Category Archives: BY VARIETAL

Auld Lange’s Wyne

Posted on October 12, 2012 by intoxreport

I have a nearly unhealthy fascination with twins; one I believe may rival that of Josef Mengele.  I’ll explain, but first, while the implication settles—a wine writer beginning any column, at any time, anywhere, with a direct reference to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cab/Merlot, CALIFORNIA, Chardonnay | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Signorello Trims The Edge Of The Fuse

Posted on October 10, 2012 by intoxreport

When does ‘cutting edge’ become ‘trimming edge’?  When Ray Signorello, Jr. gets into the game. I’m not sure if there is a direct translation of ‘signorello’ from Italian into English, but the Latin etymology is all about refinement, gentlemanliness and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cab/Merlot, Napa | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wines To Serve With The ‘Paleo Diet’

Posted on October 5, 2012 by intoxreport

The history of dietary scamology is older than mankind; it began when the first primeval predatory invertebrate camouflaged itself to trick some doofus diatom into becoming dinner. The history—the science, really—of human dietary scamology (a.k.a. ‘fad diets’) is a bit … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL, Moscato | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

A Bit Of Gloss For The Schloss Sauce: 800 Vintages And Going Strong!

Posted on September 16, 2012 by intoxreport

Is Schloss Vollrads the world’s oldest winery?  Arguably so.  Sure, they’ve found the leavings of winemaking operations in Armenian caves dating back sixty centuries; there are Mesopotamian developments even older.  Egyptian texts attest that wine was popular among the New … Continue reading →

Posted in GERMANY, Riesling | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Doused With The Divining Rod

Posted on September 6, 2012 by intoxreport

Some Sorcerers do boast they have a Rod, Gather’d with Vowes and Sacrifice, And borne about will strangely nod Mankind is sure that Rod divine, For to the Wealthiest ever they incline. – Samuel Sheppard, 1651 Miss Divine also had … Continue reading →

Posted in Cab/Merlot, CALIFORNIA, Chardonnay | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

A Boyd In The Hand Is Worth Two Anheuser-Busch

Posted on July 21, 2012 by intoxreport

If I was a chef (which I’m not, but I bet this conjecture is close to the mark) and one week I over-ordered, say, lobster, prime rib and maybe Macedonian weasel cheese, here’s what I’d do:  I’d purée them all … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Chardonnay, Moscato, Riesling | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Moscatos and Mosquitoes: Summer In The Motor City

Posted on July 7, 2012 by intoxreport

Whenever I travel this wide and wonderful land, wherever I go—from purple mountain to fruited plains, beneath spacious skies and through amber grain waves, from sea to shining sea—I tell people I’m from Detroit and the response I get is … Continue reading →

Posted in Michigan, Moscato | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Drew Barrymore Wants To Have My Children

Posted on June 10, 2012 by intoxreport

Today, God is good and the world is as sweet as the balm from a callow jasmine flower. Today, I shall count no more my wasted tears nor fret time’s relentless plough.  Today, I am young as the vernal violets … Continue reading →

Posted in ITALY, Pinot Gris | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Let’s Slip Out Of These Dry Clothes And Into A Wet Martini

Posted on April 23, 2012 by intoxreport

For those of you who think there is only one authentic martini—four parts gin, one part vermouth and an olive the size of Luca Brasi’s left coglione—Louie The Lush and me have an offer you can’t refuse. And speaking of … Continue reading →

Posted in Cab/Merlot, Napa | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Las Rocas On A Garnacha Roll

Posted on April 18, 2012 by intoxreport

If you’re trying to farm in Calatayud, you’re pretty much stuck between Las Rocas and a hard place.  Among the most inhospitable-looking places in the solar system, ranking between Halley’s Comet and the fifth moon of Neptune on the bucket … Continue reading →

Posted in Calatayud, Grenache, SPAIN | 2 Comments