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What Are Your 99 Wines? (Part 37)

Vineyard in the rolling hills in Duoro Valley Portugal
Vineyard in the rolling hills in Duoro Valley Portugal

“The first kiss and the first glass of wine are the best.”

― Marty Rubin

Writing this series has forced me to reassess my tastes. For decades, you could not have convinced me I was anything other than a Napa Cab guy—stubborn, predictable, and proudly … Read the rest!

Can You Age (California) Sauvignon Blanc? Desparada?

Santa Barbara Vineyard Landscape
green rows of vineyard in golden hills

Technically, many wines can be aged. “Aging” means keeping wines in ideal or ideal-adjacent conditions. We call that “provenance” and “smart.”

When I purchased the magnum bottle of 2013 Desparada Fragment Sauvignon Blanc in 2024, I knew it had been well kept. Of course! It … Read the rest!

What Are Your 99 Wines? (Part 36)

aerial view of la rioja vineyards, Spain
“Here’s to the nights we won’t remember, with the friends we’ll never forget, and the wine that brought us together.”
– Unknown

Writing this series of articles has helped me realize something: Friends make a wine memorable. A mediocre wine improves noticeably with good … Read the rest!

Durango Social Club – and “Mama”

Food in Vietnam night market in Da Lat
Many snacks and seafood in vietnamese night market in Da Lat

“Durango Social Club” is an unlikely name for a Vietnamese restaurant, especially in the land of Phở.

Most Vietnamese restaurants in Las Vegas are Phở-focused, and that’s not an exaggeration. With creatives like Phở Kim Long, Pho&Beyond, and (my favorite) Pho King, which … Read the rest!

Capital Grille, The Generous Pour – A Review

We’re near the end of The Generous Pour, The Capital Grille’s annual summer wine-tasting event, and I was able to join a small group of folks last week to enjoy the offerings. Debbie had called me to let me know that Leslie and Rick’s … Read the rest!

What Are Your 99 Wines? (Part 35)

“I feel sorry for people who don’t drink. When they wake up in the morning, that’s as good as they’re going to feel all day.”
-Frank Sinatra

Certain wines stay with you because they become part of a larger memory. You remember whom you were … Read the rest!

1000 Miles of Pinot – Did I Die? Is This Heaven?

kamilla-isalieva-Rv2XfyRoD2o-unsplash

I don’t remember how I learned about this wine dinner since I hadn’t been looking for one. Wine dinners are expensive, and my credit card was happy that I’d been, well, *circumspect* lately. That being said, finding a wine dinner entitled “1000 Miles of Pinot … Read the rest!

What Are Your 99 Wines? (Part 34)

Two glasses of chilled white wine resting on a table, inviting a celebratory toast and enhancing the sophisticated ambiance of a festive gathering or elegant dinner party

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed … Read the rest!