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To all Wine Exchangers, “I am not sure I have met a winery owner quite like Mike Officer before. Of course, Officer is well-known for his advocacy of California’s heritage vineyards, but his dedication to delivering value to the end consumer is just as noteworthy. All of that is served up with a giddy, boyish […]

To all Wine Exchangers, Ah, what a world we live in. On the one hand you have exceptional grower Champagnes selling in the $30-40 range that are far superior in quality to the mass produced ‘big-brands’ and sell for less. On the extreme other end, you’ve got someone famous putting what is essentially a non-vintage […]

To all Wine Exchangers, There has been great detail on these pages over time discussing all of the different ways a ‘deal’ comes about.  There are a number of causes that can each create an opportunity to get quality juice at an, ahem, ‘well under market’ price.  An item can pass through fewer hands on […]

To all Wine Exchangers, What’s Italian for ‘Broken Record’? Don’t want to sound like one but Tenuta Sette Ponti’s Crognolo, the winery’s proprietary blend of Sangiovese with a pinch of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, has seen nothing but 90’s once its inception in the, uh, early 90’s, and it appears the winery is kicking things […]

To all Wine Exchangers, Here’s one for the books.  The end of an era and another of those deals that will go down in Wine Exchange history with us one day reflecting and asking…remember when? To start, Chateau Colombier Monpelou had always been one of those in-the-know, secret, insider wines bought and sold by both […]

To all Wine Exchangers, So this is one of those good news/bad news things.  We’ll get the bad news out of the way first.  Northeastern Italy, one of our favorite sources for brisk, compelling white wines, had an epically crummy vintage in 2014.  There were some untimely, and fairly substantial rains that undermined the vintage […]

To all Wine Exchangers, Unicorn Champagne! The Holy Grail of Champagne! Your Champagne prayers answered! Really tasty, genuine Champagne at $19.98. We see this phenomenon about as often as the World Cup or the Olympics. I mean, granted, there are folks trying to sell $20 bubbly out there because hey, everybody knows a Champagne with […]

To all Wine Exchangers, Boy, these guys in Argentina work fast! Doña Paula produced its first wine in the early 90’s, bought most of its vineyards in the mid-90’s, and became Wine & Spirits Value Brand of the Year in 2004. In the world of wine, that is a meteoric rise. Their success straight away […]

To all Wine Exchangers, “Situated high on Alexander Mountain, Stonestreet has put together their finest portfolio of wines since I have been tasting them. Winemaker Lisa Valtenberg appears to have reduced the overt oakiness displayed by many wines in the past. At the same time, she has increased their nuances, complexity and textural richness…”—Robert Parker, […]

To all Wine Exchangers, Most of the ‘sales sheets’ that wineries give us are just junk.  “Made from this varietal, clone 677/777, serve with grilled meat, blah, blah, yada.”  Sometimes, however, we do get a sheet that we can work with and, not surprisingly, that was the case with this wine from Patrick and Albert […]