Category: Wine Festival

International Wine Fest Golden Nugget Atlantic City 2025

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The Golden Nugget is one of the several casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It’s one of a handful of casinos located in the Marina district at 600 Huron Avenue which is about a half mile off the famous boardwalk.

This event began a few years ago as the Ital-Cal wine festival which featured Italian wines and California wines from wineries with an Italian heritage.

It was a great concept but probably not sustainable, so they broaden the event to include other wine producing countries. I’ve attending the event several times in the past and this was my first time back in a few years.

On August 22nd I attended this year’s event which was held outdoors and billed as a “wine & jazz reception under the stars”.

This was not a professional wine tasting event but an experience for wine drinking consumers to broaden their horizons with the opportunity to sample an international selection of wines that they might not normally have the opportunity to try.

It was an enjoyable event of drinking wine on a beautiful Summer evening while listening to some live jazz

Some of the producers I sampled:

Bouchard Aine & FilsCastello di Gabbiano
C.S. SubstanceEdourd
Josh CellarsJ. Lohr
NaturaRatti
VolverRodney Strong
OberonWhite Haven
MatuaLyric
RaymondProvenance

Vinous Icons New York City 2025

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Antonio Galloni is a wine critic and founder of the internet wine magazine Vinous. On February 27-March 1, the magazine held its second edition of Vinous Icons New York which was a series of wine dinners and two walk around tastings.

This year the event was held at the Pier Sixty event space at 60 Chelsea Piers on the west side of Manhattan overlooking the Hudson River.

This space was much larger than the venue that held the event last year with more room to walk around, in addition to a great view of the New Jersey skyline across the river.

The events were open to members of the trade and to the public and I attended both walk around tastings on Friday and Saturday afternoons.

This is one of the best wine tasting experiences of the year with the sheer quantity of top end wines to sample from France, Italy, Spain, Chile, Argentina and the United States.

With so many wines available to try, as usual I focused my attention on the wines of Bordeaux and Napa Valley. Most of the wineries poured different wines on each day so there was more than enough on both days to keep me busy with those two wine regions.

Some of what I sampled:

Old World

2006 Chateau La Grange (St Emilion): Clear medium brick, black olives and cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy, black licorice fruit, chewy tannins with crushed rock notes on the finish.

2009 Cos D’Estournel (St Estephe): Opaque black, brick rim, dirty cooked fruit and dark chocolate on the nose, dense and chewy with silky tannins and dark chocolate notes on the long finish.

2010 Cos D’Estournel (St Estephe): Opaque dark red, brick rim, closed nose of smoke and tree bark, dense and chewy dark chocolate fruit, silky tannins, great balance.

2015 Chateau Haut Bailly (Pessac Leognan): Clear medium brick, tarry dirt on the nose, chewy graphite fruit ending with firm tannins.

2015 Chateau Troplong Mondot (St Emilion): Opaque black, brick rim, closed nose of crushed stone, chewy dark fruit with firm tannins, balanced acidity.

2016 Cos D’Estournel (St Estephe): Opaque dark red, brick rim, tarry barnyard on the nose, tight red fruit, firm tannins.

2020 Chateau Pichon Longueville (Pauillac): Opaque dark purple, toasty violets on the nose, tight with chewy red fruit, firm, long finish, still young at this point.

***

2008 Ornellaia (Tuscany): Opaque black, brick rim, tar and leather on the nose, chewy dark fruit with slate notes, nice acidity, long finish.

2014 Vega Sicilia “Unico” (Ribera del Duero): Opaque dark red, brick rim, smoky dirt and tar on the nose, chewy, dusty fruit with graphite notes, long finish.

2016 Bodegas Vatan “Arena” (Toro): Opaque black, purple rim, spicy red cherry nose, chewy dense fruit with tar, mint and smoke notes on the finish, great balance.

2016 Allegrini Amarone “Ferramonte”(Veneto): Opaque medium brick, pencil shaving and mint notes on the nose, chewy, chunky dark fruit with great balance.

2019 Biondi Santi Brunello di Montalcino (Tuscany): Clear light brick, toasty dirty cherry on the nose, moderate chewy fruit with leather notes, drinking nicely now.

2020 Isole e Olena “Cepparello” (Tuscany): Opaque medium brick, brick rim, tar, graphite and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy with silky acids with dusty tar notes on the finish.

2021 Ornellaia (Tuscany): Opaque dark red, purple rim, stinky tar and leather on the nose, chewy, dense and dusty fruit with slate notes, nice balance.

New World

2014 Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Fay” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, brick rim, blueberry and crushed rocks on the nose, chewy dark fruit with tar and cigarette smoke notes ending with firm tannins.

2015 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap District (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, smoky tar and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy fruit with slate and chocolate notes on the finish.

2018 Continuum Estate Red Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, purple rim, dark chocolate on the nose, concentrated dark fruit ending with nice balance.

2021 Brand Proprietary Blend (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, stemmy, plummy smoke on the nose, chewy black fruit ending with firm, silky tannins.

2021 Brand Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, tree bark on the nose, chewy black fruit with mint notes, silky and firm tannins on the long finish.

2021 Futo “Seta” (Napa Valley)” A red blend, opaque dark red, purple rim, stone and crushed rocks on the nose, concentrated dark silky fruit with slate and dark chocolate notes, great balance.

2021 Futo Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville Estate (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, crushed rocks, smoke and blueberry on the nose, juicy, silky fruit with silky, firm tannins on the finish.

2021 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon “Red Rock Terrace” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, ripe smoke and black fruit on the nose, tight and chewy dark chocolate fruit firm tannins on the great balance, still young.

2021 Diamond Creek Cabernet Sauvignon “Volcanic Hill” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, crushed black fruit and blueberries on the nose, concentrated black fruit, nice silky tannins, great balance.

2021 Vineyardist Cabernet Sauvignon “Heritage Ridge” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, smoky dirt on the nose, concentrated, chewy and chunky with silky tannins, nice balance.

2021 Vineyardist Cabernet Sauvignon “Calarcadia Vineyard” (Napa Vally): Opaque black, closed nose of slate and crushed rocks, silky dark chocolate fruit, firm tannins on the nice balance.

2021 Stag’s Leap Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon “Fay” (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, stone, tree bark and crushed sweet fruit on the nose, chewy black fruit, firm and silky tannins, long finish, still young.

2021 Repris Cabernet Franc Moon Mtn. Vineyard (Sonoma): Opaque dark red, purple rim, closed nose of vanilla and milk chocolate, mouth coating dark fruit with dusty, firm tannins, long finish.

2021 Ovid Red Blend “Hexameter” (Napa Valley): A Cabernet Franc focused wine, opaque black, purple rim, tree bark and milk chocolate on the nose, chewy fruit ending with toast notes on the crisp tannins.

2021 Hirsch Vineyards Pinot Noir “Raschen Ridge” (Sonoma Coast): Clear medium purple, spicy cinnamon on the nose, juicy, dusty red fruit, nice balance.

2021 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon “Sacrashe Vineyard” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, purple rim, chewy and thick fruit with graphite notes on the silky tannins, nice balance.

2021 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon “Coombsville” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark purple, crushed rocks on the nose, dense and tarry red fruit, dusty finish, nice balance.

2022 Merry Edwards Pinot Noir “Richaven” (Russian River Valley): Opaque dark red, toasty red fruit on the nose, juicy dark fruit with tar notes, crisp acids.

2022 Tor Cabernet Sauvignon To Kalon Vineyard (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, brick rim, dark plum and cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy and minty fruit ending with silky tannins.

Wine Paris 2025

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On February 10-12, I attended the 6th annual Wine Paris global wine & spirits exposition in Paris, France.

According to Vinexposium which is the organization running the event, there were 4,600 exhibitors from 50 producer countries with a record attendance this year of 52,000 people from 140 countries.

The event was held at the Porte de Versailles expo center located in the southern part of the city served by a couple of lines on the Metro system.

It was a huge event with many pavilions showcasing the wines of the world, not surprisingly, the largest was the French wine pavilion which is where I spent my first afternoon.

Some of what sampled:

White

2022 Roland Lavantureux Petit Chablis (Burgundy): Clear light gold with lime notes on the nose, juicy with good acidity.

2022 Montirus “Mineral” (Vacqueyras): Clear medium gold, lime and tropical fruit notes on the nose, medium bodied and nicely balanced.

2022 Albert Bichot Bourgogne Aligoté (Burgundy): Clear light gold, spicy tropical notes on the nose, moderate juicy with good balance.

2023 Jean Charton Pugliny-Montrachet “Clos de la Pucelle” (Burgundy): Clear light gold, tropical fruit notes and toast on the nose, juicy fruit with roast nut notes followed with nice acidity.

2023 Jean Charton Chevalier-Montrachet “Clos des Chevaliers” (Burgundy): Recently bottled, clear light gold with toasty tropical fruit notes on the nose, juicy, sweet fruit with nice acidity.

2023 Domaine Berthelmont Puligny-Montrachet “Les Foltieres” (Burgundy): Clear light gold, sweet green herbs on the nose, juicy moderate fruit, balanced and long finish.

Red

2006 Chateau Leoville Poyferre (St. Julien): Opaque black, brick rim, tar and dark chocolate on the nose, chewy dark fruit with green herbs, slate and tree bark notes.

2007 Domaine de Reveirolles Chateauneuf du Pape (Rhone): Clear medium brown, brown rim, dirt notes on the nose, chewy fruit with minty chocolate on the finish.

2012 Domaine Bosquet des Papes (Chateauneuf du Pape): Opaque dark brick, brick rim, dark chocolate on the nose, chewy fruit with slate and chocolate notes ending with silky tannins,

2014 Manuel Olivier Vosne Romanee (Burgundy): Clear light brick, tarry nose, juicy and firm moderate fruit, silky tannins, long finish.

2015 Benjamin de Beauregard (Pomerol): Opaque dark brick, brick rim, cooked vegetable on the nose, concentrated tight moderate to light fruit, toasty finish.

2017 Chateau Petit Mongot (St. Emilion): Opaque dark red, purple rim, perfume of violets, bell pepper and cooked vegetable, concentrated black fruit ending with moderate tannins and acids.

2018 Anseillan (Pauillac): Opaque dark red, brick rim, dusty ripe tar on the nose, tight and juicy fruit with stone notes, good grip, long finish.

2019 Philippe le Hardi Gevrey-Chambertin “Cru Petite Chappelle” (Burgundy): Clear light brick, toasty barnyard on the nose, chewy milk chocolate with silky tannins.

2019 Pauillac de Lynch-Moussas (Pauillac): Opaque black, brick rim, toasty slate on the nose, concentrated dusty fruit, firm, toasty finish.

2019 Chateau Angludet (Margaux): Opaque dark red, brick rim, toast notes on the nose, chewy black fruit with a toasty, firm long finish.

2019 Chateau Endos Haut Mazeyres (Pomerol): Opaque dark red, warm crushed dark fruit and tar on the nose, juicy dark fruit with silky, graphite tannins, good balance.

2022 Roland Lavantureux Bourgogne “Les Fauconniers” (Burgundy): Clear medium purple, roast meat and barnyard on the nose, juicy red leather fruit ending with firm tannins, long finish.

2022 Chateau de Laborde Gevrey-Chambertin “Villes Vignes” (Burgundy): Clear medium purple, spicy wet cardboard on the nose, juicy red fruit with tar notes, good balance.

California At Wine Paris 2025

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On February 10-12, I attended the 6th annual Wine Paris trade show in Paris, France. The event was curated by Vinexposium which organizes major international events for the wine & spirits industry.

It was a trade show for members of the trade, winemakers, distributors, sommeliers and merchants. This years show had over 5,300 exhibiters from 50 wine producing countries with a record attendance of over 52,000 attendees.

It has always been on my bucket list to attend one of these major international wine trade shows in Europe whether it be in London, Verona, Düsseldorf or Paris. It’s been over fifteen years since I’ve last been in Paris, and it’s a beautiful city and I welcomed the opportunity to go back this year and experience the trade show.

The event took place at the Porte de Versailles expo center in the 11th arrondissment in the southern part of the city, conveniently with a Metro stop on the number 12 line.

This expo center is massive. As a point of reference, I have the Javits Center in New York City which is the city’s expo center. Porte de Versailles was a least three times the size of the Javits Center with eight pavilions.

Not surprisingly , the French pavilion was the largest with three floors, Italy had a pavilion to itself, there was a pavilion for worldwide spirits and cocktails, and a pavilion for “foreign” wines where wines from the United States and other counties other than Italy were showcased.

Each day had many master classes and opportunities to speak with industry professionals and to sample wine. Lots of wine.

Most of the wines from the U.S. were from California, with Napa Valley having a dedicated area to itself. There were also wines from Oregon and outlier States of New York and Virginia. I spent one afternoon at Napa Valley chatting with the people behind the bottles. I was curious to hear how receptive the Europeans were to the American wines .

2019 BV Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, purple rim, crushed black plums and smoke on the nose, juicy with slate notes, silky tannins, nice balance.

2021 BV Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Georges De LaTour” (Napa Valley: Opaque black, purple rim, dark cherry chocolate on the nose, chewy with silky tannins, long finish, still young at this point.

2018 Cain Five (Napa Valley): Opaque black, purple rim, pretty perfume of violets, chewy black fruit ending with silky, mouth coating tannins.

2021 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, purple rim, crushed rocks and violet on the nose, dark and chewy with chocolate notes, silky, firm tannins, nice balance.

2021 Cliff Lede Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Poetry” (Stags Leap): Opaque black, purple rim, dirt and chocolate on the nose, tight concentrated fruit with a firm, dusty finish, great balance.

2021 Darious Cabernet Sauvignon “Darius II” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed rock and dark chocolate on the nose, concentrated black fruit with mint and graphite notes, silky and dusty tannins, firm acids.

2021 Grace Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon “Cornelius Grove” (Napa Valley): A single vineyard bottling, opaque dark red with a purple rim, closed nose of crushed black fruit and chocolate, concentrated silky dark fruit and tannins, nice balance, long finish.

2021 Grace Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, purple rim, stone, violets and green herbs on the nose, chewy and dusty fruit with milk chocolate and graphite notes, very firm tannins.

2018 Morlet Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Coeur de Vallee” (Napa Valley): Opaque dark red, purple rim, perfume of black olives and milk chocolate, chewy red chocolate fruit with green olive notes, nice balance, long finish.

2022 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs (Sonoma County): Clear medium red, purple rim, earth and cigarette smoke on the nose, chewy fruit with chocolate notes ending with firm, mouth coating tannins.

2022 Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel “Pagani Ranch’ (Sonoma Valley): Opaque medium red, purple rim, bright, ripe green fruit on the nose, juicy red fruit with licorice notes, tannins and acids are balanced.

2021 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon “Hillside Select” (Napa Valley): Clear dark red, purple rim, crushed red fruit and fresh rosemary on the nose, bright red fruit, dusty tannins, crisp acids.

2022 Shafer Cabernet Sauvignon “1.5” (Napa Valley): Clear light red, purple rim, tarry green herbs and roasted nuts on the nose, bright red fruit with dusty tannins and moderate acidity.

2014 Staglin Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (Napa Valley): Opaque dark black, nose of ripe fruit, cooking spices and tree bark, chewy ending tight with tart notes.

2021 Staglin Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Estate (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, crushed rocks and spices on the nose, juicy black fruit with green olive notes and crisp acids.

2021 Staglin Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon “Salus” (Napa Valley): Opaque black with a purple rim, black olives and dark chocolate on the nose, tight and concentrated ending with some tart notes.

Seminar: California Pinot Noir

2019 Long Meadow Ranch Pinot Noir (Anderson Valley): Clear medium brick, tar, leather and roast nuts on the nose, juicy fruit with earth and roast fruit notes, toast notes on the finish, crisp acids.

2020 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir “Larmes de Grappe” (Sta. Rita Hills): Clear light brick, toasted earth and red leather on the nose, tight and toasty light fruit ending with crisp acids.

2021 Kistler Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): Clear medium red, crushed black fruit, plums and white pepper on the nose, firm, bright red cherry fruit, tannins and acids are balanced.

2023 Black Stallion Estate Pinot Noir (Los Caneros): Opaque medium red, juicy red fruit on the nose, bright red fruit with roast meat notes on the finish, crisp acids and firm tannins, still young.

VinExpo New York City 2024

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VinExpo is a wine and spirit event organized by Vinexposium. This year the expo has and will be held in Paris, Hong Kong and Mumbai. On June 24-25, the expo was held in New York City, “the trendy wine market that never sleeps”.

The event was held at the Jacob K. Javits convention center at 429 11th Avenue on the far West side of Manhattan.

It featured 260 exhibitors from over 30 countries including off the radar wines from Armenia, Georgia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Brazil. The vast majority of the wines at the event were definitely from France with Italy a distant second with the U.S. represented with only a small handful of producers. Spirits and beer were on hand as well with a large selection of Japanese whisky.

While most of the wines were French, the majority of those French wines were from the Rhone Valley. That’s not a bad thing since some excellent wines come from that part of that country. I particularly like the underrated white wines made from local grape varieties such as Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier while there were plenty of reds from Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Crozes-Hermitage and Cote-Rotie to name a few of the Rhone appellations that were present.

VinExpo was held in conjunction with the Fancy Food Show, so when I needed to cleanse my palate after trying several wines, I would make my way to the food show and graze on the numerous and excellent domestic and international cheeses.

I did attend one of the Masterclasses.

Crus Bourgeois du Medoc.

Crus Bourgeois are the unclassed growths of Bordeaux, as such they are usually a good value compared to the classified growths. They are red wines that come from 250 chateaux produced in 7 appellations. Bordeaux has had a string of good vintages up until the 2021 vintage and in good vintages, there is so much good grape juice that the quality extends to all the tiers of producers.

2020 Chateau de Panigon (Medoc): 50% Merlot, 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Petit Verdot. Clear medium red, crushed rock and petroleum on the nose, tight and tart with some green notes.

2019 Chateau d’Agassac (Haut Medoc): 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc. Opaque dark red to black, smoky black fruit on the nose, juicy with crushed rocks on the dusty, firm finish.

2019 Chateau Reverdi (Listrac Medoc): 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Petit Verdot, 30% Merlot. Opaque dark red with a purple rim, crushed black fruit and gravel on the nose, concentrated and dusty fruit with firm tannins on the dusty finish.

2022 Chateau Mongravey (Margaux): 68% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 2% Cabernet Franc. Opaque dark red to black with a purple rim, closed nose of herbs, concentrated and dusty with some cardboard notes on the fruit.

2019 Chateau Tour de Pez (St. Estephe): 63% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc. Opaque black with a purple rim, tarry dark chocolate on the nose, tight, minty red fruit ending with big tannins.

Slow Wine @ Eataly NYC 2024

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Slow Wine is an organization that seeks to “preserve simple, traditional ways of living and eating and that wine, just like food must be good, clean and fair, just not good”. They support and promote small scale wine makers who use traditional techniques.

Every year they host a tour in which they showcase wineries that follow their philosophy.

This year that tour will take them to Washington DC, Austin, Denver and San Francisco. On March 19th the tour came to New York City.

The event was held at Eataly Downtown located at 101 Liberty Street in lower Manhattan.

They had a walk around tasing and seminars for members of the trade in the afternoon with an evening session for consumers.

I would say that about three quarters of the wineries at the event were Italian with a handful of wineries from other countries.

I attended the trade tasting in the afternoon and as in previous events in the past, it was a lively event. These trade tastings are obviously about the wine but it’s nice to have something to snack on while sipping. Sometimes that’s some cheese and crackers but not surprisingly at Eataly they put out a nice spread of food for the attendees. Besides some excellent cheese and charcuterie, they served pasta and some really good pizza.

Some of my highlights:

2020 Authentique Wine Cellars Riesling “Brementown” (Oregon): Clear light gold, petroleum on the nose, peachy fruit with a nice balance.

2020 Donum Estate Chardonnay “Year of the Rat” (Carneros): Clear medium gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, juicy lime notes on the long finish.

2021 Grgich Hills Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley): Clear light gold, herbaceous, tropical notes on the nose with herbaceous notes and crisp acids on the finish.

2021 Grgich Hills Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Clear light gold, tropical fruit notes on the nose, surprisingly light and crisp on the fruit.

2022 Unti Vineyards Vermentino (Sonoma): Clear yellow gold, sweet nose, medium bodied with kiwi notes, good structure.

2016 Paradigm Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville (Napa Valley): Opaque medium red, crushed black fruit and green herbs on the nose, tight, concentrated, dusty black olive notes on the fruit, nice finish.

2019 Unti Vineyards Aglianico (Sonoma): Opaque dark purple, oak notes on the nose, concentrated and dusty fruit, silky tannins, nice finish.

2020 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Franc Blend (St Helena): Opaque dark red with a purple rim, smoky crushed dark fruit on the nose, chewy and tight with a nice structure and a long finish.

2020 Ceretto Barbaresco “Bernadot” (Piedmont): Clear light brick, smoky roast meat on the nose, toasty light fruit with firm tannins.

2020 Terrabianca Croce Chianti Classico Riserva (Tuscany): Clear medium red, dusty sweet nose with dusty fruit and a nice balance.

2021 Crocker & Starr Cabernet Sauvignon “RLC” (St Helena): Opaque dark red, dried herbs on the nose, chewy dark chocolate fruit, good structure and balance.

2021 Unti Vineyards Sangiovese (Sonoma): Clear medium red, tar and cigarette smoke on the nose, medium fruit with a nice structure and a balanced finish.

2021 Donum Estate Pinot Noir “Three Hills” (Sonoma): Clear light red, earth and cola on the nose, juicy cola fruit, good balance.

2021 Scarzello Nebbiolo (Piedmont): Opaque dark purple, tar and leather on the nose with silky red fruit and silky tannins.

2021 Casa E, di Mirafiore Nebbiolo (Piedmont): Clear light red with a classic nose of tar and leather, sweet fruit ending firm but balanced.

2021 Podere Il Carnasciale “Carnasciale” (Tuscany): Made from the obscure Caberolot varietal, opaque dark purple, sweet herbs on the nose, silky red fruit, balanced and a long finish.

Raw Wine Festival NYC 2023

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The Raw Wine Festival was held in New York City on November 12 & 13. It was one stop on an international tour this year that took them to Los Angeles, Toronto, Paris and Copenhagen.

The festival was held at 99 Scott Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn which is a repurposed brick commercial building now used as an event space.

Raw Wine is a “collection of natural, organic and biodynamic wine artisans” that have come together to showcase their products which are “pure, kind to the planet and possibly better for your health without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides”.

This event has been running for several years and always get a good, youthful crowd sampling wines from unconventional wine makers. Both the crowd and the winemakers were more Birkenstock and flannel shirts than suit and tie.

All the major wine producing countries as well as the smaller ones were represented at the tasting. This niche wine style has grown in the past few years and have toned down the earthy and pungent aromas that were a hallmark of these wines.

Some interesting producers:

Sequerciani, from Tuscany, besides having a pretty label, bottled wines made with obscure grape varieties such as Pugnitello, Fogia Tonda, Ciliegiolo and Aleatico.

Agri Segretum from Umbria poured an interesting trio of Sangiovese based reds labeled Freghino, Pottarello and Marocchio.

Cort Sant ‘Alda from Vento poured a trio of Valpolicella including an Amarone.

Chateau Guadel poured a couple of vintages of their Grand Cru Classe Bordeaux.

Domaine Amirault showed some Cabernet Franc based reds from the Loire Valley.

Pray Tell Winery poured wines from the Willamette Vally, Oregon.

Orange Glou Wine Festival 2023

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On November 5th I attended the Orange Glou orange wine festival. The event was held at the Wythe Hotel at 80 Wythe Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

It featured 50+ wineries pouring over 100 renditions of orange wines from California, Italy, France, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Czech Republic, Georgia and Australia. It seems to have become a specially in the Balkan states which are always well represented at these type of wine tastings.

Orange wines are an unconventional niche in the wine industry, made by unconventional wine makers using such things like star charts, phases of the moon, etc., in their grape growing and wine making.

Normally white wine is made with the pulp of the fruit minus the skins, so you can make a white wine using red grapes. Red wine is red because the skins are macerated with the juice and the color is extracted from the skin contact. With respect to orange wines, a white grape varietal is used and the skin in allowed to macerate with the juice. which somehow turns the color of the wine into an orange hue.

The event was open to the consumer for two sessions. I attended the evening session, and it was a comparatively young crowd in attendance with more flannel shirts than suits and ties.

Donkey & Goat winery from California poured a nice selection of their orange wines with a couple of Pinot Gris and a couple of wines made with the Rhone varietals of Marsanne and Roussanne.

Some interesting wines from Klansjec Winery from the Friuli-Venezia-Guilia region of Italy pouring oranges wines made from Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Riesling and Ribolla Gialla.

Boston Wine Expo 2023

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The Boston Wine Expo was a long running wine event held in Boston that ran for 25 years. I attended the event for the first time in 2012 and attended every year since then until the last year they held the event in 2017.

The Expo was held at the Boston World Trade Center, an expansive event space on the harbor. They stopped hosting the event before the pandemic, so Covid was not the reason the festival was shut down. I’m not sure if finances were the reason the event was stopped or that the event devolved into a drunk-fest, though in all the years I attended I never saw any of that type of issue despite the huge crowds with a copious number of wines being poured.

What I enjoyed about the Expo was that for a consumer event, it was well run and had a nice selection of wines of the world available to taste, but the best parts of the Expo were the seperate VIP room which featured high end wines that were not poured at general admission and many seminars. I had attended some really excellent seminars.

After a six-year hiatus, another organization decided to bring the event back to the city on March 25-26. They decided to make the event more “intimate” by moving it to a smaller event space, the Boston Park Plaza hotel located at 50 Park Plaza, in the Back Bay district of Boston, and dividing the tastings into two, two-hour tastings plus a ‘VIP’ tasting before the general admission. The also hosted a handful of seminars.

As I was happy to see the event return to Boston, I was also disappointed by the fact that the VIP portion of the tasting was held in the same room with the same vendors pouring the same wines as in the general admission session. Also, no hard copy tasting book.

Some of the wines I sampled:

2016 Cyrus Red Blend Alexander Valley

2018 BV Vineyards Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 BV Vineyards Tapestry

2018 Forman Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2018 Heitz Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

2018 Gilbert Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills

2019 Louis M Martini Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

2019 Rutherford Hills Merlot Napa Valley

2021 Benton-Lane Pinot Noir Oregon

2021 Fess Parker Pinot Noir Sta Rita Hills

2021 Sojurn Cellars Pinot Noir Gap’s Crown Vineyard

2021 Sojurn Cellars Pinot Noir UV Lucky Wells Vineyard

2022 J Vineyards Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

2020 Penfolds Bin 389

2021 Berne Inspiration Rosé Cote de Provence

Orange Glou Fair 2022

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If the Raw Wine Festival showcased a niche in the world, a niche within the niche would be Raw Orange wines.

Everyone knows that the red in red wine comes from the pigments in the skin of the grape that gets extracted in the fermentation process. White wines are made from the pulp of the grape which means you can make a white wine with red grapes.

With orange wines, the skins of white grapes are fermented with the pulp and the result is a wine with an orange hue. I don’t know the science behind it but that’s what happens.

Orange Glou is a wine shop located at 264 Broome Street in lower Manhattan that focuses on Orange Wine. On November 6th they held the Orange Glou Fair, a tasting of over 50 orange wines from around the world. The event was held at Fig. 19, a cocktail bar at 131 Christie Street in lower Manhattan.

Unlike the Raw Wine Fest which was held in a cavernous event space with hundreds of wines, this was a bit more intimate. Wines from many countries were poured with a good many of them Natural wines. Austria made a strong showing. There was even an orange pet-nat from Long Island called Gratitude, that was poured.