By the Bottle: Brian Cronin

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Antarctica 2021

I think it was at a Society of Wine Educators conference where I first encountered Brian Cronin. Since then, I’ve followed his path. He’s deep into wine education, but not limited to wine alone. An accomplished sommelier, chef, photographer (all the photos here are his), a long-distance runner (@runningwineguy) and a world traveler. Brian’s segment here is probably the one most similar to the By the Book segments that I read every Sunday in the NY Times: Concise and to the point – no bullshit. Please welcome Brian into the wine cave.

By the Bottle: Jeff Siegel

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Jeff Siegel is the Rubik’s Cube of wine writers. Every time I think I’ve getting close to having the colors lined up, the next move flips me back into chaos. Jeff is a bit of a puzzle to me, and that’s kind of why I like him. You never know what’s going to pop up. Oh sure, he says he’s “someone who has made cheap wine his life’s work and isn’t embarrassed about the choice.” But he loves the expensive stuff too. It’s just not his beat. As the Wine Curmudgeon, Jeff has carved out a niche, and has actually monetized his blog, something most bloggers have failed to do. He also has a book, which proves that not just Jamie Goode can get a wine book published these days. Anyway, I digress. Let’s welcome the man who questions what really makes a wine “great” but is a stickler for it having to be “honest.”

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Almost all my wines are standing up. When one writes about wine that people buy in supermarkets to drink that night, there’s not much need to put anything down.

By the Bottle: Esther Mobley

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Photo courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle

I met Esther at the Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley, and saw her talent and her zeal in its budding stages. She has blossomed into one of the most influential wine writers in America as the wine critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. Esther exhibits endless energy for wine and writing about it, and her perch from the Bay City in Northern California offers her a vantage point that few wine writers have these days. Thankfully her audacious ardor supplies her wide range of subjects with a sincerity of spirit. Please welcome Esther into the bottle room. 

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Well, I have a lot of wines standing up right now, maybe a few dozen, because I've run out of space in the wine racks and wine fridges in my apartment. I have a whole wine cellar at the Chronicle office, but I haven't been working from there since March 2020, so my apartment and garage have become quite crowded with bottles.

By the Bottle: Carmen Castorina

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life

 

I’ve known Carmen for awhile now. He’s one of the best storytellers in the wine biz. He knows everybody. He’s been around for ages, so he has “all the dirt” on almost anyone who's anyone. Not that he’d ever go down that road. No, Carmen is a guy who loves life, family and wine. In 2014, he retired as the chief storyteller for the Gallo family. And before you put your high-hat on, don’t. We all started out somewhere, and in the early days the paths were fewer and far between. But he navigated through a large family company during one of the most historic epochs for wine, and especially wine in California. That said, Carmen isn’t the man in the grey flannel suit. No, he’s more of a stretchy polo and linen shorts guy now, especially in North Texas, where we are still enduring high 90+⁰F days, blistering sun and heat, heat, heat. And you wonder why we drink so much white (and rosé) wine down here? Anyway, I am a huge fan of Carmen, and now you can be too, if you so desire.

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

As I continue to purposefully “drink down my cellar”….

Peter Lehmann The “Mudflat” Shiraz 2000, Fontanafredda Barolo 1974, Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon 1988, A. Rafanelli Zinfandel 1997, Clarendon Hills Romas Grenache 2006, Summus 1997, Benanti Serra Della Contessa 2001.

By the Bottle: Emily Huang

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

I met Emily in Barolo a few years ago, where we were both attending Collisioni at the invitation of Ian D’Agata. Emily lives in Taiwan, and on social media her nom de plume is @unpoalticcia. She radiates a quiet serenity, or as we used to say in Rome a couple of millennia ago, “Altissima quaeque flumina minimo sono labi.” She is essential to the future of wine and Italian wine. I learned some new things from our exchange below. So glad she contributed and participated in this series, please give Emily a warm welcome.

What wines do you have standing up right now?

I am having a Freisa from G.D. Vajra. I found it most interesting is the spark between the wildness in Freisa and the elegance from Vajra. Theirs is a bigger wine with darker fruit accents than usual, but that like all Freisa wines ages extremely well and expressing aromas and flavours with age that are remarkably similar to Nebbiolo’s.

To be honest, I am so obsessed with Italian native grapes and Freisa is really one of the greatest, but the simple truth is that the country has just so many great wine grapes, many of which most wine lovers have never even heard of, it is nothing short of amazing.

By the Bottle: Darrell Corti

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

In my mind, Darrell Corti embodies that often-quoted motto from Joseph Campbell, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” He is one of my heroes. We share California as our native state and Italy as our place of ancestral descent. He knows almost more about anything, food, wine and otherwise, than I or many of us will ever be able to comprehend. Underlying all of that is a kindness and an openness that imprint Darrell as incomparable. I cannot tell you how happy this makes me to have him on our series, and in our world.

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Most of the samples that I have received. During the summer, wines with deposit are really not interesting.

What’s the last great wine you drank?

What do you mean by great? Expensive? There are not many really great wines around, but a lot of expensive ones!

Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?

Again, what do you mean by “classic?” I can imagine what you mean, but perhaps there are not so many “classic” wines around. Classic to me, may not be “classic” to someone else.

By the Bottle: Eric Asimov

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

  I first met Eric in Napa Valley, California. Since then, we’ve traveled, supped and opened a bottle or two in New York City, Austin, Texas and Sicily. Eric has the distinction of being one of the most influential wine critics today, a position he doesn’t take lightly (nor would he probably admit to it). Nonetheless, it is what it is. He’s riding that tiger. Let’s jump on board with him and take a spin, shall we?

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Most of the time, what I’m planning to drink is a function of what I’m planning to write about. I will keep that private other than to say I’ve just enjoyed some excellent bottles for my Wine School unit on dark rosés.

What’s the last great wine you drank?

I prefer to think of “greatness” in terms of context, expectations and fulfillment rather than on some universal scale in which the great wines are profound examples of historic terroirs or estates. With that in mind I would say a Château de Béru Chablis Montserre 2018 was a great wine. I love Chablis, though I’m not a particularly a fan of the 2018 vintage. Nonetheless, this wine was beautiful, intense in the way of the vintage yet full of characteristic Chablis minerality rather than fruitiness, pure and unmediated. I loved it.

Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?

I can’t think of any sorts of wine, though I can think of plenty of legendary bottles that I’ve never had, and probably never will. Cheval Blanc 1947, for one.  

By the bottle: Anthony D'Anna

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Anthony and I met in Italy and fast became pals. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, he and his family have made wine, and especially Italian wine, a priority in their corner of the world. Endowed with a youthful vigor and a curious mind, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know Anthony, and I hope the rest of you will also take pleasure in his insights, his impeccable taste and his exuberant joy about wine and life.

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

One of the few benefits of lock-down in Oz has been a lot more time at home. That has meant I have had the opportunity to drink wines that have been cellared for 10-15 years and are now ready to be drunk. Over the last few weeks I have had a good look at 2006 Barolo with the highlights being Borgogno Barolo Classico 2006 and Piero Benevelli Ravera di Monforte Barolo 2006. These 2006 are in a great spot right now.

By the Bottle: Joanie Bonfiglio

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Joanie Bonfiglio is the epitome of hope wrapped inside a bundle of energy that could power the city of Las Vegas. I’ve tasted, supped and enjoyed wines with her in Italy and California, and am always overjoyed at the questions she asks, the wines that show up at the table and her enduring effort to polish that giant chunk of marble we call life. Joanie is young, female and undaunted – perfect for the 21^st century wine trade. We need more Joanie’s in this world, but for now I am overjoyed we have her in our midst, taking us into the future. I can't wait for our next dinner together. [all photos by Joanie – she is also an accomplished shooter!]

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

There are so many wines to open right now. I just started a new role as a national sales manager (in the West) for Kermit Lynch, so I have been happily working my way through the portfolio trying to get a feel for all the producers.  Leaning about and tasting all the new wines has the be the most fun part about a new job in this industry.

By the Bottle: Walter Speller

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life 

Walter Speller is one of the top experts in Italian wine. He writes for Jancis Robinson as well as managing his wine consultancy, Hunt & Speller. Reading his writing is like looking at a very calm sea after a huge storm. You know there is a lot going on there, for when the storm was raging, our boat almost sank and we were almost lost at sea. But who would know it now?

Walter is a deep current. He has learned to convey peace and calmness, but he knows things. Life isn’t neat. And his writing ferries one across depths. When I read about a wine that I think I know very well, when Walter writes about it, it’s like I’d never tasted the wine before. And he makes me want to open a bottle right away, to see what he sees, feel what he feels. He’s a fabulous influence on me in my wine life. I learned new things with this interview. That’s how it is with Walter, always learning something new. Please welcome him to our little series.

By The Bottle: Zachary Sussman

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

 

Zachary is one of the bright young stars rising in the world of wine writing. Not yet 40, he has a list of accomplishments that folks at 60 would love to brag about. He is a Brooklyn-based wine writer, educator, and consultant whose work has appeared in Saveur, Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, The World of Fine Wine, and The Wall Street Journal Magazine, among others. He is a regular contributor to PUNCH and was formerly named the Champagne Louis Roederer Emerging Wine Writer of the Year. A thinker’s writer and a humanist as well, Zachary’s latest book (along with the editors of Punch) is The Essential Wine Book: A Modern Guide to the Changing World of Wine, with another one coming, hard on the heels, in November, Sparkling Wine for Modern Times: A Drinker's Guide to the Freewheeling World of Bubbles. At this rate, if he keeps going, he’s likely to out-write Hugh Johnson. Please welcome Zachary and enjoy a perspective from someone I admire and enjoy communicating with. 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

I’m cooking a chicken tagine for a dinner party tomorrow and pulled a few bottles from the wine fridge that I thought might make interesting pairings:

2013 Recaredo Corpinnat Terrers Brut Nature

2016 Château Lapuyade Jurançon Sec "Cuvée Dentelle"

1996 Ridge Zinfandel “Pagani Ranch”

By the Bottle: Dan Petroski

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

I first met Dan in Napa Valley, where he is a winemaker at the historical winery Larkmead and also has his own label, Massican, which focuses on Italian grapes, among others. Dan is an inquisitive soul, constantly searching into corners of the winemaking (and greater) world, looking for answers. A really generous person, I’ve tasted Italian wines with Dan in Napa Valley that I’ve never seen or had the opportunity to taste in Italy. Really glad to have him on these pages today with his perspective and passion.

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

I don’t have any standing up, but I do have a lot lying down.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

As we are deep into the summer here in Napa, drinking white wines is top of mind and always topped-up in my glass. And the greatest so far has been the Clos Saint-Joseph Blanc 2019 from Villars-Sur-Var. Ugni Blanc (Trebbiano), Rolle (Vermentino) and Semillon. A perfect wine! I could drink this everyday this Summer.

By the Bottle: DLynn Proctor

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

I first met DLynn in Dallas, when we both lived there. I’ve had the pleasure to open bottles with him in Texas, in Napa Valley (where he now lives) and in Italy. Presently he is the director of Fantesca estate and winery in St. Helena. He is also an actor and producer, known for SOMM (2012) and SOMM: Into the Bottle (2015) and Uncorked (2020), a film loosely based on the life of DLynn and his journey to become a Master Sommelier.

And because he needs only 2 hours of sleep a night, in 2020 DLynn co-founded (with Martin R. Reyes MW, Mary Margaret McCamic MW) Wine Unify, a platform that champions diversity and inclusion for underrepresented minorities in the wine industry. Armed with three initiatives – to welcome, to elevate, and to amplify underrepresented minorities – Wine Unify seeks to create more visibility and opportunity for people of color.

DLynn has forged a path in the wine world that is uniquely his. He constantly updates and reinvents himself.

By the Bottle: Christy Canterbury, MW

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Photograph by Michael Seto

I first encountered Christy Canterbury at a wine symposium in Texas, where she originally hails from. She now makes her home in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood with her husband Kirk Tashjian. Christy was the 7th woman in the US to earn the MW (Master of Wine) title. If Christy were a Texas tornado, she’d be at least an F3 - Christy is a force of nature!

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Pierre Gimonnet 2012 Champagne Oger Grand Cru Special Club

F.X. Pichler 2005 Durnsteiner Kellerberg Riesling

Pierre Matrot 2010 Meursault Perrieres 

Domaine de Montille 2002 Volnay La Carelle Sous La Chapelle

Bruno Giacosa 1998 Barbaresco Gallina

Château d'Yquem 1996

My husband and I are having over friends this weekend for the first time since right before COVID hit, and we're in a mood to splurge!

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

That's easy! Last week I had the Tio Pepe Quatros Palmas Amontillado (2020 Bottling). It was exhilarating in complexity and only four casks remain of this "museum solera". Definitely history in a glass.

By the Bottle: Robert Camuto

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Robert Camuto is an American wine writer based in Italy. I first met him in Dallas, where he was promoting his brilliant book about Sicily, Palmento.

Author of forthcoming South of Somewhere: Wine, Food and the Soul of Italy (October 2021) At Table University of Nebraska, and Palmento: A Sicilian Wine Odyssey (2010).

Writer of twice monthly on line column Robert Camuto Meets… @  www.robertcamuto.com

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

A lot of Chianti Classicos. This spring after all those months in lockdown in Italy (including a bout with Christmas Covid), the first place I headed to was Tuscany for the comfort of good old Sangiovese.

I am on a Sangiovese tear right now. It’s possibly the most emblematic Italian grape. I love the different expressions from all the different parts of Chianti Classico—austere, mineral and vertical in Radda to softer and sunnier around Castellina. Sangiovese cries out for hearty classic Italian foods and salumi. In C.C, you have the pure Sangioveses and the blends. It’s a world.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

Yesterday at lunch with a friend in Verona, we drank a bottle of Le Ragnaie 2015 Brunello di Montalcino. Long, smooth, earthy and elegant.

 

Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?

It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I first tried (speaking of Sangiovese) Montevertine’s mythic Le Pergola Torte. It was at the end of a central Italy summer dinner with a bunch of crazy winemakers. Sadly, I can’t remember what the wine tasted like. (One of those evenings!)

By the Bottle: Ron Washam

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

Ron Washam is an acquired taste, like a fried brain sandwich, or Rigatoni con la pajata, made with the intestines of an unweaned calf, only fed on its mother's milk. A long-time sommelier in southern California, Ron is now superannuated in Sonoma County where he lives undisturbed with his wife, who is the love of his life. She has taken the vows, for better or for worse, to be a solemn oath. As they say in Venice, "Love is blind."

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Well, I’m not standing up right now, I’m sitting here filling out this stupid questionnaire which I intend to use to demonstrate my superior knowledge of wine because that’s what this kind of thing is about. The truth is, we all drink lots of wines we’re somewhat ashamed to admit we drank. Like wines we got on sale at Safeway, or were recommended by some beauty blogger on Instagram. That said, I couldn’t quite finish the bottle of ’85 Chave Hermitage I opened last night to go with my fish sticks, so that’s standing up right now looking really embarrassed.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

Is there an adjective more abused in the wine business than “great?” Maybe “natural” or “yummy,” which are polar opposites. Greatness is hard to measure, like your own inseam. Also, whatever it was, I hope it wasn’t the last great wine I drink. I’d like to have more great wines. Mainly, yours. I did recently drink a 2010 Dom Perignon that would make a blind monk see. I suppose the Champagne could have been better, now that I think about it. It could have been Dom and Dommer.

By the Bottle: Alder Yarrow

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

I made Alder’s acquaintance through wine blogging, and have spent time with him in Napa and Italy. Alder is considered one of the pioneers of wine blogging with Vinography, and has been a columnist for Jancis Robinson, since 2011, at jancisrobinson.com. He has traveled the world, to quench his thirst for wine and beyond. Alder is moved by wines that “have distinct personalities, strong voices, and reveal themselves in layers."

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

At the moment I’ve got a bottle of 2019 Sandlands Red Table Wine in the fridge preserved with the new Coravin Pivot system, which is proving to be quite a handy device for keeping weeknight bottles fresh. In any case, Tegan Passalacqua has been making such wonderfully delicious wines under his Sandlands label, and this old-vine field blend from Contra Costa county is deliciously gulpable. It’s 55% Carignane and 45% Mataro and weighs in at only 12.8% alcohol. I like to drink it with a slight chill on it, and man, is it great.

In addition to that bottle, I’ve got the dregs of a couple of press samples that have been sent to me lately, a white Pinot Noir from Anne Amie Vineyards called “Prismé,” and a Vermentino di Gallura from the Sardegna producer Surrau.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

I’m not fully vaccinated yet (10 days and counting), so I’ve been easing my way back into social dining. I have a group of friends that have all been very careful and are partway through their vaccination regime too, and so we decided to go sit outside at The Morris restaurant in San Francisco a week or so ago, and we ordered some lovely wines. The star of the night was a 2011 Domaine du Collier “La Charpentrie” Saumur Blanc from the Loire Valley. It was just singing.

 

Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).

There are few things better than a long afternoon sitting around outside with good friends and great wine. If we’re talking ideal, it would be Spring, where the air is cool enough to keep the wines from getting warm, but warm enough to be comfortable. We’d be in the shade, at a picnic table, with an epic view, maybe of mountains or of the sea, and enough to eat so that we can keep drinking without needing a nap or to break away for a big meal.

I think if you had asked me this question 2 years ago, my answer might have been more grand, but right now, what I really want to do more than anything is just enjoy the company of great friends with no other encumbrances or obligations.

By the Bottle: Ian D'Agata

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

For most of my readers, Ian D’Agata needs no introduction. I consider Ian to be the top Italian wine expert (and author) living today. Not constrained to the Italian peninsula, though, he is extremely well-versed in wines from France, Germany and the world over. Ian is also a Renaissance man, having trained as a medical doctor before coming to the world of wine. He recently moved to Shanghai, China to take the post of Editor-in-Chief of the TS wine review (become a member HERE) and the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of TasteSpirit, China’s leading media and education company, including a wine school with centers in eight different metropolitan Chinese cities, a digital wine magazine with 3 Million private users, and international conferences and events on wine and food with world-renowned experts in their field. In essence, Ian is a busy man. But he graciously gave of his time to join us at By the Bottle for this segment.

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Alsace and Franken Sylvaner (both dry and late harvest); dry and especially late harvest Riesling from anywhere in the world but especially the Saar, Mosel and Ruwer; Pinot Noir from Burgundy and Oregon; old Napa Cabs and Bordeaux; Niagara wines; and wines made from Italy’s native grapes. I have a lot of bottles standing because I am tasting and drinking all the time.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

Petrus 1998, but it’s not anywhere near being ready to drink. And a litany of Mosel BAs and TBAs.

 

Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?

No. I have been drinking and tasting since the late 70s at a fairly unimaginable clip and so I can safely say there isn’t a single world wine I don’t know well, though clearly there are areas of, for example, Spain, Portugal and South Africa that I do not know as well as those who live there or who work with those wines.

By the Bottle: Patricia Guy

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

 

I initially learned about Patricia Guy from her book, Wines of Italy, which should be on every Italian wine lover’s book shelf. Patricia lives in Verona, Italy, where I eventually made her acquaintance. She grew up in the US, but has lived most of her adult life in Europe. She is a wine lover, an excellent writer (hence, no need to edit her interview) and a quiet thinker. She lives, from where I perch, an ideal life, and I am honored to have her comments here at By the Bottle.

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

They’re all laying down, as am I at the moment.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

2007 Pietramora from Fattoria Zerbina. The perfume unfurled: raspberries, cherries, a note of blueberries. The palate echoed the nose: a whirling top of flavors that merged and mingled. It continued to evolve and with each sip. 

I asked Cristina Geminiani, the winemaker and owner of Fattoria Zerbina to send a bottle of her Pietramora, aged for at least a decade, to me once a month when I eventually (and inevitably) end up in the Old Wine Writers Home to remind me of the pleasure of tasting a well-made wine.  I do not expect her to do this, but it is a nice to think about us old fogies sitting, sipping, chatting and remembering in the presence of a gracefully mature wine. 

Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).

When: late afternoon, the sun still in the sky. Where: on a terrace, with a gentle breeze blowing. What: something with an evocative fragrance and an ever-evolving flavor. How: with a good friend or two for company.

By the Bottle: Raffaella Guidi Federzoni

Wine lovers on wine and the vinous life.

This week we’re hearing from Raffaella Guidi Federzoni in Montalcino. She is, from time to time, my muse. But always a friend. She is fierce. She is charismatic. And a consummate wine professional. Raffaella is a thinker and, to me, the embodiment of the best of the modern Italian woman. Not that she or anyone needs my endorsement. But I admire her, and, hopefully do not idealize her too much. But maybe just a little. The world needs more Raffaella’s. And today I am sharing her story.

 

What wines do you have standing up right now?

Sangiovese Superiore Le Papesse 2019 and Sangiovese I Probi 2016, both from Villa Papiano. I am quite intrigued by Romagna’s wines, especially the ones made with Sangiovese. I know nothing about them and it is high time to start learning.

 

What’s the last great wine you drank?

I consider a wine great when it is – or is going to be - unforgettable for its qualities of balance, depth, personality, persistence, promise. In this case the last were actually two, both from the vintage 2017: the future Brunellos from Le Chiuse and Fattoria dei Barbi, tasted secretly and prematurely, one from the bottle and the second from the barrel.

 

Are there any classic wines that you only recently had for the first time?

If the concept of “recently” could be consider elastic in terms of time, as it happened a few years ago, I must quote the Cannonau made by Alessandro Dettori in three different crus: Tuderi, Tenores and Dettori. These wines struck me for being already totally classic.

 

Describe your ideal drinking experience (when, where, what, how).

In the evening, somewhere comfortable, two or three wines maximum, with the feeling of having all the time of the world. And, of course, with the right company which could consist in a small group of friends, or, myself and just one more person.