Drew's Wine List

Why is sparkling wine so hard to understand? What's up everyone. Hope you've all been doing well and are hanging in there and staying safe! Today's post will be a little different. I sat down to write a review of a sparkling wine, but was gonna end up writing an essay about what exactly makes different sparkling wines different. So, instead I'm gonna take this time to briefly explain sparkling wine (*disclaimer* No matter how much I read about it, it's still confusing, so bear with me). Buckle up everyone, here we go. Sparkling wine... what a wonderful and confusing thing. I love it, you love it, my dad hates it. He's weird. Anyways, I'll try to briefly touch on some of the things that make sparkling  wine so great and so confusing. Cava vs. Prosecco vs. Champagne vs. Sparkling Wine vs. vs. vs. SO MANY DIFFERENT NAMES. So what do they mean and why does it matter to call things by their official names? Does it? We'l l start with Champagne because France m...

2016 Wohler Bridge Pinot Noir Vintage:  2016 Region:  Sonoma County (Russian River Valley), California Winery:  Wohler Bridge Varietal:  Pinot Noir Price:  $15.99 at Wegmans Expert Rating:  91 My Rating:  91 The Review:  Guys- big day today. I'm ashamed to have gone so long without reviewing a pinot, so I'm breaking out a Cali pinot for the first. Today we've got the 2016 Wohler Bridge Pinot Noir- a classic pinot noir from (arguably) the most prominent New World (not Europe) region. Born in the cool climate of the Burgundy region of France (the most prolific and recognized region of pinots), pinot noir has long been ruining the hopes and dreams of winemakers. Known as "L'Enfant Terrible" and "the Heartbreak Grape," it's delicate nature, susceptibility to cold snaps/extreme weather, ability to somehow show off the tiniest of faults, and ridiculous growing challenges make this grape a game of Russian Roulette. You can get a gorgeous art piece with ...

2017 Domaine de Carmignan C ôtes du Rhône Rouge Vintage:  2017 Region: Rhône Valley, France Winemakers:  Domaine de Carmignan Varietal:  Grenache, Syrah, Mourvédre, Carignan, Cinsault (in order of decreasing amount) Price:  $7.99 at Costco Expert Rating:  92 My Rating:  92 The Review: Happy belated mothers day to all you moms out there! Hope it was a relaxing day and you were well celebrated with love, desserts, and wine. For today's wine, we've got arguably the best bargain so far on my list all the way  from the banks of the Rhône River - the 2017 Domaine de Carmignan Côtes du Rhône Rouge. Coming in at just $8 a bottle from Costco, this wine delivers wayyyy above its price point. The Côtes du Rhône AOC in France is known for producing full-bodied, round, earthy reds with its warm climate, sunshine, and rich clay-limestone soils. Most famously, the largest AOC in the Rhône Valley produces varietals such as the ones we find here- predominantly grenache...

2018 Groth Sauvignon Blanc Vintage:  2018 Region:  Napa Valley, California Winemakers:  Groth (Cameron Parry) Varietal:  86% Sauvignon Blanc, 14% Sémillon Price:  $16.97 at Costco Expert Rating:  93 My Rating:  92 The Review: What up gang! Hope everyone is still hanging in there. We can do it!!! I'm officially done with Zoom University for the semester, so hopefully I can post more now that I have absolutely no life. Today's review is of a stellar sauv blanc from Groth in Napa. Groth has been making consistently great wine for 40 years now, and the 2018 vintage is certainly no exception. An affordable Napa wine that has got great acclaim is really something special, so definitely hop on this one. Fun fact, Groth's 1985 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon was California's first perfect 100, so that's pretty hype. Let's get into the tasting. As soon as you get near this wine, you get smacked by a big robust nose. It's overflowing wi...

2015 La Lecciaia Sassarello Toscana Vintage:  2015 Region: Brunello di Montaclino, Tuscany, Italy Winery:  Estate Vineyards in Montalclino Varietal:  Red Blend (50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot) Price:  $14.99 at Wegmans Expert Rating:  92 My Rating:  93 Things to note : Aged 1 year in traditional oak for the Sangiovese grapes and French oak for the cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Aged another 6 months in bottle. The Review: Hi friends! Hope you all have been hanging up ok, staying healthy, and drinking delicious wine. I certainly know I have. I've actually gotten so stir crazy that I helped a friend shovel dirt for fun the other day. For today's review, we're gonna take it allllll the way back to the very first wine I ever wrote notes about in my journal, the 2015 La Lecciaia Sassarello. I first read about this wine in one of Wegman's "Top 20 Wines of the Season" lists (a great source for good wine btw) and kne...

2018 Charles & Charles Ros é Vintage:  2018 Region:  Columbia Valley, Washington Winemakers:  Charles Smith and Charles Bieler Varietal:  71% Syrah, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Mourv édre, 4% Grenache, 2% Counoise, 1% Cinsault Price:  $10.99 at Wegmans Expert Rating:  90 My Rating:  91 Things to note : A collaboration between Washington winemaking legends Charles Smith and Charles Bieler consisting of Rhone varietals. The Review:  Hello all! Welcome back for another edition of Drew's (that's me in case you forgot) Wine List- Quarantine Edition. Today is gonna be a treat because we're doing our first rosé today! Ahhh rosé... such a misunderstood drink. But that's why we're here to change that! See, rosé doesn't have to be that horrifyingly sweet juice  (hey, if that's what you like then you do you)  that it's chalked up to be. It can be quite delicious, and sometimes even pretty complex.  For our first...

2017 Cantina Furlani Negrik Rosso Alpino  Vintage: 2017 Region: Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy Winemaker: Matteo Furlani & Danilo Marcucci Varietal:  Blend of native Dolomite grapes Price: $22.00 Expert Rating: Not rated My Rating: 90 Points Things to note: Unfiltered. Grapes from a biodynamic farm at around 700 m altitude. The Review: HAPPY QUARINTEENING! Hopefully all of you are staying indoors like you should be. Because of the movement of all of my classes to conference calls, I am at home with my parents and we've been living it up I must say. I've had some great opportunities while I've been back to try some really good wines (also some really bad ones, but those will never see the light of day because I'm scared to roast a wine in the instance that I have a career in this lol). I'm excited to share some of them with you all, just as I've been sharing some of my collection with my parents! Here we go! Today is a special day beca...