Crush Notes
A blog by MARY BETH VIERRA
Holiday Wine: Pairing Wine to Holiday Dishes
by Mary Beth Vierra | December 22, 2022 | Featured, Wine Education, Food & Wine, Lifestyle & Products | 2 Comments
Lugana Wines: Liquid Gold from Glacial Soils
by Mary Beth Vierra | May 14, 2022 | Featured, Viticulture, Wine Education, Wine Regions | 0 Comments
Meet Schioppettino: An Italian Outlaw Grape
by Mary Beth Vierra | February 5, 2022 | Featured, Wine Education, Wine Regions | 0 Comments
Arianna Occhipinti- Sicilian Winemaker
by Mary Beth Vierra | Mar 1, 2021 | Wine Education, Wine Regions, Wine Reviews
Passionate winemaking from Vittoria Sicily - A salute on International Women’s Day Meet Arianna...
Tis the season… for Mustard!
by Mary Beth Vierra | Feb 21, 2021 | Viticulture, Wine Education, Wine Regions
....In the Vineyard that is! Golden waves of billowing mustard among the vines of Dry Creek...
Sweets for Your Sweet (or how to give wine & chocolate)
by Mary Beth Vierra | Feb 17, 2021 | Wine Education, Food & Wine
Isn’t it romantic – a box of chocolates, bouquet of flowers, and a gorgeous bottle of dark red...
Trader Joe’s – 12.99 Under – Wine #5 – Muscadet
by Mary Beth Vierra | Jan 31, 2021 | Featured, Wine Regions, Wine Reviews, Food & Wine
And we’re back. The final in my series of Trader Joe’s Bargain Wine Finds. Wine #5 is a crisp,...
Bordeaux Blend Vs Meritage
by Mary Beth Vierra | Jan 16, 2021 | Wine Education, Wine Regions
What's a Meritage wine? Is it the same as a Bordeaux Blend? 🔻 Want to know?... just scroll! 🔻 A...
TRADER JOE’S – 12.99 Under- Wine #4: a Roustabout Meritage
by Mary Beth Vierra | Jan 16, 2021 | Wine Reviews, Food & Wine
If you like big silky juicy fruit …AND.. a dose of drying tannins, this wine is for you.Bordeaux...
TRADER JOE’S – 12.99 under- Intro & Wine #3: Verdejo
by Mary Beth Vierra | Jan 8, 2021 | Wine Education, Wine Regions, Wine Reviews, Food & Wine
What can I say, this one's a steal at just $4.49! Check out the "wowza" snack pairing I...
TRADER JOE’S – 12.99 under- Wine #2- Susumaniello
by Mary Beth Vierra | Jan 7, 2021 | Wine Regions, Wine Reviews, Food & Wine
Let’s continue our walk down Trader Joes’ wine aisle! As I shared in Tuesday’s email, I accepted a...
Trader Joe’s – 12.99 under – Wine #1: Gewürztraminer
by Mary Beth Vierra | Jan 5, 2021 | Wine Education, Wine Regions, Wine Reviews
Happy New Year! 🌟I hope you rang in 2021 safely, warmly and with a glass of something good in hand...
THANKSGIVING WINE PICKS 2020
by Mary Beth Vierra | Nov 14, 2020 | Wine Education, Wine Reviews, Food & Wine
It's almost....THANKSGIVING! 🍂🍁 🦃 Hello, and a warm welcome to cool air and warm colors of...
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Orvieto DOC – A renewed discovery. That refreshing white wine from Umbria we love – is more than that. Wines of a min. of 60% of 2 native Grechetto bio-types and/or Procanico + other whites, can also be complex, aromatic, juicy, mineral and structured when grown and crafted with care. The region boasts volcanic, ancient sandy seabed and clay soils, which contribute to the diversity.
If you see Orvietano Rosso, DOC, it’s a red wine from the same area of Umbria, a range of native and international red grapes are allowed.
Earlier this month, we visited the 2.5 thousand year old hilltop city visually dominated by the grand Duomo and the beautiful region surrounding it on our Italian Wine Scholar Educator’s tour, hosted by the Wine Scholar Guild and the Consorzio di Brunello di Montalcino, led by the fabulous Tanya Morningstar @cellarmuse and Andrea Eby @sommymommy
We met with producers on site and at meals, sharing their wines and insights with us.
Explore Orvieto wines in further depth to discover the range, from dry to “Muffa Nobile” sweet to sparkling.
@winescholarguild @consorzioorvieto @consorzioviniorvieto @cellarmuse
@argillae @decugnanodeibarbi @montegiove @tenuta_le_velette @barberaniwine
#consorzioorvieto #argillae #decugnanodeibarbi #barberaniwine #cantinabigi #levelette #castellodimontegiove
#iwseducatortrip2023 #winescholarguild #italianwinescholar #wineeducation
#crushonwine #italianwine #viniitaliani
#alwayslearning #brunellodimontalcino #montalcino
@sommymommy @urban_vines1 @cruconsultancy
@joet1968 @sydneywineacademy
@eleanorwineacademy @cellarmuse @rmillerwines @kimberdusco @thewineandspiritarchive jessicaannetan
@winexin_sg @tastever_
@awsec @winewithjimmy ...
Montalcino! … and the Brunellos and Rossos that take its place name. We visited this fascinatingly beautiful region earlier this month on an Italian Wine Scholar Educator’s tour hosted by the Wine Scholar Guild and the Consorzio di Brunello di Montalcino, led by the fabulous Andrea Eby.
The wines were as complex, structured and beautiful as you can imagine, all made from 100% Brunello (the bio-type of Sangiovese growing in this region of southern-central Tuscany).
It was a sincere treat to meet the producers who shared their wines and insights with us, and the Consorzio for the extra lessons and comparative tastings.
Every time I return, I discover more depth and breadth
@winescholarguild @consorzioBrunellodiMontalcino
@lamagiamontalcino @fattoriadeibarbi @talentimontalcino @coldorcia #lamagiamontalcino #talentimontalcino #consorziobrunellodimontalcino
#iwseducatortrip2023 #winescholarguild #italianwinescholar #wineeducation
#crushonwine #italianwine #viniitaliani
#alwayslearning #brunellodimontalcino #montalcino
@sommymommy @urban_vines1 @cruconsultancy
@joet1968 @sydneywineacademy
@eleanorwineacademy @cellarmuse @rmillerwines @kimberdusco @thewineandspiritarchive
jessicaannetan @winexin_sg @tastever_
@awsec @winewithjimmy ...
It was a fantastic trip to Bolgheri Italia a couple weeks ago. The Wine Scholar Guild and Consorzio di Bolgheri wines hosted us - educators of the Italian Wine Scholar certification- for visits, meetings and tastings with growers, producers, and yes, the founders of this initial “Super Tuscan” winegrowing region. We took a deeper dive into these wines of polish and depth from Bordeaux reds, a little Sangiovese, and Vermentino growing on the hills, slopes and sands of the Maremma- Tuscany’s southern coast. Oh, and dinner outside at Osteria Magona is a must!
@winescholarguild
@bolgheri_bolgherisassicaia_doc
@tenutasettecieli @elenapozzolini
@tenuta san Guido @sasssicaiai castello di Bolgheri @Michele Satta @ TenutaGuadoAlTasso @grattamacco
@osteriamagona
#iwseducatortrip2023 #winescholarguild #itaianwinescholar #wineeducation
#crushonwine #italianwine #viniitaliani #alwayslearning
@sommymommy @urban_vines1 @cruconsultancy
@joet1968 @sydneywineacademy
@eleanorwineacademy @cellarmuse @rmillerwines
@ kimberdusco @thewineandspiritarchive
jessicaannetan @winexin_sg @tastever_
@awsec @winewithjimmy @crushcoursewine @winemoxie ...
Growers, winemakers and friends gathered last night to celebrate 40 years of working together to put “Russian River Valley” on wine labels and the world wine map, as a region renowned for wines of depth and richness while maintaining elegance and bright acidity. Even with this year’s late harvest still in progress, over 240 were in attendance for the celebration member BBQ at the beautiful grounds of host @ballettovineyards and included donations for Redwood Empire Food Bank and the Ceres Community Project.
We celebrated the decades that wineries and vineyards were established with “share your favorites” tasting tables and heard from Rod Bergland of Joseph Swan Vineyards recounting the RRV AVAs founding board members’ tentative then bold first attempts to establish this ‘new’ AVA.
The Russian River Valley AVA, nestled amid redwood groves and apple trees on the slopes and valleys along the winding eponymous river 55 miles north of San Francisco and just miles from the Pacific, was established 40 years ago in 1983, but has been home to farms, intrepid immigrant grape growers and winemakers since the 1800s. Defined by foggy mornings and warm afternoons and cooling breezes, conditions are ideal for world class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and dozens of other cool-climate varieties.
#40yearcelebration #sustainability #russianrivervalley #russianrivervalleyAVA #russianrivervalleywines #ballettovineyards
@rrvwwinegrowers @russianrivervalleywinegrowers
#crushonwine #wineeducator #winelover
#worldclasspinotnoir #worldclasschardonnay
@crushcoursewine @ballettovineyards ...
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