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The Clean, Well-Lighted Places of Alois Lageder
Ernest Hemingway’s short story, “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place,” revolves around the notion that places exist that represent the epitome of decency and decorum. I hope the late, great (but deeply...
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Two Splendid Gewürztraminers from Elena Walch
If national borders were erased and a sort of primal geography took over, northeastern Italy would fittingly spill over into Austria and Switzerland, where place names, surnames and grape varieties are...
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Weekend Wine Notes: Eight Italian White Wines
Unless you’re myopic or dogmatic, you know that great white wines are made in places other than Burgundy and Bordeaux, Alsace and Germany, California and Oregon. I’m speaking of Italy, which, while its...
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50 Great Wines of 2014
Unbate your breath, My Readers, today I present the annual “50 Great Wines” entry, this edition for 2014. I posted to BiggerThanYourHead 135 times in 2014 and reviewed 582 wines. These 50 Great Wines...
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Weekend Wine Notes: 10 Savory Whites
Sometimes all we require from a white wine is that it be clean, fresh, cold and tasty and that it goes down like a sea-breeze. Other times, however, we desire a white wine with more weight, with more...
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Wine of the Week
The red grape variety lagrein dates back at least to the 17th Century in Italy’s Alto Adige region and is generally recognized as one of the oldest varieties grown there. This is in the country’s...
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Wine of the Day, No. 9
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and in the nose and on the palate, and if you’re looking for a wine that fulfills those criteria for a reasonable price, stray no more but attach yourself to the...
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Wine of the Day, No. 73
Here’s a very pleasant wine for sipping while prepping for dinner, which we did over several nights, or just sitting around on the porch or patio — wearing a sweater — or, not to neglect this aspect,...
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25 Great Wine Bargains of 2015, $20 and Under
In some ways, it’s more fun to compile the “25 Great Wine Bargains” than it is to fret over the “50 Great Wines.” This present list of wines priced at $20 and under offers more geographical and...
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Wine of the Day, No. 129
The Alois Lageder Porer Pinot Grigio 2014, Sudtirol-Alto Adige, is to most pinot grigio wines as a Maserati is to a Ford Focus. Made from Demeter-certified biodynamic vineyards, the wine aged five...
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Weekend Wine Notes: A Great Diversity of Savory, Zesty White Wines
Inexorably we drift from Spring into Summer, so in honor of this transitional state I offer a dozen savory, zesty white wines. The grapes range from the familiar — sauvignon blanc, riesling — to the...
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Wine of the Day, No. 197
Cantina Tramin is a cooperative of local growers in Trentino-Alto Adige that was founded in 1889 and comprises a total of 575 acres among its members. The wine considered today, the Tramin Pinot Grigio...
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30 Great Wine Bargains of 2016
So, My Readers, here is my annual list of the Great Wine Bargains from the previous year, except that, instead of offering you 25 examples, as I usually do, I provide 30, because there are so many...
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For a Week, Our Favorite Grape Was Schiava
Never heard of the schiava grape? I’ll confess, dear readers, that I had not either until I was offered some wines made from the grape for review. Schiava grows in the Alto Adige region of northeastern...
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Wine of the Day, No. 288
I don’t think you’ll find a better gewürztraminer at the price, so look for this model diligently — that is, if you like the grape variety. Not everyone does, because it can be assertively floral and...
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Wine of the Day, No. 290
One of the most meticulous producers in Alto Adige is Alois Lageder. Now run by the sixth generation, on biodynamic principles, the winery’s pinot blancs, pinot grigios and gewurztraminers consistently...
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Wine of the Day, No. 299
Sometimes a wine is so perfect for the purpose that it doesn’t matter what it is or where it came from. That was the case with the Cantina Kaltern Pfarrhof “Kalterersee” Classico Superiore 2015,...
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Wine of the Day, No. 305
Some wines grow more detailed, revealing more dimension and intrigue, as the moments pass. Such a one is the Strasserhof Sylvaner 2015, from the Valle Isarco in Italy’s northeastern Alto Adige-Sudtirol...
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Wine of the Day, No. 331
Need a red wine to drink with the short ribs or veal shanks you have braising atop the stove or in the oven? Truth is, there are hundreds if not thousands of candidates that could do the job. For...
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50 Great Wines of 2017
The prices of these 50 Great Wines of 2017 range from an unprecedented $15 to a whopping $250. Not that I expect My Readers to hasten out and snatch up a bottle of wine that costs $250, but when an...
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