Professional Wine Consultants - Milwaukee Wine - Sommeliers

Oh the red wines of Burgundy. When I was the Wine Director for a local restaurant, my favorite area to navigate with our guests on our list was the two pages devoted to Pinot Noir. Granted there are plenty of wines that have dizzyingly steep prices on those pages. Like all wine making areas of the world, certain wines and winemakers command exorbitant prices. Sometimes I get criticized for having some of these wines on the list. But I often say, (mostly to myself) “If you are going to have a French wine list, there are things that must be on it.” And those things are usually the most expensive. But there are some wonderful selections in Burgundy that are under $100.00 and some that are just a touch over that are well worth seeking out in a retail outlet.

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It is another busy day in December and I stop at a good account with a couple of wines to taste. As I fight the wind and snow, I enter the store and there is this incredible smell and the sound of laughter in the back room. The people in the back look up and say “T-bone!!” and invite me to join in the festivities.
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MORIC Neckenmarkter Blaufrankisch 2005, Mittelburgenland Austria

FROM DAVID SCHILDKNECHT FOR ROBERT PARKER’S WINE ADVOCATE: The 2005 Blaufrankisch Neckenmarkter delivers aromas of blackberry, smoked meat, and walnut, making for a pleasantly bitter, rather Cabernet Franc-like cast. Juicy, faintly bitter and salty, with subtle tart black fruit and walnut oil on the palate, this clings with a tart, bitter-sweet cast and striking salinity. There will be plenty of rewards for anyone who takes this wine through its paces at the dinner table. And it may gain over a couple of years in bottle, but will, I suspect, be best drunk within 3-4 years.

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A huge pet peeve of mine is going to a restaurant and never being offered some kind of sparkling wine as an aperitif or with appetizers. It is just about the easiest way for a waiter of waitress to add a couple of drinks to a bill. I can’t believe how rare this is, even casual places can step it up and bring their bubble game to the table. Why not?

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Since August of 2004, I have had a bug. That is when I took the introductory course for the Court of Master Sommeliers and passed it. And I passed it only missing two of the 80ish questions. OMG did I know about wine or what! I thought I knew it all. I only missed two questions!!!

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