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About Me

Hi, I'm Jim. I'm not a wine professional or critic. But I am a geek who loves wine. For me, half the fun of wine is learning about the grapes, the vineyards, the winemaking, the history behind the bottle. I'm drawn to old vines, indigenous grapes, single vineyard bottlings, field blends and anything else that makes a wine distinctive. On this blog I share my thoughts and tasting notes on the wines I drink and what I learn about them along the way.

Contact Me

If you want to connect with me beyond leaving comments, email me at jim [at] vinegeek [dot] com

Vale do Bomfim 2006 Douro

As sales of Port have been trending downward, many Port houses are using a portion of their grapes to produce red table wines. I like Port, but I drink it maybe a couple times a year and almost always at a restaurant by the glass. So I love this trend. I love that they [...]

Vina Robles RED4 2007 Paso Robles

This wine had a lot of “shelf appeal” for me. First off it’s from Paso Robles and it’s got the vineyard named on the label. Yippee! Then I see that it’s a blend of Petite Sirah, Syrah, Tannat and Touriga Nacional. Geek-tastic!
Producer: Vina Robles
Grapes: 51% Petite Sirah, 43% Syrah, 4% Tannat, 2% Touriga Nacional
Appellation: Paso [...]

Quinta do Valdoeiro 2005 Bairrada

Portuguese red table wines are a fast-growing category.  I’m drawn to them because of all the indigenous grape varieties that you don’t find elsewhere, like this bottle which is a blend of Baga (the most widely planted red grape in Bairrada) and Touriga Nacional.  Both are small-berried varieties that produce high tannin levels.
Note: the specifications below are from [...]