Category Archives: BY VARIETAL

The Upper Loire: How White Was My Valley?

Posted on August 29, 2011 by intoxreport

How white? Apartheid white.  Pillsbury Doughboy white. University of Mississippi, pre-1962 before-the-fire-hoses white.  White enough to say to Johnny Winter, ‘Nice tan, dude’… I’m talking about the wine. The wild Loire is the longest river in France, and the associated … Continue reading →

Posted in Loire, Sauvignon Blanc | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Château de Campuget’s Vivacious Viognier

Posted on August 29, 2011 by intoxreport

How about a little role playing?  Let’s say you’re a savvy bevvy marketer trying to get a leg up on the next big wine fad.  Let’s say you want to go about this by waxing overly poetic about a specific … Continue reading →

Posted in Costières de Nîmes, Rhône, Viognier | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Ting Tang, Walla Walla Malbec

Posted on August 28, 2011 by intoxreport

Even if the wine’s not your cup of cab, just saying the name out loud is a kind of David Seville hangover. As for the rest, the fact that Walla Walla Valley and malbec got together in the first place … Continue reading →

Posted in Malbec, Walla Walla | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I May Not Know My ABCs, But I Know My XYZins

Posted on August 28, 2011 by intoxreport

The marketing department at XYZin leaves me a little confused, but that’s okay—so does elementary school math. (In fact, I remember getting the equation ‘2 + 2’ wrong, although Sister Beatrice, my First Grade teacher, was decent about it.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Zinfandel | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Michigan Meritage Merits Mention

Posted on August 27, 2011 by intoxreport

The term ‘meritage’? Not. First, if you’re going to invent a word, why make it one you have to teach everyone how to pronounce?  Second, if you’re going to combine two words to make a third, why use two words … Continue reading →

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

Cold (And Brother, Do I Mean Cold) Heaven Cellars: Defriend in Need is Defriend indeed.

Posted on August 27, 2011 by intoxreport

What a revoltin’ development! On Facebook, I’ve been ‘defriended ‘ by a California winemaker after I took exception to some silly-ass generalization she made about wine writers, which in the interest of journalistic trifling I would repeat verbatim except that … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Coast, Viognier | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tudor Wines: Dan Is Now The Bubble Boy

Posted on August 26, 2011 by intoxreport

“You can take my identity, my pension, my Black Amex card, my blue suede shoes, but keep those mitts off of my pinot noir.” There’s Some Bull In The China Shops Earlier this year, a scandal was uncovered by Chinese … Continue reading →

Posted in Central Coast, Pinot Noir | Leave a comment

Chablis: Chardonnay Never Had It So Good

Posted on August 26, 2011 by intoxreport

It used to be cute to mispronounce ‘Chablis’;  to say it like Johnny Lunchbucket would if he didn’t happen to possess your enological erudition and snobbish grasp of French orthography, because it sort of made you sound ironic and clever … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgundy, Chardonnay | Leave a comment

Chablis: Chardonnay Never had It So Good

Posted on August 26, 2011 by intoxreport

It used to be cute to mispronounce ‘Chablis’;  to say it like Johnny Lunchbucket would if he didn’t happen to possess your enological erudition and snobbish grasp of French orthography, because it sort of made you sound ironic and clever … Continue reading →

Posted in Burgundy, Chardonnay | Leave a comment

Don’t Worry—No Hurry For This Fleurie

Posted on August 26, 2011 by intoxreport

I am going to digress before I even begin:  If Frederick Wildman ever opens up a branch in Sarawak, I’m going to apply just so that my business cards can say ‘Wildman of Borneo.’ Who? Wildman & Sons Ltd. Is … Continue reading →

Posted in Beaujolais, Gamay | Leave a comment