Author: Terry Connor

Sparkling wines are a favorite of mine, however I almost always forget to try Prosecco. What is the commercial where the gentleman whacks his forehead and says “I coulda had a V-8”? I feel the same when it comes to Prosecco because, let’s face it; Prosecco is a darn good drink. I have written about Prosecco before, but I find now that things have changed… for the better that is. Imports into the United States are way up and the pricing is very competitive. Our friends at Wine Spectator tell us that in 2010 the import figure was just under 1,000,000 cases. By 2015 the figure had jumped to over 4,000,000 cases.

  When I was a young lad, growing up in New England, Easter Sunday Dinner never took a back seat to Christmas or Thanksgiving. My parents, and all off their friends, made sure that Easter was given equal billing. It was as if a choreographer had planned the entire day. There was early morning church services, probably some new seasonal clothes, and of course, a corsage for my mother. After church we would all rush home and then the cooking would start. Pre-heat the oven, break out the ham, and get the children out of the way until dinnertime.

The judging of the wines that will be featured at the Hilton Head Island Wine & Food Festival usually takes place approximately six weeks before the festival. This year the Judging took place at the Sonesta Hotel on Hilton Head the weekend of February 5th and 6th. I’ve had the pleasure of reporting on the judging event in past years and, as in the past, I became witness to a potential logistics nightmare that is controlled by some very competent people (mostly volunteers) who arrange the wines to be judged in a very orderly manner. Let’s just say that after 30 years of experience, the judging committee “has it down to a science.”

The USA’s official wine regions are called American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Wine labels can include an AVA name if at least 85% of the wine comes from that particular area. However, the usage of AVA names is not a strict appellation system. It should not be considered as comparable to the French AOC or Italian DOCG classifications, although the systems might appear to be similar. 

Karen MacNeil, in her updated second edition of The Wine Bible, gives an excellent summary of the...

One of the common denominators of the neighborhood I live in is that most of the folks love to travel. Italy is a popular destination . . . Rome, Tuscany, Venice, etc. Lately, however, in talking over travel plans with friends and neighbors, I see that Umbria is included in their itineraries. To me, this makes tremendous sense.

Established in 1808 in the village of Tain L’Hermitage in the Northern Rhone, Chapoutier has grown to be a world-wide producer and distributor of quality wines. It is typically their top Hermitage wines, both red and white, that receive the most attention and accolades.

This is a very special and unique time of year at each and every vineyard. When the winemaker announces that it is time to start the harvest, most of the employees at the vineyard leave their different positions and come together as one team to do one thing and that is to pick grapes. And why not? The harvest is what all of the employees have been working so hard for and it is a prime example of the term “all hands.” Just be prepared for some long hours and maybe a few all-nighters so that the fruit can be harvested in the cooler weather.

It is, after all, summertime and I realize that I am late getting to the topic of Rosé Wine. However I had a hard time breaking away from the Pinot Noirs that I was enjoying. Getting back on schedule should be easy enough because Rosé Wines are well accepted, and this year, for some reason unbeknownst to me, Rosé wines are more popular than ever, worldwide.