The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
29 results across all types
- news
Yet Another Vintage Port Flex Post (Tasting Selections From 1985 – 2022)
Last week, I published a bunch of reviews from an NYC media tasting of selections from the (stellar) 2024 Port vintage. I typically follow those type of posts up with another post of other, older selections of vintage Ports that I tasted at the same event, and I offer them without much shame as simply […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
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“Unquestionably Among the Greatest Wines in the World” (Tasting the 2024 Port Vintage)
You’ll find no shortage of Vintage Port coverage on these virtual pages (something that, as I taste more and more vintages of the stuff, has become a source of amusing vexation as I search for whether or not a VP that I want to feature here has already been reviewed and featured here…). And you’ll […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
(Another) Exciting New Chapter
Much has been happening behind the scenes here at the new 1WD HQ, folks. You might have heard the recent news that my bruthah-from-anothah-muthah Jonathan Cristaldi is moving into the role of Chief Wine Critic for both The Tasting Panel and its sister publication The SOMM Journal. As JC wrote in the press release for […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Adapting, Judging, and Unlearning Wine on the Wonderful World of Wine Podcast
It’s been a hectic time with the relocation of 1WD HQ (I suspect that I’ll be stuck in unpacking hell for at least a few more weeks, which is particularly painful for a neat-freak like myself); so much so that I’ve kind of forgotten about some of the interviews I did for the releases of […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Lambrusco, Reconsidered (VentiVenti Recent Releases)
Lambrusco has a pretty well-established reputation, right? Exuberant, refreshing, fun, sometimes boring (truth hurts, people, truth hurts). But what happens when you take those qualities and apply a little more patience and ambition? I got to explore that question in June, when I sat down (virtually) with brothers Riccardo and Andrea Razzaboni of VentiVenti for […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
AI Casts a Pall Over the Wine Writing World, and It’s Mostly Your (Our) Fault
Well, it seems that AI is all the rage in the news lately (even my now 99 year old cousin was asking me about it), and wouldn’t ya know it, just a few days after I waxed pseudo-philosophically about wine writing online in the age of agentic browsing traffic comes news that a winner of […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Wine Writing in the Age of Agentic Browsing
There is something deeply weird happening on the Internet. And no, I am not talking about whatever thing your sick-o brain just thought up, though I am certain that whatever it is, is truly, horribly weird. I am talking about how we find and consume content and information, and, naturally, I noticed it because wine. […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
The Start of Something (Thoughts on Oltrepò Pavese Classese, and La Genisia Recent Releases)
“There’s something happenin’ here…” The “here” in this case is Oltrepò Pavese, in Lombardy’s western edge, in northern Italy. It happens to sit right on the 45th parallel, which as a wine nerd you will have at some point heard of (as it is roughly where you can also find Piedmont, Burgundy, Bordeaux, and the […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
The Relocation of 1WineDude HQ
As I type this, I’m alone in a (relatively) large house west of Philadelphia. It’s my house, and it’s mostly empty, and getting emptier and emptier by what feels like the minute. That’s by design: I am in the process of clearing it out, which is almost equal parts cathartic, melancholy, wistful, and poignant. My […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Nary a Beat Skipped (Merry Edwards 25th Anniversary Pinot Noir)
The 2022 harvest marked the 25th anniversary of when celebrated Sonoma winemaker Merry Edwards founded her eponymous brand. To mark the occasion, Merry Edwards (the brand, not the woman, now with Heidi von der Mehden leading the cellar, who worked alongside Edwards for five years during the transition) released an anniversary Pinot Noir. From my […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Small Is Big: Andreola Valdobbiadene Recent Releases
Andreola‘s Stefano Pola wants you to know that Prosecco’s main ingredient—Glera—is not a grape that should be dismissed as somehow ignoble. “Considering that from a single grape variety we can create a Brut and Extra Brut, and considering its versatility with food, this is not a smaller grape variety,” he told me during an online […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
1WineDude Invades the Summer 2026 Issue of Tasting Panel
Sick of seeing my name on stuff lately (in which case, why are you here?… I mean, stop hate scrolling and go do something productive already)? Well, then you’re REALLY going to hate the Summer 2026 issue of Tasting Panel magazine, in which my byline appears not once, not twice, but five freaking times. Including […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Going Beyond Sangiovese for Cristaldi & Co.
My latest article for Cristaldi & Co. is now available, in which I delve into selections from Tuscan producer Vignamaggio. These guys are making some fascinating reds (priced to match), most of the best of which are not being made with Sangiovese (Cab Franc geeks, bring your wallets!). The article is free to peruse, but […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
The Not-So-Full Monte (Catching Up With Montefili’s Chianti Classico Riserva)
Hard to believe that it’s been nearly two years since I last caught up with the wines of Vecchie Terre di Montefili, the Greve in Chianti producer who has winemaker Serena Gusmeri leading the cellar. During our most recent catch-up, I got to sample their (spoiler alert!) stellar 2021 Chianti Classico Riserva, while also sampling […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
“Fantasy Land” (Tenuta di Castellaro Recent Releases)
“It’s really an incredible place; it’s a fantasy land, really.” So sayeth Daniele Sassi, Export Manager for Tenuta di Castellaro, a produce that I’ve never visited in person but, after tasting through media samples virtually with them and seeing pics of their location, have instilled within me an intensely jealous rage for not having yet […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
California’s Next Spot for Premium Cabernet (A Beckstoffer Deep Dive for Cristaldi & Co.)
I’ve been head-down and DEEEEEEEP in the rabbit hole of server configuration after redesigning 1WD nearly from the ground-up, and am finally peeking out my dirty little head to catch some daylight as I prep for a lighting-fast media jaunt to Languedoc (more to come on that latter part, well, later, I’m sure). Now that […] This article was originally published on 1WineDude.com . Grab the books! Source
- news
Obnoxious, In a Good Way, Part 2 (More from Del Dotto Vineyards)
Remember when I kind of wanted to hate that big-ass Napa Cab from Del Dotto Vineyards? Well, there’s now a sequel to that story. Not too long ago, Shannon and I managed to escape the confines of our typical (yet blissful!) domestic scenario for a date night, and once again I decided to indulge her […] Source
- news
Moving Beyond Malbec for Tasting Panel Magazine
It is with greatest pleasure that I can report that my first piece for Tasting Panel magazine is now available in the May/June 2026 issue. The article highlights the recent work of Luigi Bosca, a South American producer whose forward thinking and keen business acumen has impressed me ever since I visited their operation in […] Source
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1WineDude Gets a Facelift
I’ve been a bit off-the-grid lately, getting yet another gum graft (occupational hazard, unfortunately) and working on a crap-ton of behind-the-scenes shizz (much of which you will all hear about in the near future 🤞🤞). One of those under-the-foil-closure initiatives has been a total redesign of the 1WineDude website, which in true Dude fashion began […] Source
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Are Our Standards Too Low? (Longlisted for the 67 Pall Mall Global Wine Communicator Awards 2026)
In what can only be considered a serious blow to global wine communication standards, my book How to WIN at Wine: A Practical Playbook for Getting Maximum Enjoyment from Every Bottle — Without Spending a Fortune has been longlisted for the Laurent-Perrier Award for Best Global Wine Communicator in Long-Form Writing in the 67 Pall […] Source
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Caught SOMMwhere in England (Tasting Hambledon Sparklers for SOMM Journal)
I’m happy to report that my latest contribution to SOMM Journal is now available, included in the Spring 2026 issue. The article focuses on English sparkling wine producer Hambledon Vineyard, so it has some cool-kid cred factor to it because, well, British bubbles. It also includes my reviews of their two signature NVs: Hambledon Vineyard […] Source
- news
More Big News: Now Contributing to Tasting Panel & SOMM Journal
More big news for The Dude, folks! I’m happy to report that I will be a contributor to two U.S.-based wine magazines: The Tasting Panel and The SOMM Journal (longtime 1WD readers might recall that I first penned an article for the then-recently-rebranded SOMM Journal back in… wait for it… 2014!!). You’ll start to see […] Source
- news
(Another!) New Book: Unlearning Wine (Busting Up the Wine Myths That Refuse to Die)
At this point, I think that we can call me categorically insane, because I felt compelled to write yet another goddamned book! The story unfolded something like this… I was thinking about the myth of “good” vs. “bad” wine that is the crux of the second chapter of my 2025 book How to WIN at […] Source
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Southern Hills (Tasting Abruzzo Diversity at Philly’s Le Virtù)
Back in October (yeah, yeah, I know, I KNOW…) I was invited to attend a media lunch at Philly’s excellent Le Virtù, focusing on the diversity of wines from Italy’s Abruzzo region. So of course I said no, thanks. JK. I wasn’t about to turn down something like that so close to my own (current) […] Source