Australia’s Jacob’s Creek has just launched a new line of wines that represents a collaboration with California winemaker Ehren Jordan. For 18 years, Ehren made the wines at Turley, and he has a Napa-based label (Failla) where he produces his own portfolio. He’s worked with numerous others over the years as well. The team at Jacob’s Creek, including chief winemaker Bernard Hickin, reached out and recruited Ehren to work with them on a range of wines made from Australian fruit but with a California sensibility. I recently sat down with both winemakers over lunch in New York City at Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse to taste these new releases.
All four wines below have a few things in common. The fruit for all of them came from vineyards in South Australia. Every one of them is a single varietal wine. They’re available widely throughout the United States. Head over to Bullz-Eye.com to read the rest.
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Portugal’s Quinta Do Vallado has a history that dates back to the 18th century. It’s now in its sixth and seventh generations of stewardship by the Ferreira Family. Their portfolio focuses on dry wines, but as they sit in the Douro, naturally they also make several ports. I recently tasted through much of their current portfolio, as well as some older vintages. I was struck by the quality, drinkability and age-worthiness of their wines as a whole. In addition, I also found that it would be easy to select all the wines for my Thanksgiving table from their offerings. So with Thanksgiving just about a month away, here’s a look at four wines that offer perfect holiday sipping from the moment your guests arrive through the final bite of dessert. Head over to Bullz-Eye.com to read the rest.
Hall Napa Valley currently produces about 120,000 cases of wine per year. They have been making wine in Napa since they opened their winery in 2005. Just this spring, the Halls launched a new facility in St. Helena. This new winery and tasting room was built on a site that has a 150-year history in Napa Valley wine making. The Halls still maintain their original, intimate location in Rutherford and continue to make some wines there, but the new facility allows them to host a variety of events as well as have more people visit and taste wine on a daily basis. On a recent trip to Napa Valley I stopped at Hall St. Helena, toured their new facility and grounds, and of course tasted through their current portfolio. Here are some wines from their Napa Valley collection that I enjoyed. These selections are widely available all over the country. Head over to Bullz-Eye.com to read the rest.
Petite Sirah is a grape that absolutely fascinates me. Popularity-wise, it’s a bit of a fringe player in the wine world. Often it’s blended in with other grapes, most commonly Zinfandel. While there are quite a number of them out there, a look at most wine or liquor store shelves won’t often reveal more than a handful of Petite Sirah selections. So at times, it can be hit or miss to find exactly what you’re looking for. Yet there are cult bottlings of this grape and a group, PS I love you, dedicated to advocating its greatness.
There are a few things that really get my attention when it comes to Petite Sirah. First, it’s often so dark, brooding and massively intense in flavor. Second, these wines -- at almost any price point -- seem to age in an interesting manner. Frequently they become earthier and mellower with a decade or more in the bottle. Petite Sirah is also, more often than not, an excellent value. I’m going to look at three different Petite Sirahs in varying price categories. Head over to Bullz-eye.com to read the rest.