2020 was a swimming pool full of cack for many people. Here’s a new series of posts in which I honour the things that helped make that pool swimmable. My god, you’re so demanding. Hitting up oldparn.com, spamming ‘refresh’ in the hope that the bloody Wine Bitch article that’s been the most recent post since […]
2020 Kirkland Signature Chianti Classico Riserva
We always look forward to tasting the latest vintage of the Kirkland Chianti Classico, but remain a little reserved as it’s historically not been one of our preferred wines in the Kirkland portfolio. Last year the price jumped up $1 to $8.99, and at least it didn’t go any higher with this vintage. Still can’t […]
Giampaolo Tabarrini’s Trebbiano Spoletino | i-WineReview Articles
Giampaolo Tabarrini, currently the super-energetic, visionary President of the Montefalco Consorzio, is one of the young, iconic producers in Montefalco. Famous for his Sagrantino Crus, he’s equally well known for blazing the trail for the Trebbiano Spoletino grape, now one of the hottest varieties in Umbria with new plantings and new producers add
Wine Reviews: Mini Round-Up for February 27, 2023
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 […]
WILLIAM FÈVRE Chablis Champs Royaux 2013 $25 (Wine Spectator)
A crisp, mouthwatering Burgundy white
Merlot Results – Winemaker’s and Readers, Don’t Give Up On This Grape!
To my dismay, very good Merlot offerings appear to be dwindling. The best ones seem to come from dedicated producers of higher end wines. We had a blind tasting in August and the number of winners is tiny when compared to wines made from other grapes. My fear is that winemakers are not necessarily putting
Slovenia vs Slovakia (wine and geographic confusion)
Slovenia, Slovakia; Slovakia, Slovenia. Two nations that, I realise, are entirely distinct and just happen to have names that a mindless idiot like me is always getting mixed up. I’ve never been to either (perhaps, had I done so, my confusion would cease). But I have met several people from both countries, all of whom have been delightful hum
15 South African White Wine Values (Wine Spectator)
New reviews of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc from the Cape
2011 Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells Red Blend
Merlot varietals have not fared well in the U.S. wine drinking circles over the past few decades, so more American winemakers are moving towards merlot-based blends…..just like the French have been doing for hundreds of years. (As with French Fries/frites and Napoleon pastries, sometimes the French come up with darn good gastronomical ideas.)
La Clarine Farm 2013 Petit Manseng
click on image to enlarge La Clarine Farm Petit Manseng 2013 Fenaughty Vineyard, Placerville, California 13.5{b2e123e9138e25ff8232216a74205959533a608968f4eba7854f63b9364ed57d} dry 2.9pH 14.1 g/L acidity six months ambient yeast fermentation rested on lees until bottling in August Aromatics and flavors of almond, apricot, pineapple juice and dried l
VIÑA MONTES Malbec Colchagua Valley 2013 $13 (Wine Spectator)
A pleasant, firm, cocoa-accented Chilean Malbec
Gin Corner: Greenall’s Bloom — The Slug’s Choice
Oh. The leafy, herby, juicy green aroma of corriander. Heck. It’s like you’re a slug munching your way through a herb garden. (You are such a slug.) Greenall’s Bloom is, I suppose, aptly enough named. It is a big ol’ herbaceous gin. Here at Old Parn labs, we put Greenall’s Bloom through a rigorous and scientific testi
Lemons, stones and sunshine for a sodden marmoset
What do you need after battling through the bleak London rain? What do you need after huddling shivering and sodden on the back seat of a bus whose windows have been inexplicably flung open by some masochistic Chelsea commuter?* You need a glass of Tresolmos Verdejo, you miserable, trauma-eroded marmoset, you. Because it’s very nice. And (wh
Yeah, it’s been ages. No, I’m not sorry.
Smell. Smell is the most evocative sense, innit? The one that can yank you (via a chance waft of teenage perfume) back to that time when you first kissed that girl. You know. That one. Or to that time when you walked out in the field and the air was heavy with summer and you knew that in two weeks’ time you’d be going into the big scho
Wise up and smell the Casillero del Diablo
Winemakers, in general, need to wise up. Okay, sure, practically everyone (myself almost certainly included) needs to wise up. But winemakers need to wise up, specifically, because they are lamentably bad at communicating with normal people. (Notice the ease with which I refer to normal people. Almost as though I knew some.) Winemakers generally d
OKTOBERFEST…with Wine?
I know what you’re thinking, Oktoberfest means beer. You suddenly feel the urge to throw on your favorite lederhosen & knock back a bucket-sized mug of sudsy Hefeweizen while shouting “Noch ein Bier, bitte!” Before you inevitably end up with those questionable Facebook photos Monday morning (Wow those suspenders looked a lot better