal area near Ancona predates Roman times, yet the wines of the Marche are still relatively unknown save for Fazzi-Battaglia’s “fish” bottle of Verdicchio. The Rosso is an harmonious blend of the ubiquitous Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and a touch of locally grown Passerino. It gives off subtle foresty ...
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Italian Pick of the Week
2007-07-23 16:38:00
Torre dei Gesuiti “Sarrocco”, 2004, Puglia IGT From the inky purple-black pigment to the balanced and slightly herbal finish, this is a mouthful of wine. Substantial and juicy at the same time, with layers of dark berries and currants, and a rounded core of black plum that softens the Negroamaro. The overall effect of the ...
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Wine 101: Intro to Wine, July 26th
2007-07-21 20:57:00
First Flight 1. Domaine Wachau 2005 Riesling (AU) Second Flight 1. Montes 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Leyda Valley (CH) 2. Simonnet-Febvre 2004 Chablis (FR) Third Flight 1. La Carraia 2005 Sangiovese, Umbria (IT) 2. Norton 2005 Malbec ?Reserva,? Mendoza (AR) Fourth Flight 1. La Rocas 2004 Garnacha, Catalyud (SP) 2. Green Point 2004 Shiraz, Victoria (AS) Fifth Flight 1. Hogue ?Genesis? 2002 Merlot, Columbia Valley (WA) 2. Wolf Blass ...
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