Author: Alex Eckhart

2017 Ramnista Xinomavro

Well I cant say it correctly but I can certainly drink it! This greek grape found its way into my heart on my sabbatical three years ago when I was in Greece, and i’ve dedicated my life to finding it every time I see “spanakopita” on a menu.  “Xinomavro” literally means “sour black,” and its […]

2018 Vina Sastre Crianza

Its been a very long time since i’ve added a good bottle here. It’s not for lack of friends, or moments, but a pandemic happened. A relationship changed for me. Felix grew a foot. I threw myself into being a mother, a producer, a woodworker, a new land-owner! a writer. into exercise, into reflection, into […]

2016 Villarrica Rioja Crianza

A couple of nights tucked away with laptops and wine in the Rockaways with my fella, chilly walks on the beach, 36 questions to answer, and big warm Rioja, as yummy a Rioja I’ve ever had for dinner.

2015 Frontonio Mictrocósmico Garnacha

I don’t often do this but this story was so fascinating I have to share the whole thing! I drank this at Camperdown Elm in Brooklyn with Deepa Deeps and Brinda in a rare weekend appearance by my best bud Brinda all the way from Atlanta! When we met a decade ago we were all single and childless, […]

2015 Chateau de Ferrand Saint-Emilion

Had my Bordeaux cherry popped in a big way with my sister as we biked from the city of Bordeaux, through St. Emilion to Cadillac, and through a winemakers paradise! April and I saddled our electric bikes and stopped at this fabled estate (owned by the “Bic” pen family) to sample their vintages and learned […]

2016 Sorbino Chianti Classico

I have the feeling I’m forming a new habit and I like it, sharing good bottles of red with Mike! This one though, very hard to beat. It was a bottle of Chianti, shared on top of a cliff, in Vernazza on the northern Italian coast! COME ON who am I!? In my happiness with […]

2017 Skouras Portes Merlot

Another Greek wine from my trip to Athens that blew my mouth away. Drank this on a very special night with besties Brinda and Kari, it was Captain Kostas’ birthday and we were tearing it up in Hydra! (Ok Brinda was tearing it up with Kostas, I was nearly plummeting into the bay and Kari […]

2013 Ktima Kelesidi Kenegidu Xinomavro Naoussa

I visited Athens, Greece and two of the world’s most renowned wine making regions, Bordeaux and Tuscany, and surprisingly I liked this Greek wine the very best. I can’t pronounce really anything but the date on the label, but I can say this grape “Xinomavro” is on my list now as one of my faves. […]

2016 I Brand & Family Old Vine Mouvedre

You know what is interesting is how old exactly “old vines” are . Some of the oldest are Zinfandel vines and they can top 100 – 125 years! But most other grapes are old vines in their 30’s – 40’s. It is rather apropos to be considering longevity with this bottle, as it was shared […]

2008 Mas Estela Vinya Selva De Mar

All I can say is this , this is Spanish, its some kind of delish red blend, and I drank it like I usually do because that is really all anything needs to be for me to drink it and love it. Who did I drink this with? Richard! I mean in 15 years yes, […]

2015 Umberto Cesari Sangiovese Cab

J’ai bus ce bon vin italien avec mes amis Jean et Caroline a l’eur maison dans la forest près de Montreal. C’etais un vite visite dans la neige, complete avec vin, un bon repas fait maison, de la bonne companie. Un beau feu et une vision de sugarplums dansant dans nos têtes!

2012 Carmen Grand Reserva Cabernet

I admit I did buy this because the name was so similar to my own and I thought.. I’ve never met a bad Carman! (Or Carmen) and BOY do I like a good chilean cabernet… and man what a wallop this packed. I read a little about this vineyard and loved the story of the immigrant […]

2011 Seven Falls Wahluke Slope Cabernet

We work hard, we play hard. We drink red wine, and we ruin it with coke and call it a Kalimotxo! I can only be speaking of my good friend Jihye, and this bottle we… ok mostly I… consumed on one of many legs of the Dive Bar tour we .. ok mostly she.. produced […]

2013 Chateau Bouscasse Madiran

Nestled on a cute corner in old Montreal sits Modavie, a New Years stalwart for Richard and I, and one in 2017 that I shared with mom and dad as well. This blend was a lovely addition (several times) to a solid three hour meal, and though it was nearly minus 15 outside, we were […]

2016 Dom. de la Butte (Jacky Blot ) Cab Franc

Old friends are the best friends. Ill never forget high school with my stalwart friend Kari, and turns out we’re the same kind of winos as adults now, two decades later! The universe conspires to bring likeminded souls together! Others say this much better than I, but with your lifelong friends, it seems time changes nothing.  A fun […]

2013 Jules Napa Valley Melange

We call ourselves JAM! Jihye, Anthony and Michelle an ELITE tri-producer Superpower with epic producing abilities! But not as epic as this awesome Napa valley blend that I downed , with gusto!! In New Orleans. Dancing in the street! Doors answered by coworkers clad only in bath towels! 5am beignets and overpriced Saints beers and […]

2014 Don David Malbec

Downed this beauty on the front porch at Les Petits Ventres in Mt. Tremblant, Quebec on a heavenly vacation filled with woods,  bikes, lakes, and my two favorite fellas. One of whom was supposed to be sleeping. But it was one of those perfects warm nights, where the food was good, the atmosphere relaxing, the […]

2011 Manos Negras Malbec

You know what i like to drink when its 95 degrees and I’m saturated through by the Atlanta humidity? A nice thick Malbec, of course. A panacea for any weather system, this brought the cool, elevated stony terroir of the San Carlos wine region in Argentina right to my parched lips. So i drank a lot of […]

2014 Undurraga Cabernet

So red wine consumption in Jamaica is not really.. something that is catered to. But a true oenophile, like myself, adapts. One adapts perhaps by ordering a refreshing tropical glass of red wine sangria. And when one learns that is not an option, one inquires about a nice chilled red, perhaps a delicious Crianza. No? Not […]

2011 Chateau La Grave Fronsac

I have to admit i dont know much about Fronsac other than i really like saying “fronSAC!” and laying some extra zeal on the final consonant to help communicate my impatience to get away from the saying and on with drinking.  This was a very special little bottle, shared at Swoon with my honey during […]

2009 Hewitt Vinyards Cabernet

October 4th 2014, a day ill never forget. The day, after three months in the NICU, we brought our son home. There’s no fitting toast, and no fitting wine (that i could afford anyway) so this plump, healthy, blessing of a glass will just have to do.

2004 Dow Douro Reserva Vale do Bomfim

Atlanta was not this amazing the first time i went, when my experience here was grumpy bouncers and bartenders not overworked enough to miss an atrocious fake ID that bore no reselmblance to its bearer. Plus it was awfully warm. 15 years later, its still warm but with Brinda and Denis doggedly filling my wine […]

2008 Zolo Reserve Malbec

The Good Fork in Red Hook, with its charming backyard tables and crunchy staff always makes for a special evening. This was shared with one of my best buds Chris on a cool summer night in Brooklyn. Fireflies chased away mosquitos, a fanastic wine and faithful friend chased away a bout of the means reds […]

2011 Kabatepe Kirmizi/Red

I will not endeavor to try and find this Turkish red wine back in the states, i think my tastebuds may have suffered irrevocable damage from this but the Turks do make a delicious coffee if you like it chewy. No, it wasn’t the quality of this red(ish) wine that made it special but the […]

2009 Spice Route Chakalaka

Chakalaka BOOM BOOM is whats happening in my mouth when i drink this, I LOVVVVVEEED this South African blend of Carignan, Tannat, Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Petite Syrah.. they stuffed the whole kitchen sink into a bottle and set sail due west! Lucky for me a hankering for mussels one night led me to Flex Mussels […]

2009 Pine Ridge Cabernet Forefront

“Hurry up! Its peaking!” writes one oenophile about this supple little “everyday” wine. “Pop and pour” writes another which similarly implies: get to drinking it already. Hadn’t been to The Red Cat for some time but Tom it was a great suggestion and dinner with you is always entertaining, even without popping. Or pouring.  

2011 Barboursville Chardonnay Reserve

Mark this MOMENTOUS OCCASION where not only did i DRINK a white wine, but it was actually so not barf-inducing i am putting it in this sacred list. This was the state of affairs however, as close friends Matt & Rappy invited us to the woodsy hills of Virginia and a wonderful vineyard B&B earlier […]

2006 Honig Cabernet

Had this wonderful simple lovely napa cabernet, at my first COUPON ASSISTED dinner i think since i went out with a fella about a decade or so ago who shall not be named. We went out, well. Just that once. But its an entirely different experience when you’re with one of your best buds and […]

2008 Dunham Cellars “Trutina” (Cab/Syrah/Merlot)

So this next little rash of posts may seem as if i sat on my fire escape for the entire month of July and did nothing but drink delicious red wine amidst these harrowing heat waves. Not so. In fact i’ve been drinking delicious wine at a steady pace since my last posting in December.. […]

2001 La Roncaia Gheppio

This lovely italian wine “of great international character” (says one reviewer) was very well suited to an evening at ‘Inoteca shared with my friend Marcello, who is coincidentally a gentleman of great international character himself. What better way to welcome the holidays then worldly wines, and a monstrous wooden platter (or shovel) loaded with meat […]

2009 Sula Cabernet/Shiraz

After a few weeks in India, i was like a Springer Spaniel hunting for this wine because i was quick to learn: there aint a lot of wine to choose from on Indian menus. Not that Sula isn’t making a valiant effort, one that i for one appreciated almost as much as cipro on my […]

2009 Nita Priorat

Andy andy andy how could you possibly know me already? Well enough to choose THIS incredible spanish delight for me, knowing FULL WELL it would cause .. a tumultuous steamy green love affair! I had never tried or even heard of “Priorat” but as it turns out it basically means wine from one of Spain’s […]

2009 Saratoga Winery Merlot

My surrogate German sister Bea and i find ourselves with an out-of-tune guitar, and a bottle of wine from the fingerlakes that we both agree – for our sophisticated palettes – is a little lackuster. But it could be because this was in fact our SECOND bottle, and the first – a delicious and unusual […]

2008 Santa Ema Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve

Have you ever been to a Wegmans grocery store, after 14 years of Gristedes and D’Agostino in Manhattan? Disneyland doesn’t hold a candle to this Fantasia of Food! I have never seen something so large, bright, and opulent, displaying rows after rows of fresh food pristinely presented and polished to a blinding shine. And WINE! […]

2007 Mas des Brunes Cuvee des Cigales

All dried out and ready to saturate again! Happy birthday to me and my african american doppleganger Wanjiru! Very smooth and earthy bottle of red shared over a tasting menu at Mas. Bartender did that cool thing where you steam off the bottle label and give it to your drunk patrons who know they will […]

2000 Bartolo Mascarello Barolo

What better way to start 2011 than with a detoxifying January ushered in by this last I promise last bottle of something really special.. and one of the most organic stimulants I’ve ever come across: good conversation. A cozy unexpected evening with curious turns has me embracing 2011 with hope, with optimism, with the bloated […]

2008 Pied a Terre Napa Cabernet

Cookshop keeping us warm, wacky cake in the oven, a brick of cheese calling and a quiet little cabernet that stays with you for a few extra breaths on a wonderfully cold holiday night… merry christmas christopher. I will share that very special Barolo with you in the new year!

2006 Prunotto Barbaresco

A girls weekend in Montreal with the only person i could spend 15 hours in the car with and not mangle.. owing i am sure to the fact her accent is so thick i can barely understand her. So it is always new, and entertaining! I’ve always felt Barbarescos are a little “tender” for my […]

2004 Primitivo Quiles Raspay Tinto

A “complicated” wine as i read from one reviewer, aptly consumed in an evening nightcap spent quietly tucked away at Lelabar… alone actually. Sometimes you’re your own best friend. Contemplating the year with tiny sips,  and reflecting on the fears i’ve conquered with effort, amongst them: zelophobia, consecotaleophobia, kolpophobia, philophobia, poinephobia, veritaphobia, and of course, […]

200? Palomar Cabernet

If only the wisdom of 5 bottles could ever translate into the riches we know it will .. in those evenings. Of pure. liquid. wisdomness. The Lion is a (slightly) pretentious and (completely) beautiful west village restaurant perfectly suited for our running-late-jeans-clad crew who had a hankering for oysters, lamb, and seafood cassoulet. I think […]

2001 Carrizal Rioja

brrrrrrrrriiiiiinda! Rendez-vousing in Thailand? Fish foot massages? Diving and snorkeling at Koh Phi Phi? Carrot origami on our plates and swanky golf courses and baby elephants in your hotel lobby??!  I mean what on EARTH have we become and WHY has it taken so long! I love you bud. Yeah, I said it and i’m […]

2004 Degani Valpolicella Ripasso “Cicilio”

This can’t possibly be only 3 ounces? A little tasting on a beautiful sunny afternoon at Enoteca on the downtown mall in Charlottesville, VA convinces me that a) No kitten who loves fish is unteachable b) great wine bars can always be found at University c) all kittens with whiskers can learn to love wine. […]

2009 Finca La Martina Malbec

Four ladies going tits up.. sorry BLOODY tits up right jaclyn? That’s worse, isn’t it? It certainly sounds like a bigger mess. What the frick! I cant write much as the evening’s transcription is under lock and key (and i can barely remember it anyway.) But peeing pooches, careening flower boxes, rain, a temporary shortage […]

2009 Domaine de la source à Marguerite Grape Mistelle

Ile d’Orleans is an island on the St Laurence River just 15 minutes from Quebec City that was coined the “Island of Bacchus” when it was discovered, owing to all of the wild grape vines that were found. Here they seem to love to turn innocent fruits into highly concentrated alcohols , absolutely deadly because […]

2007 Red Rocks Merlot

By NO means a decent wine! So not advocating this blight. But I shared it with mom & dad, married officially this week over 41 years, and my sister, the weekend we said goodbye to the house I grew up in, in Chantilly Va.  I jogged past my elementary school, my middle school, my high […]

2004 Souverain Sonoma Cabernet

Mon homme… i tried this entry in french but i couldn’t remember the words for “yummy” or “subtle hints of clover and peat” or a few other things…what time does the pool actually close i am wondering? Can you name two things you can buy for $3 in Jamaica besides half a chicken? The Half […]

2007 Paoletti Nero D’avola

Brin, the gifts are supposed to come FROM ME, not TO me, when you get engaged! (or perhaps it is an Indian custom .. like.. Kubbadi). Congratulations you two! I will be there in 2030 for the nuptials! I did so love this rare little Californian treat.. thank you so so much, you know me […]

Just sangria (at the most wonderful spanish place in Manhattan)

I couldn’t even hazard a guess as to what kind of boxed red wine goes into the sangria at Sevilla in the west village… what i do know is that it is addictive, as is the “spanish” dressing on the salads and the clams marinara which Roberto knows i will always always order at this […]

2006 Baron De Ley Rioja Reserva

The second of several superb wines that we shared tucked away from the Canadian cold over Valentines weekend.. i did not think we could top the Bordeaux – 2005 Château Garraud Lalande-de-Pomeroland mmmmmoocha – maybe it was because we drank this immediately after as in do not pass go or collect some bread in the […]

2004 Chateau La Fleur St Emilion Grand Cru

You have seen this wine before on my crusades, around 2007 … It is a very special wine, difficult to find nearly to the point of abject defeat, which made uncorking this beast infinitely more savory. For three years i have waited for a worthy moment! So to you mon homme, for selling your company, […]

2004 La Croix Chaptal Terrasses du Larzac

Amazing. but hardly a surprise as this was a) not cheap b) highly rated and c) recommended by connie at Total Beverage in chaaaaaantilly virgina. This i shared with my “M” and “BM” – mom & biological mom – over a Christmas panini of brie, apples, apricots and prosciutto… unusual elements uniting harmoniously at every […]

2005 Cakebread Cabernet

Vancouver – What i WANT to write about is the mystery $600 Bordeaux that i did not know i was consuming at Le Crocodile (amazing restaurant BTW) until about a week later. It – tasted as if perhaps it had peaked – was one reaction by a coworker. Mine – tastes good what is it […]

2004 Truchard Napa Cab

Who knows. It was written on a ripped up piece of napkin in my pocket. I must have liked it.

2005 Chateau Fonroque St Emilion Grand Cru

THE NIGHT MICHAEL JACKSON DIED i will forever remember that THIS was the wine i was drinking for one fifth of the evening anyway in my new apartment in the Village amongst galpals Bea, Bailey, Kelly and Liz…you are some wine savvy bizotches you know that? Thank you for warming my house ladies! and sorry […]

2004 Alvento

5 “mystery” wines tasted. 4 delicious amuse-bouche, 3 more delicious amuse-bouche. 2 people enjoying each other and the ambiance of this little wine bar called “Bu” in Montreal. 1 favorite wine! a wonderful local blend of Cabernet/Merlot/and Cab Franc from the Alvento Winery in Ontario. delish.

2004 Tormaresca Bocca di Lupo

BE LIKE ME and ring in the ring in the new year with 8 courses and this wine.. i taste coffee and cloves up the wazoo and these are two things i love up my wazoo. Here are the courses in order – onions in milk, a mackerel bun, crispy young pig and caramelized scallops, […]

2003 Januik Merlot

This wine knows me & Koxie by name. Or actually the bartender at Lelabar on Hudson & Leroy has seen my face too many times and sadly i am a creature of habit. Love this Merlot from Washington state. Michael dammit i DON’T want another bottle! We are in a recession!

2006 Flowers Perennial

We had lost each other, this wine and I! But we are reuinted. Light little Californian blend.. much lighter than the lead i usually consume so it must be tremendously special. Shared this with glowing friends Amy and Rainbow at a lovely spot in Chicago.. perfect chilly night, reunions left, right and in my glass.

2005 Krasna Hora Cab/Merlot

V Zatisi, Liliova St in Prague… how did i find this place! Could i ever find it again. The streets of Prague make no sense. The Czech language makes no sense! Their MEAT however, makes wonderful sense. My “bohmenian sampler” i believe contained duck, ox, boar, and some kind of beef. And this wine, though […]

200? Masi Toar

I have been remiss. For those who are hanging on my every post, i beg forgiveness. And for normal people i am sure you will understand sometimes a little drying out cant hurt. But even when i tape my mouth shut sometimes a drop can wiggle in and this is one little volcanic beauty. Many […]

2000 Capitel De Roari Amarone

Is it possible i have gone this long without posting an Amarone, one of my favorite favorite types of wine. With amarones the grapes are harvested ripe and allowed to rasinate, or dry and shrivel up like old folks. Makes for an incredibly fullbodied raisiny treat. Shared this with my best friend Chris on a […]

Hakutsuru (White Crane) Sayuri (Little Lily) Nigori Sake

Olives. Sushi. Sake. These were three things i was determined, once i moved to New York, to overcome my immense distaste for. And with the discovery red Cerignolas, spicy tuna rolls, and this pink little unfiltered bottle of magic mold .. I am finally at peace with my palette. Sake, by the way, is made […]

1999 Campillo Reserva Rioja

I edited a review of this wine by just a few words and decided this wine is someone i would like to date. “Persistent, aromas of ripe fruit, clove and cocoa, with leather and cedar notes. Medium-bodied, velvety and smooth, with a seductive finish.” If i werent already dating the person i shared this bottle […]

2004 Marcelina Cabernet

I wish i could remember who i drank this with. And where. June for some reason is.. a bit.. of.. a blur. This is absolutely not the only bottle enjoyed in June.

2003 Chateau de la Liquiere Tucade Faugeres

It is written of this distinguished wine from the Languedoc region that it goes best with black pudding, mushrooms, and rabbit stew. Which was a tremendous coincidence because all of those things abound at the charming restaurant St Amour in the heart of Quebec City. The wine, the ambiance, the 8 course degustation obscenity that […]

2006 Thorn-Clarke Shotfire Barossa Shiraz

Finally! New month new lease on life & liver. They say of this 91 rated red “drink now until 2016″ and i think its important to assume they mean every day. Plum and currant so nice and tannic-y. A new word from me to you… i was frolicky in this tannic-y supple red in the […]

2000 Vina Ardanza Reserva La Rioja Alta S.A.

Will April never end. I am beginning to worry that i am going to turn into a grape, like a wino version of Violet Beauregarde. But if i was de-juiced, what better memory could be left of me.. than this triumphant elixir! Buddakhan is a beautiful space.. this wine was velvety and beautiful… cristy, joni, […]

2006 Beckman Vinyards Cuvee le Bec

It is no secret that i seem to be drinking my face off this spring. BUT MY TASTE BUDS ARE IN FULL BLOOM I CANNOT CONTROL THEM. Id like to thank The House, an adorable Grammercy soon-to-be staple for selling me this delicious bottle at 4xs retail. And Id STILL reccomend it. Pair this blend […]

200something cheap something tempranillo

Well this wine at Keens was made memorable not only by the traces of my hangover this morning but by a surprisingly stimulating evening courtesy of the company. He’ll remain as nameless as the wine, but hardly as forgettable. Next up: conquering death with spackle and a hairpin.

2004 Vasse Felix Adams Road Shiraz

A sleepover yaaaayyy Only about 1500 ml of wine separated this from a replica of my childhood. Dinner at Sevilla, this nice chocolately red Shiraz and a cheesy comedy at home after, and The Savorist created a breakfast i will not soon forget. Jenna and Brinda It was a pillowfight short of soft porn and […]

2005 Lan Zur Carmenere

Ivy, Rappy & new hubby Matt..the Cabas & friends! Baby on the way! Happy Easter! A delicious $10 bottle to celebrate with gnocchi just like Christ did. I learned a lot about this grape here: http://thewinefiles.blogspot.com/2008/02/what-was-lost.html but in 20 words or less: French cultivated, thought to be lost to late 1800s phylloxera plague but bless […]

2005 Emeritus Pinot Noir Russian River Valley

A work dinner gone awright .. Capo in LA, the meatiest fresh mozarella ive ever snarfed and this very spicy Pinot was such a surprise! I never like Pinot.. someone must have switched the bottles on me. 5,700 cases made of this gem and i barely made a dent.

2006 Mitolo G.A.M. McLaren Vale Shiraz

Anabel! Happy 18th! With this amazing wine.. more like happy birthday to me. “G.A.M.” the initials of the Mitolo children. O.M.G. the acronym of my reaction to this 95 rated red. Made even more memorable by a foot of snow nightcap.

2001 Chateau La Vielle Cure Fronsac

My first Fronsac, how delicious in the belly on a snowy winter night in Montreal with new friends and old..and Rock Band! Samuel your career awaits.

2004 Finca Sandoval

The weirdest bestest wine ever. Just past the tree growing in the middle of Rayuela, a stunning space in the Lower East Side, a sommelier bustles into the wine cellar to collect this tremendous blend of just about everything i love in life, namely Mourvèdre and Syrah. Richard, its not the wine speaking. Ive missed […]

2004 Antinori Toscana Tignanello

What luck! To be friends with AWARD WINNING JASON KOXVOLD who birthed a food baby of gourmandism i never knew i had in me. An amazingly reckless dinner at Picholine. White truffle shavings? More please! Jenna, Brinda, Kox… we had some sick wines that night but this for me was by far.. the sickest. Wine […]

2001 Finca Allende Rioja Tempranillo “Allende”

Tempranillo: never fails me, nor does Picholine. The wine’s name comes from the Spanish “temprano” or “early” as the grape ripens several weeks before most red varietals..gets to ma belly faster! Jason, you’re right. The truth WAS at the bottom of the bottle!

the famous New York Sour

My official tribute to red wine bold enough to appear in mixed drinks. The “New York Sour” – rye, sours, an egg white, red wine topper, glacial hunk of ice – my staple at Little Branch in the West Village. Too many moments shared with these goggles on to list, but Benji B, making a […]

Franciscan 2003 Cab

Waiting. waiting. still waiting to love this wine. At least I loved the company in Pittsburgh where i had this bottle at a BYOB Thai place. Raised our glasses to Jamey’s safe return, and sisters. i Love ya April.

2001 Glen Carlou Shiraz

The most delicious glass i was almost too drunk to enjoy. Had one glass of this South African red, tucked myself in, and dreamt of playing ping pong with Steve Martin in heaven. Finished the bottle a couple of days later, but it was a one time effect. Still in a word: dreamy.

Clay Station 2002 Malbec

My first entry and I’ve chosen to make it retroactive which is to say I had this wine last year, I think? winter 2006? Was it 2005 even?? with good friends Hellie (short for Helenor!) and her now husband Drew. I’ve never had a better $11 bottle and this was my first Malbec, the beginning […]