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Tasting Report: 2016 St. Emilion Bordeaux Wines
As they did last year, over a dozen winemakers from Bordeaux’s St. Emilion region traveled to the U.S. to showcase their 2016 releases, many of which have just hit the market. (Surprisingly, a...
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Tasting Report: Madeira Wine 2018
It’s been two years since we took a deep dive into Madeira, but recently representatives from this unique, fortified, island-grown wine style arrived in San Francisco with their latest wares in tow....
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Tasting Report: Bordeaux and Sauternes, 2016 Vintage
Bordeaux’s 2016 releases are arriving on the market, and I recently had the opportunity to take a tour through the wines of the vintage when the winemakers of the region toured the U.S. with their...
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Tasting Report: Bordeaux and Sauternes, 2017 Vintage
The arrival of 2017 Bordeaux brings with it the inevitable nervousness over quality. It was a year where spring frost caused moderate damage and summer heat created a different type of problems. While...
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Tasting Report: Brunello di Montalcino, 2020 Releases
Like Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino is made in Italy from sangiovese grapes. What’s the difference between the two wines, then? Location: Chianti hails from Tuscany, while Brunello is born in...
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Hands on with WhistlePig and Flaviar’s Homestock Project
Blending whiskey is tons of fun. I’ve done blending sessions with Johnnie Walker and Woodford Reserve — but those were just for kicks. With Homestock, WhistlePig and partner Flaviar are doing...
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Review: Wines of Oregon, 2020 Releases
A recent roadshow brought dozens of Oregon wineries to San Francisco to show off their recent wares — lots of pinot noir, and a smattering of white wine styles, namely. It’s especially interesting to...
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Tasting Report: Wines of Temecula Valley, 2020 Releases
While you rarely see Temecula Valley-grown wines in stores, the region is hopping with tons of wineries, all hot destinations for southern California tasters, thanks to its convenient location about...
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Tasting Report: Bourbon & Beyond 2018
So apparently biblical amounts of rain and an outdoor world-class bourbon festival just don’t mix. You may have heard that the much anticipated, weekend whiskey and music extravaganza that should have...
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Tasting Aberlour Single Malts at the Burns Supper Celebration, 2019
On January 25, 1759, the great Scottish bard Robert Burns was born. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I was entirely unfamiliar with Burns, but I am now well acquainted as the folks at Aberlour...
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Barrel Picking with Bourbon Pursuit at Joseph Magnus
In recent years, there’s been a surge in “barrel picking” – personally choosing a barrel of whiskey from an individual distillery. Most of these private barrels come from the big operations in Kentucky...
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Highlights from the 2019 Garagiste Solvang Wine Festival
In 2011, Stewart McLennan and Doug Minnick co-founded the Garagiste Wine Festival to showcase the best undiscovered small-production winemakers in California. If you’re curious, Garagiste is a term...
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Tasting Report: Bordeaux and Sauternes, 2016 Vintage
Bordeaux’s 2016 releases are arriving on the market, and I recently had the opportunity to take a tour through the wines of the vintage when the winemakers of the region toured the U.S. with their...
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Tasting Report: 2017 Burgundy from Bouchard Pere & Fils and William Fevre
The first wines of Burgundy’s 2017 vintage are just now starting to trickle out, and the Henriot family brought their two Burgundy operations — Bouchard Pere & Fils and William Fevre — to the U.S....
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Tasting Report: Whiskies of the World Expo San Francisco 2019
That’s two years in a row with no major injuries – woo!Whiskies of the World 2019 is in the books, at least its San Francisco installment, and that means another spring evening of Scotch, bourbon, and...
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Tasting the Single Malts of BenRiach with Stewart Buchanan (2019)
Louisville, Kentucky is a rather unusual place to host a single malt Scotch tasting. With the luxury of an abundance of bourbon readily available, making market headway into the Bluegrass could prove...
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Highlights from the 2019 Sonoma County Barrel Auction
For the fifth year running, Sonoma County’s winemakers have come together in May to help out each other and their winemaking community. The Sonoma County Barrel Auction is the region’s biggest event,...
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Tasting Report: WhiskyFest Washington DC 2019
For a city that seems to always be in need of a stiff drink, WhiskyFest D.C. was a little less crowded than in previous years. Once again, there was no sign of Pappy van Winkle, but the BTAC offerings...
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Tasting Report: Jack Rose Dining Saloon Premier Drams 2019
Jack Rose Dining Saloon in Washington, D.C. hosted their second Premier Drams festival in early April, and Drinkhacker was once again invited along for the ride. It was probably apparent from last...
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Tasting Report: 2017 Vintage Port
Vintage Port is on a roll. 2016 marked the first declaration for Vintage Port in five years, and now 2017 has been declared as well, the first back to back declaration for most Port producers in, well,...
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