Tag Archives: Chris Kassel

Scoring Wines En Primeur: It Dis What it Dis

Posted on April 14, 2017 by intoxreport

  Recently, I had a dastardly disagreement with a distinguished and discerning docent, leading to a disjointed discussion about scoring en primeur wines—extremely young wines sold as futures while they are still in the barrel. The reason for our dissent … Continue reading →

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Eugolio Pomares: Superfluous, Maybe—Super Fluids, Without a Doubt

Posted on April 13, 2017 by intoxreport

I’ve been writing about wine—bulk and otherwise—for the bulk of my life—successfully and otherwise. And yeah, some things do get old. Read a random sampling of wine reviews, starting with Parker’s and trickling down to John Doh! blogger’s, and put … Continue reading →

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Once the Lime’s in the Coconut, Put the Fiano in the Aglianico

Posted on March 14, 2017 by intoxreport

The problem with referring to Viticoltori De Conciliis ‘Latoscuro’ as ‘The Côte-Rôtie of Campania’ is that no one but a select circle of snooty, snotty, snoring old pedants will get it. People like you and me. However, reference that silly, … Continue reading →

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Verdejo Viejo: Rueda Gravitas

Posted on March 5, 2017 by intoxreport

In central Spain, Rueda is a white wine buoy bobbing on a vast red sea. How vast? Spain produces a billion gallons of wine a year, and Castilla y Leon—Rueda’s home province—is by far the largest autonomous wine region in … Continue reading →

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There’s a Cure for the Saumur Wine Blues

Posted on February 21, 2017 by intoxreport

…And I’ll get to it at the end. In the meantime, no spoilers. No cheating. No peeking, no snooping, no shaking the box beneath the Christmas tree under penalty of a bitch-slap. I have had a pathological aversion to spoilers ever since … Continue reading →

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And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors: Me

Posted on February 12, 2017 by intoxreport

  “I have something to say, and one of these days, I’m going to stop writing these stupid books and say it.” – Living epitaph on Kassel’s tombstone. But seriously folks: As some of you know, when I accidentally checked … Continue reading →

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Booting the Boot: Italy Becomes My Chanterelle

Posted on February 8, 2017 by intoxreport

Boot camp sucks, boots on the ground kill, boot licking is for losers.  All in all, referring to Italy—Europe’s most celebrated culinary gem—as a boot, the same item consumed by the Donner Party right before they switched to the inner … Continue reading →

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Shannon Walters: A Friend with Weed Is a Friend Indeed

Posted on January 29, 2017 by intoxreport

My old pal Shannon Walters is perhaps the most charismatic winemaker in Northern Michigan. At least, he used to be. At any tasting or press junket, he stands heads above the crowd with his rock star persona, Fabio fringes, signature … Continue reading →

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Ups and Downs in the Côte d’Or

Posted on January 24, 2017 by intoxreport

On that subject, a book could be composed—a column couldn’t do the subject justice. But this story is purely territorial—the tale of two tipples, identical in price and weight; one from the extreme northern nose of the Côte d’Or, the … Continue reading →

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Window on ‘Indo’—And William Schwab’s Drink List

Posted on January 9, 2017 by intoxreport

In my halcyon youth, I used to write extensive wine lists for expensive restaurants. If you’re a total novice to the game, such an endeavor may sound intimidating, but if you’ve advanced beyond Level Apothic and Kendall Jackson and surround … Continue reading →

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