by Richard Leahy | Jul 20, 2017 | Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals
Boy, has it been hot as perdition this last week, with no relief in sight, here in the Mid-Atlantic. I didn’t want to cook or otherwise heat up the place tonight, so I bought some fresh Chesapeake oysters and fixed an appropriate salad (mostly red leaf lettuce,...
by Richard Leahy | Jun 14, 2017 | Regions & Terroir, Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals, Winery Visits
TasteCamp, an annual “wine camp” event organized by Long Island-based wine writer Lenn Thompson of The Cork Report, is open to the wine media who pay to attend a long weekend in the wine country of a specific region. The eight years old TasteCamp brought...
by Richard Leahy | Apr 21, 2017 | Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals, Virginia Wine
Cabernet franc is making a comeback in fine Virginia red wines as a varietal. In 2015 and 2016, I was disappointed in the few varietal cabernet francs that made it to the final round of the Virginia Governor’s Cup competition. There wasn’t strong varietal...
by Richard Leahy | Mar 14, 2017 | Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals
Dave Phinney has an original idea for regional wine: the “meta-location” blend. In contrast to the European model of increasingly small and allegedly special locations regulated by appellation laws, he blends across appellations seeking out old, low-yielding vines to...
by Richard Leahy | May 26, 2016 | Fruit Wines, Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals
Now that we’ve gone from 55 F and rain for days on end to 90F and no clouds in the sky here in Virginia, it’s time to change gears and start shining the light on white wines, but we will have some notable red wine highlights to wrap up from the dismal...
by Richard Leahy | Apr 25, 2016 | Tastings/Evaluations, Varietals, Virginia Wine
Virginia wine lovers now have two excellent vintages for white wines: 2014 and 2015. The 2014 vintage was cooler and drier than most, yielding white wines with marked freshness, delicacy, vibrant fruit and fine natural acidity. They will continue to bring refreshing...
