[originally published 5/2020; last update 10/2024] Costco’s Kirkland branded products are synonymous with high quality at super low prices, and the wine aisle is no exception. In some cases, Kirkland wines can be the shining example of the ridiculous quality to price ratio you can find under these private branded products. We’ve been tasting and [&

In 1994 Jess Stonestreet Jackson and Barbara Banke purchased a one-thousand-hectare (ha) estate in Castelnuovo Berardenga near the southern tip of the Chianti Classico region.  It was not a particularly auspicious moment for Chianti Classico. Some of region’s top producers were flaunting the Consorzio’s rules and producing Sangiovese based wines wi

I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes in a “mini-review” format. They are meant to be quirky, fun, and (mostly) easily-digestible reviews of (mostly) currently available wines (click here for the skinny on how to read […]

The Russian River Pinot Noir from Kirkland is a bottle we look forward to tasting every year, and we’ve seen varied quality since its introduction all the way back to the 2014 vintage. An important part that is consistent is the price, once again staying at $11.99, which is just crazy for fruit from this […]

Located near Castellina in Chianti, the 220 ha Bibbiano estate dates back to the 11th century, although the Marzi family began its ownership in the mid 19th century.  After WWII, Pier Tomaso Marzi and his son-in-law Alfredo Marrocchesi renovated the estate with the assistance of famed enologist Giulio Gambelli who made the wines until the […

[ This is Part 3 of a series detailing my media jaunt to Italy’s Asolo Prosecco Superiore. Check out Part 1 and Part 2). ] The Asolo Prosecco Superiore region offers some interesting contrasts, perhaps none so obvious as that between the two producers featured here today: Villa Sandi, and Bele Casel. One, of course, […]