Budget Vino

This year's New York City Wine & Food Festival kicked off with a glorified "scavenger hunt" of the NYC Meatpacking District. On Friday night, "Meatpacking Uncorked" allowed dozens of restaurants and retailers to host an open-house tasting experience, sponsored by Corcoran. Patrons were handed passport-style maps marking each participating location throughout the district. The objective? Dash like mad to visit as many stops as possible within a 3-hour time limit. Restaurants and food trucks...Read Full Story

Epcot celebrates culinary adventures, from trendy Cork, Ireland to the melting pot of Cape Town, South Africa. Discover blissful bites at the international and regional marketplaces throughout the World Showcase promenade. Exotic flavors are in plentiful supply, as are the comfort foods you know and love, all masterfully prepared. The 7-week Festival will showcase tastes from countries on 6 continents — making it easy to mix fantastic food with sensational music when you visit the Marketplace...Read Full Story

Purchased this fine Shiraz/Viognier almost 2 years ago to the day from the Vintages release that was titled "Celebrate for less! 20 party wines under $20." YALUMBA SHIRAZ/VIOGNIER 2006  - Barossa, South Australia, Australia ( #524926 ) (XD) - $19.95 Tasting Note: This red wine has fresh blueberries, blackberries, white pepper, herbal aromas that follow through on the palate. Finishing with dark chocolate on the medium-long finish. Fine tannins. Well-integrated wine. Aged well and...Read Full Story

From 2nd to 7th November 2010, 11am to 9pm daily, the PENFOLDS Wine Lounge Event is open to members of the public, where each visitor will be offered a full suite of PENFOLDS wines to try at ION Orchard (Level 1). With complimentary wine sampling and wine appreciation classes, both wine novices and connoisseurs will be able to appreciate wine better.  Jane Gibbs, PENFOLDS Wine Ambassador flew in from Barossa Valley , the home of PENFOLDS, to personally conduct these exclusive wine classes...Read Full Story

Those who know me well, know that I’m not very good at sharing.  I must have fallen asleep in Kindergarten during that lesson.  Actually, I probably shared my toys as a child, but as I’ve gotten older, I found that I don’t really care much for sharing my toys…….wine, food, money, friends, secrets, Blueberry Streusel Muffins…etc.  Today, our first day in Australia, was different.  Since Australia is opposite of North America and has opposite seasons, we thought it would be apropos to do the...Read Full Story

Robert Mondavi sold his self-named company to Constellation Brands in 2004, which means that at least a generation of wine drinkers knows Mondavi only as a name on a bottle of wine they see at the grocery store. Such are the vagaries of family businesses. If they had known the pre-Constellation Mondavi , or even the pre-publicly traded Mondavi , though, the chardonnay ($40, sample ) is the kind of wine they would have associated with the winery. Mondavi made his name not only by marketing...Read Full Story

Crowds came out in droves for the fashion week kickoff event of The Heart Truth Red Dress Collection fashion show at Lincoln Center. While guests sipped on glasses of  Kim   Crawford  Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc out front in the lobby, celebs backstage, including Patti LaBelle, Dita Von Teese, Camilla Alves and her boyfriend Matthew McConaughey sent their reps out to beg for bottles of the  Kim   Crawford  Pinot Noir to bring back to them. One bottle, two glasses each. Were they just...Read Full Story

Havingrecently posted a wine from Argentina , I thought I’d keep up with the SouthAmerican theme and move over to their western neighbour Chile . Chile occupies astrip of land that has the Pacific Ocean along its western coast line and the Andes Mountains on its eastern border. They have had long history of winemaking, with the introduction of European varieties such Cabernet Sauvignon inthe 18 th century, their has been a real renaissance since the 1980’swith the introduction of modern...Read Full Story

During The Wine Guy’s tenure in retailing, customers perusing the Australian wine selections have often asked:  “How do you like that bottle of Penfolds?”   Over time, my stock answer became: “In my opinion, I don’t believe Penfolds knows how to make a bad bottle of wine!”   This southwestern Australian brand is almost singular in being the recipient of that kind of personal endorsement.  While there are many, many producers who often make good or great individual wines, few wineries...Read Full Story

What better time to write another post than while eating the leftover chicken parm from the other day. After all, I still owe you an explanation on how the Old Vine Zin went with this home cooked meal. Unfortunately my glass is empty tonight... I'm tired and I feel like I am fighting off an on coming cold. My plate however is far from solitude. This chicken parm is the gift that keeps on giving. Even my wife admits that it is better the second day... and maybe even the third. As for the Zin...Read Full Story