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Dave, You've got to admit it - based on that review, I don't think anyone would buy that wine! Cheers, Scott

Grazi!

For anyone looking to enjoy Italian wines while watching the Winter Olympics (held this year in Turino, Italy) from the comfort of your own home, today's article in the DC Examiner is for you. Cindy Greenberg, AKA "The Vine Gal" does a great job giving a quick overview of the Piedmont region as well as a few prime wine picks under $20. Of course, I am just a little biased - but, after all, being Mr. Vine Gal does have its advantages. The article features wines currently on sale at The Curious Grape in Arlington, VA. I hope that, in honor of the Olympics, other wine retailers clue in and hold "Italian Wine" sales over the next couple of weeks. If anyone knows where good Italian juice can be had at a reasonable price, please chime in! Meanwhile, here's the article. Italian Wines 101 - Secondo Parte Ciao, Scott

OK - but only if you can live on $6...

"Liquid Panty Remover" was the original name of the article, but it got nixed at the meeting with the editorial staff. Oh well...

I wish my date was that "easy"

I am writing an article about which wines wine lovers use to enhance romance for an upcoming column for Valentine's Day. I thought it would be great to collect a few stories (anonymous of course) on the wines that men and women rely on to, um, tip the odds of romance in their favor (if you catch my drift). For example, when I open a bottle of 2002 Pahlmeyer Proprietary Red, my wife knows that my intentions are purely un-gentlemanly. But after one glass, her intentions become un-gentlemanly as well! Share your "liquid love potion." If I use it in the article, I'll shoot you an email. Cheers, Scott

Wow - so many wonderful Ah Ha! moments. It's truly amazing how many people accurately recall their Ah Ha's. This has given me a fabulous idea for an article. So I might as well share mine. It was the early 90's (well before I was writing about wines) and I was invited over to a friend's house for dinner to meet his new law firm partner. Jim was/is a serious collector and was/is very proud of his cellar. I confessed to Jim that I just did not get this obsession with wine - I mean, it's just grape juice gone bad, for goodness sakes. So he pulled out a bottle of 1981 Beaucastel CDP to enjoy with the roast leg of lamb that he had prepared. He poured my wife, Cindy (who was also ambivalent about this whole wine thing), a glass and started to pour a separate glass for me. I politely stopped him and pointed out that Cindy and I would share a glass... that's when I looked over at my wife and saw this expression of child-like amazement on her face. She reached over, gently put her hand on my arm and whispered, "you'd better get your own glass." I remember the first sip vividly. It was like drinking liquid velvet. I said to our host, "I would drink wine if wine tasted like this!" He replied, literally, "ah ha!" As a side note, I had the good fortune to retry the 1981 Beaucastel two weeks ago from a rare 3 liter bottle (at Jim's house, no less). I am not sure if it is because the wine ages better in large format or if my palate was simply romanticizing, but it still gave me chills and an "Ah Ha" for good measure all over again. Scott

I have a pretty extensive cellar and I have found the Robert Parker Wine Cellar Management program to be a very powerful tracking tool. There are a lot of wines already loaded in the data base and they include tasting notes (his) and price files. In addition, you can "build" a virtual cellar with racks and bins to keep track of where your wines are actually located. Good News: You can even download updates off of the erobertparker.com website. Bad News: I just heard that Wine Technologies (the software company) is discontinuing the package. Great News: You will be able to use a new web-based program on the erobertparker.com site. Hope this helps. Scott

I love this! Welcome back Michael Franz! Definitely one of the most talented wine writers around (and coming from me - that's a compliment). I really like the look, style and feel of the site. Educational, well written and not stuffy! I am going to bookmark it! Scott Greenberg

I just went to Notti Bianchi last night and was stunned at how reasonably priced their wine list was, particularly for some of the hard-to-get gems such as Turley White Coat and Sin Qua Non Albino (both deliciously rare white wines). The Reds were just as impressive. Vidalia can't be beat for their eclectic list. And Zola is often over looked (and shouldn't be). Check them out. Scott The Vine Guy

Quite simply, the best way to get Turley is to sign up for the mailing list. They are making a lot of Turley these days and it does not take long to go from "wait list" to "mailing list". They have two releases per year, Spring and Fall, so you might not have to wait more than 6-12 months to get your own allocation. you can also pick some up on wine commune while you're waiting. Good luck. Scott The Vine Guy

Well, It's nice to finally have a chance to check out Don Rockwell's site. I have heard a lot about the site from many people in and out to the industry - including wine shops, restaurant owners and PR professionals. If anyone has any questions on the articles we (my wife also shares writing duties with me at the Examiner Newspaper), please fire away. Also, if you have any suggestions for topics you'd like to see us cover, feel free to let me know. We are always looking for interesting topics to cover and we figure readers are the best source for new ideas. Scott Greenberg The Vine Guy