My Favorite Wines

In my recent blog about staying healthy, I mentioned that I drink a glass of wine with dinner each night.

My history with wine, that not many know, is that my wife and I ran a winery called Woodcliff on the Marin/Sonoma County Border from 1986-1993. We planted Syrah grapes (grafts from Randy Graham at Bonny Doon vineyard). I learned that you can make a small fortune in the wine business...as long as you start with a large fortune. It's challenging agricultural work. I served as a winemaker and chemist, tending barrels and doing chromatography to ensure malolactic fermentation proceeded appropriately. Running a winery taught me a great deal about the industry, grapes, and wine tasting. I learned that the price of wine and the quality of wine are rarely related. Drink what you like, not what the critics like. A $200 dollar bottle of wine is not 10 times more enjoyable than a $20 dollar bottle of wine.

Here's a list of the wines I drink most frequently - yeasty Chardonnays, high acid food wines, Syrah/Shiraz that makes your tongue explode with raspberries, Bordeaux with an aroma so alluring you grin from ear to ear before tasting, and dry sparkling wines.

Whites
1. Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay

2. Pillot Chassagne Montrachet

3. Chateau de Sancerre

4. Marc Bredif Vouvray

5. Fat Bastard Chardonnay


Reds
1. Jaboulet Parallel 45

2. Elan Vineyards Cabernet

3. Three Rings Barossa Valley Shiraz

4. Leoville Las Cases

5. Cos D'Estournel


Sparkling Wine
1. Roederer Estate Anderson Valley Brut

2. Domaine Chandon Brut

3. Adami Valdobbiadene Prosecco

4. Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs

5. Domaine Carneros Brut

In Massachusetts, we have restrictions on receiving shipments of wine, so I purchase these wines from Marty's, Costco, Trader Joe's, Newton Lower Falls Wine Company, and Nine East Wine Emporium.

Enjoy!