Do you remember way back when I wrote about my newfound appreciation for hot sake, otherwise known as atsukan? In that post from oh-so-long ago, I said that I wouldn’t be discussing any particular sakes from my trip to Japan. And in that post, true to my word, I didn’t. Flash forward to today. A lot has changed. I’ve seen the seconds turn into minutes, the minutes into hours. I’m a week older now – a week ...

As you may or may not be aware, depending on how closely you’ve been keeping tabs on my activity, I recently returned from a two week jaunt to the exotic and disorienting land of Japan. To say that I traveled to the other side of the planet strictly for the sake of sake would be hyperbolic, but not too hyperbolic – I drank a lot of sake there, most of it wonderful (though not all). I drank ...

Hey there! After yet another inexplicably protracted absence, I’m back! And today I’ve got three wines to review: wines that hail from my favorite shoe-shaped wine-producing country of all time, Italy. You may remember Italy from World War II, The Jersey Shore Season 4, or perhaps even my past reviews – Italian wine is, in fact, my favorite, and I tend to drink it pretty frequently. But this marks the first time I’ve received press samples from ...

Every once in a while, I’m reminded that I live in Pennsylvania, a state whose inexplicable alcohol laws have routinely- …routinely restricted my ability to drink what I want (not to mention when I want). It just so happens that I received another such reminder not even a week ago, when I was offered press samples of a certain brand’s wines and leaped at the opportunity, only to find my joyous ascent stymied by the fact that ...

At long last, after two and a half arduous months, Captain Planet Month has come full circle, wending its wonderful way from start to Heart. It’s been an elementally illuminating journey to be sure, highlighting the oenological poignancy not only of Earth (already well established as a tasting note in wine), but Fire, Wind and Water as well, irrespective of whether any such poignancy actually exists for those other three. But while the four classical elements may ...

It appears that Captain Planet Month has, as sort of originally anticipated, taken longer than a month to unfold. I can think of a few reasons for this – chief among them being my sporadic update schedule as of late. Now sure, I could say I’ve been on some sort of odyssean Odyssey all this time, cursed to rove the seas for week after futile week as penance for offending the mighty god Poseidon; but that would ...

A certain grape exists in northern Spain, Deserving of a greater reputation, Whose wines you should endeavor to obtain Provided you’re a fan of exploration. Mencia is a grape I’ve met before, To which I’ve humbly tried to draw attention, Yet seldom can I find it in a store: A fact that violates my comprehension. When last I spoke of this exquisite grape, The bottle I reviewed had been Galician: A lovely, floral, elegant escape - My ...

In the interest of full disclosure, I’m going to get right to the point: it wasn’t easy finding a Wind wine for Captain Planet Month. This feat in fact proved so difficult that I began writing my review well in advance of my having actually located a thematically appropriate bottle. Why? Well, it didn’t have anything to do with the Wind Planeteer, Linka, whose origins in the Soviet Union have naturally shrouded her life in secrecy; nor ...

Do you remember way back when, many millions of milliseconds ago, when I reviewed my first ever Texas wine? A rather prickly Tempranillo, it wasn’t all that great, and I’m realizing my writeup may have left my readers – just as the wine left me – with an overall negative impression of the state’s enological efforts. As it turns out, however, when I acquired my Fire wine for Captain Planet Month, another bottle of #TXwine (as it’s ...

Last week I kicked off Captain Planet Month here on Convicted for Grape, and the response has been, in a word, nominal. But that’s to be expected of a post about Earth, which is after all a rather dispassionate, static, stoic, boring element. Never fear! This week I have a surprise for you, and no, it isn’t Fire – I said I’d be covering Fire last week, so if you’re surprised by that news, you either don’t ...