In June I made a short trip to Frederick, MD to visit my daughter and son-in-law.  We had dinner at a favorite spot, The Tasting Room.  Conversation with the sommelier, Jarrett Walsh, led to the decision to “go out on a limb” just a little and try a wine made from 100% Cinsault.  This particular wine is made by Michael…

Thank you for participating in the Rock and Vine promotion – those of you who left comments and those of you who helped to spread the word.  You are all greatly appreciated.  The winners have been selected and should be receiving their beautiful books within the next week or ten days. This post contains various things I have been meaning…

Debbie Marlowe of The Wine Shop of Charleston conducted a fantastic tasting of 2009 Bordeaux at her shop on November 27.  We tasted nine Bordeaux, working in flights of three wines per round.  There are five legal grape varietals that may be included in Bordeaux, which is always a blend of at least two of the five.  They are Cabernet…

What do you think of when you hear the term claret?  I used to think of people sipping claret in the 17th and 18th centuries, knowing it was a red wine, but not much else.  Claret evolved from the French “Clairet”, the name of a dark rosé made in Bordeaux and exported until the 18th century.  Over time, the meaning…