Old World, New Wines
Tradition & Regulation is Giving Way to Innovation and Imagination as the Classic European Wine Regions Up Their Game As cited in an earlier Wine Geek Speaks missive, for the better part of the 20th century, if one wanted ‘good’ wine, that meant buying imported wine—usually from France, Italy or Germany. Then in the last […]
Retrospective — Rochioli Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
From the 4th Quarter 2017 Great Lakes Wine & Spirits Wine Catalog Rochioli Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Few, if any, California wineries are more closely associated with the rise in esteem of American Pinot Noir than Rochioli Vineyards & Winery. Located in the ‘Cote d’Or’ of the Russian River Valley, the Rochioli’s have been […]
Napa Cabernet—Becoming Just a Memory?
Prices for Napa Valley Vineyards and Grapes—Hence Wines—Have Reached Previously Unimagined Levels; Will Napa Cabernet Become Just a Memory for Us Regular Folks? Wine Geek is old enough to remember when he could (and did) purchase Château Lafite-Rothschild—the famed ‘First Growth’ Bordeaux—for $350. That was for a case. A case of twelve that is. Yes, […]
Brian Greenlee, In Memorium
Brian P. Greenlee 1952-2017 Please join us in mourning the loss of our friend and co-worker Brian Greenlee, who passed in November of this year. Known as ‘The Rev’ for his inspiring presentations at sales events throughout the years, many of us at Great Lakes Wine & Spirits will be inspired by Brian for many […]
What’s in Your Wine?
As the ‘Natural Wine’ phenomenon continues to chug along, an ancillary conversation has been begun by some, asking: what are the wineries allowed to add to the wines we drink? Even if you are not a follower of the natural wine dogma (‘nothing added, nothing taken away’: see Wine Geek Speaks, September 30, 2016 on […]
GLWAS at the WSWA WLC
WSWA Women’s Leadership Council first annual meeting in DC- Kicking off the event with a philanthropic event benefitting House of Ruth. We’re proud that two of our employees, Heather Kerr and Megan Iaccino, participated in the WSWA Women’s Leadership Council. There were 45 attendees from all over the US. GLWAS is proud to support women […]
Color Blind
Within the panoply of historic quotes and prose relating to wine are a few quotes that have been passed on and tweaked and amended and live on in some form, centuries later. One favorite is ‘The first duty of wine is to be red’. Although the internet abounds with claims regarding its origin/originator, it is […]
Is Cellaring Wine a Fading Notion?
Wine Geek has had a couple of good weeks: in the past 20 days or so Geek has tasted (drank) a 1953 Château Margaux, a 1990 Gaja Sorì Tildìn and a 1985 Comte Armand Pommard ‘Clos des Epeneaux’. All were gorgeous, ‘correct’ and in great condition (the Gaja was extraordinary!). When ruminating about how wonderful […]
Your Glass Shows Your Class
In Wine Geek’s decades of experience with this subject, he has seen the entire gamut: from restaurateurs that used only expensive crystal (albeit not always wine-friendly) to those that would refuse to pay more than $1 a glass (which were so thick & heavy, one could hammer nails with them). Then in the eighties, a […]