© 2024 WYPR
WYPR 88.1 FM Baltimore WYPF 88.1 FM Frederick WYPO 106.9 FM Ocean City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

NZ not SB

Ralf Smallkaa/flickr

Al and Hugh offer some wine picks that show that New Zealand can do more than just sauvignon blancs. Click the links to purchase Al and Hugh's recommendations at Kenilworth Wine & Spirits.

The Wines

Price key:  $=less than $20  $$= $20-40   $$$=$40-60  $$$$=above $60

Quality key:  * = decent wine   ** = very good wine   *** = superb wine   ****= elite 

Giesen Riesling, Marlborough '16 *1/2  $  VALUE

Good off-dry classic riesling, everyday white

3 Brooms Riesling, Marlborough '16***  $ SUPER VALUE

Very high quality at a dynamite price, buy lots of this

Babich Pinot Gris, Marlborough '16 ** $

Soft and supple, fleshy, mineral streak, lush peach and citrus.

Invivo "Graham Norton's Pink By Design" rosé, New Zealand**1/2  $ VALUE

Silly name, great rosé; pinot noir grapes, vibrant picnic in a bottle.

Invivo Pinot Noir, Central Otago '16**  $$

Big for pinot noir, not subtle, clean classic flavors.

Al Spoler, well known to WYPR listeners as the wine-loving co-host of "Cellar Notes" has had a long-standing parallel interest in cooking as well. Al has said, the moment he started getting serious about Sunday night dinners was the same moment he started getting serious about wine. Over the years, he has benefited greatly from being a member of the Cork and Fork Society of Baltimore, a gentlemen's dining club that serves black tie meals cooked by the members themselves who are some of Baltimore's most accomplished amateur cooks.
As General Partner of Clipper City Brewing Company, L.P., Hugh J. Sisson is among Baltimore's premier authorities on craft brewing and a former manager of the state's first pub brewery, Sissons, located in Federal Hill. A fifth generation Baltimorean, Hugh has been involved in all aspects of craft brewing.