by admin | Sep 24, 2025 | Blog
You’re looking at a large bowl of perfectly made carbonara, one of the four classic pastas of Rome. It was my dinner one night last November at the Osteria de Fortunata, just off the Campo Fiori. I was staying in Rome with my wife Carla’s brother, Robert, and his...
by admin | Sep 10, 2025 | Blog
The first Certified Sommelier Examination was held in early December of 2005 at the California Grill at Disneyworld in Orlando. I was part of that first examining team, along with fellow MS’s Wayne Belding, Matt Citriglia, Doug Frost, and Keith Goldston. The group of...
by admin | Aug 27, 2025 | Blog
Thoughts on buzzwords used in wine club ads The other day an ad for a wine club appeared multiple times while I was trying to read an online Times article. The text was filled with catchy buzzwords like “dry-farmed, organic, sugar free, lower alcohol and sulfites.”...
by admin | Aug 13, 2025 | Blog
The other night at dinner I opened a bottle of 2024 Blaauwklippen Sauvignon Blanc from Stellenbosch, South Africa. I’d never tasted the wine before. Within seconds of putting my nose in the glass, I was inundated by the matchstick notes of sulfur, to the extent that I...
by admin | Jul 30, 2025 | Blog
Jessica Dupuy is an Austin-based wine educator, writer, and blogger (jessicadupuy.com). She and I will be at the TEXSOM conference next month. Recently, she interviewed me for her Italian Wine Podcast. During our session, we chatted about my tasting seminar at the...
by admin | Jul 16, 2025 | Blog
Every other year the Valdez clan gets together for a weekend reunion around the Fourth of July. The Valdez’s are Juanita’s family—my wife Carla’s late Mom. The reunions take place in the mountains on a family property near Angel Fire, New Mexico. It’s a small ski town...
