Good Wine Under $20

It's officially summer. Unofficially, it's basil season. Right now, I am overwhelmed with the stuff. Pictured to the left is one of my behemoth basil plants. Having a lot of basil isn't exactly...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/06/wine-that-stands-up-to-pesto.html

I first enjoyed the Fish Eye Pinot Grigio in 2009 with my fellow wine bloggers at our annual conference (and wrote about that experience here ). It was a humbling moment for many of us, who were...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/02/fish-eye-pinot-grigio-genuine-bargain.html

Pinot Noir is a budgetary nightmare for most of us. Pinot is a finicky grape, which makes it difficult to grow, which translates into expensive bottles on the shelves. And that was before the mo...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/02/miracles-happen-three-worthy-pinot.html

Wine is an adventure. At least that's what I've always thought. So many grapes. So many styles. So many countries to visit--even if it's only through the liquid in your glass. So when one of my...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/02/sauvignon-blancfrom-slovenia.html

There are all kinds of Cabernet Sauvignon out there. Some are too fruity for me. Some are too green. Some are too expensive. Some are too huge, with big alcohol and palate-punishing tannins. I ...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/02/classic-cabernets-for-15-or-less.html

If you are fond of aromatic food--including Thai, Moroccan, or Indian dishes--you might find them difficult to pair with wine. All those spices can overwhelm an ordinary white or red, and very t...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/02/aromatic-food-calls-for-aromatic-wine.html

I'm not sure why Syrah tastes like summer to me--but it does. And by 'tastes like summer' I don't mean it's the kind of wine you reach for in July: cool, fresh, and zingy. I'm talking, instead, ...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2012/01/warming-up-winter-with-syrah.html

Whether you love them or hate them, the next eight weeks are widely regarded as something of a challenge. Holidays. Family. Bad weather. Trips to the mall. Schlepping kids all over creation. Lot...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/spicing-things-up-with-zin.html

One of the great things about wine is that no matter how much of the stuff you taste, there is always a new adventure to be had on the shelves of your local store or at your local winery (and ye...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/exiting-wine-superhighway-with-malvasia.html

Once the darling of wine-by-the-glass programs around the country, and purchased by the gallon by people who didn't know what else to buy, Merlot has been relegated to the margins of wine cultur...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/much-maligned-merlot.html

There are days when I just despair for the future of Chardonnay. All it takes is a string of uninspired, overly manipulated examples with loads of fake oak flavors and it makes me swear off the ...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/pursuit-of-chardonnay.html

Cabernet Sauvignons from California's Napa Valley are among the iconic wines of the USA. They have a cult following, and are in heavy demand, which means that they have hefty price tags, too. Is...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/napa-cabernet-for-under-20.html

Five years ago, on 7 October 2006, I wrote my first blog post after going wine shopping. Here we are, more than 714, 000 visitors later. As with most things in life there have been ups and downs...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/something-to-celebrate.html

There is something fresh, clean, and bright about the scent of a lemon. No wonder we use the juice to liven up the flavors in food, and put fine ribbons of lemon peel in so many dishes to add jus...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/when-life-gives-you-lemons.html

Now that we're into autumn, you may think the future looks decidedly less Rosé. Those of us who drink Rosé wines--those pale to dark pink bottles of wine made from everything from Cabernet Sa...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/10/future-looks-rose.html

It's that time of year. If you have kids they're back in school with their pencils sharpened and their notebooks already full of doodles. You might be feeling a bit nostalgic about your own scho...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/09/advanced-topics-in-white-wine.html

The temperature is up. The temperature is down. You want to use your grill once last time before you put it away. You want to break out your crock pot. If this sounds like you, then you need to...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/09/autumns-transitional-red.html

In your wanderings down supermarket aisles and through wine stores, you may have come across wines labeled "Reserve" or bearing the name of a vineyard and wondered what the designations were all ...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/09/to-reserve-or-not-to-reserve-and-whats.html

I don't know why, but recently my largely-chicken diet has turned in the direction of fish. This means my white wine preferences are shifting subtly, too. It's harder and harder for me to find a...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/06/love-fish-try-falanghina.html

It was 90 degrees in Los Angeles. I know it's snowing in Buffalo, but here it is spring (or maybe even summer). So last night I fired up the grill for the first time, marinaded a skirt steak, thr...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/04/fire-up-grills-and-buy-cabernet.html

Last week I was extolling the virtues of red blends. After I wrote the post, I realized that though there were many red blends in my cellar, there weren't many white blends. I'm not sure why tha...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/04/candidate-for-your-house-white.html

Last week I was extolling the virtues of spring. Now it's grey and drizzly again. In some places, it's still snowing. With the variable weather, it's hard to know which way is up. Do you dust of...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/04/red-for-all-seasons.html

Sorry about the long silence, folks, but I've been--er--busy . And I managed to catch the mother of all winter colds, which lasted three weeks and pretty much made tasting anything (wine included...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/03/springsprung-three-white-wines-perfect.html

Simplicity is underrated. Perfection is overrated. But what do you do when you find a wine that is quite simply perfect? Well, you enjoy it first. Then, if you're me, you write about it here and...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/02/virtues-of-simple-perfection-cep.html

I'm the only wine drinker in my house. And there are times, like now, when things are so crazy that planning menus and opening bottles of wine that will in all likelihood go off before I can fin...

http://goodwineunder20.blogspot.com/2011/02/your-house-red-boxed-and-ready-to-go.html