I’m always making lists of wines for different occasions and different price points. Ever since my second book, Unquenchable: A Tipsy Search for the World’s Best Bargain Wines, was published, I’m frequently asked for the best wines priced less than $20. Here they are … I’ll be updating this list monthly. (My thanks to Gwyneth Paltrow for the inspirational title ;) Here’s your shopping list showing your closest liquor stores that have these wines in stock, and how many of each bottle. Cheers! Oscar’s Estate Vineyard Shiraz Viognier 2011 Barossa Valley, South Australia $17.95 This could be the ultimate hamburger […]
Wine Reviews
Wine Review of the Week: National Waiter’s Day Wine
Steve Cranny, a graduate of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers (CAPS) program, has selected our Wine Review of the Week to celebrate National Waiter’s Day, May 21. A toast to all those hard-working heroes of the restaurant industry! #NationalWaitersDay Here’s Steve wine review and rating: Until I became involved in the Industry I had no idea how hard service professionals work to make other people happy. So in honour of National Waiter’s Day and all of those great service people I would like to recommend a wine that I have enjoyed across several vintages. The Caparzo Brunello di Montalcino […]
10 Best Shiraz Wines to Buy Now + 5 Surprising Facts about Shiraz
Shiraz and Syrah are both originally from the same clone, but various regions have chosen one name or the other. You’ll find my top 10 Shiraz reviews and ratings here. 5 Surprising Facts about Shiraz: They both create rich, robust red wines with a smooth texture and signature aromas of spice, pepper, clove and licorice leading, followed by dark fruit such as blackcurrant, blackberry, plum and black cherry, as well as truffle, earth, violets, vanilla, smoke, sandalwood, cedar, cigar box, earth and leather. The greatest of these wines can age for 25 years or more. The grape […]
Wine Descriptions and Adjectives Chart
This is a very helpful chart with 120 key wine descriptions and adjectives for a range of wine styles. You can see a larger wine chart here and even order it as a poster from Wine Folly. You may also find the UC Davis Wine Aroma Wheel helpful.
Wine Bottle and Label Images
Why do I need a bottle image for my wine review? A picture of the bottle for the wine you’re reviewing makes a big difference to how polished and professional your review looks. Compare a review with no image (the default generic bottle — please don’t update it ;) and one that has both the bottle shot and label image (click on the magnifying glass under the bottle to see the label). As well, a bottle shot makes it far easier for readers to find the wine you’ve reviewed when they’re in the liquor store and to remember it afterwards. […]
