I recently had the pleasure of hosting Jim and Rae Lee Lester along with a group of DC area oenophiles for dinner and wine tasting at OYA Restaurant.

And whom might Jim Lester be, you ask? He’s the brainchild behind Wyncroft Winery, a boutique operation located in Southwestern Michigan.

MICHIGAN MAKES WINE? Heck yes they make wine up there and some pretty amazing bottlings I might add…stuff that makes your head spin and wonder whether you have a fine California Chard or an elegant Burgundian Pinot Noir in your glass.

Finally. Its been a long winter. Specifically the last month or so. The ice. The sleet. The snow. And the wind. Now that I have shed my wool coat, it seems appropriate to break out the fresh and floral whites. And lately, I’ve tasted through an overwhelming array of interesting whites to whet the palate.

Found a great little tasting shop in the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle. The Tasting Room is a co-op winery tasting room dedicated to small boutique Washington State wineries. Many of the wines featured are limited production and hard-to-find.

If you enjoy wine, chances are you enjoy visiting wineries and wine regions. Whether it be Napa, Sonoma, Bordeaux, or Rioja, nothing compares to getting up close and personal with the people and places of famed wine regions.

Don’t get me wrong; I love visiting the ‘usual suspects’. But often the over-commercialized tourism of the best known spots is a turn-off. So, lately, I’ve been going to lesser-known regions, like…Canada.

So maybe you have heard of Malbec from Argentina. Or maybe Carmenere from Chile. But have you tasted a Tannat from Uruguay? Tannat might just be the next ‘big thing’ from our friends in America del Sur (South America for those of you who no hablan espanol).