Wine Wish List 2023

Posted on January 3, 2024 by James Melendez

Each year, I start out my wine tasting table with nearly a blank slate and I always put my wine wishlist out there.  I have found over time that states like California, Oregon and Washington land on my tasting table reliably; all other wine states rarely ever make their way to my tasting table.

But I’ll just keep asking non-West Coast producers for wines to sample.

Interestingly, import wines from Spain and Australia are rare–though Spain, a very large wine producer, just doesn’t sample their wines or perhaps I am not on those lists.  I have written often about Australia as a missing wine nation-state from the US Market.   Even Wine Australia doesn’t seem that interested in the US market and I haven’t been to trade tasting in half a decade. A generation-to-generation-and-half ago I was drinking many more Australian wines more regularly.  I do think Australia is missing a great opportunity by not engaging with US market.

I put this list out there of wine regions because I think it is important to register the wines that I hope to sample this year.  The only variety that I hope I don’t get are samples of Petite Sirah–not a variety that I want to review–and somehow just somehow they make their way to me.  And I also would not want to get sample wines that are packaged in heavy earth-unfriendly bottles–I wrote last year (Heavy Bottles Have Not Left the Building; They Are Still with Us) that the heavy bottle format is quite plentiful out there.

There is a wide world out there to be tasted–and I continue with my open mind in this wine quest!

Here is my list:

Oregon

  • Willamette Valley – All sub-AVAs 
  • The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater

Washington

  • Columbia Gorge
  • Columbia Valley
  • Horse Heaven Hills
  • Lake Chelan
  • Red Mountain
  • Snipes Mountain
  • Red Mountain
  • Wahluke Slope
  • Walla Walla Valley
  • Yakima Valley

Colorado

  • Grand Valley – I have tried getting samples but have not been successful in getting a sample.  

California

  • Santa Cruz Mountains
  • Mendocino County – All sub AVAs
  • Napa Valley – All sub AVAs
  • Sonoma – All sub AVAs
  • Paso Robles – All sub AVAs
  • Santa Barbara – All sub AVAs
  • Ramona Valley – I have never tasted a wine from this AVA
  • Sierra Foothills – All sub AVAs
  • Central Coast – All sub AVAs
  • Malibu Coast – I have never tasted a wine from this AVA
  • Marin County
  • Livermore Valley

Texas

  • All wine AVAs 

New York

  • All AVAs

Michigan

  • All AVAs

Virginia

  • All AVAs

Africa

  • South Africa – I want to taste consistently from South Africa
  • Morocco

Middle East

  • Lebanon
  • Turkey

Europe

I want to taste from all European wine nation states.  I am very interested in tasting wines from places I have not tasted before like Belgium, Luxembourg, Andorra and San Marino

I, of course, always want to be tasting wines from (and all appellations):

  • Armenia
  • Austria – Last year I tasted fewer than a dozen.
  • Bosnia & Herzegovina
  • Bulgaria
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech
  • France  – All wine regions are always welcome
  • Georgia
  • Germany – I hope to taste many, many more German wines this year
  • Greece – last year was rare in that I tasted a couple of dozen Greek wines.
  • Hungary
  • Italy – All wine regions are always welcome.  I hope to taste all of the Conegliano-Valdobbiadene Rive Prosecco DOCG wines (I have tasted from 10 different Rive) – I am not sure all the Rive wine are available in the US so perhaps a visit to the region would help me to taste these wines.  Here is what I am seeking:
    • Rive di San Vito
      • Rive di Bigolino
      • Rive di San Giovanni
      • Rive di Vidor
      • Rive di Colbertaldo
      • Rive di Miane
        • Rive di Combai
      • Rive di Campea
      • Rive di Premaor
      • Rive di Follina
      • Rive di Farro’
      • Rive di Cison di Valmarino
      • Rive di Rolle
      • Rive di Solighetto
      • Rive di San Pietro di Feletto
      • Rive di Rua di Feletto
      • Rive di San Michele di Feletto
      • Rive di Bagnolo
      • Rive di Tarzo
      • Rive di Resera
      • Rive di Arfanta
      • Rive di Corbanese
      • Rive di Susegana
      • Rive di Colfosco
      • Rive di Collalto
      • Rive di Formeniga
      • Rive di Cozzuolo
      • Rive di Collalbrigo – Costa
      • Rive di San Vendemiano
      • Rive di Colle Umberto
  • Luxembourg
  • Macedonia
  • Montenegro
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Serbia
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain – While a big producer; very few samples to taste especially last year
  • Switzerland – tasted a couple of Swiss wines in my life; would love to taste more
  • UK – Rarely ever get to taste English sparkling wine;

Australia

  • All appellations – every year such a laggard; I taste so few wines from Australia–it seems Australian producers are not terribly interested in the US

New Zealand

  • All appellations

Contact me (james@jamesthewineguy.com) if you are an importer/distributor, PR or wine consortium or association if you have access to wines from the above wine producing areas.

Thank you and Happy New Year, Capodanno, Bonne Année,

James

© 2024 James Melendez / JamesTheWineGuy— All Rights Reserved – for my original content, drawings, art work, graphics, photographs, logo, brand name, rating, wine taxonomy, and all designs of JamesTheWineGuy.  JamesTheWineGuy is also on Facebook, Twitter and most major social medias.

About James Melendez

I love wine. I am passionate about the subject as well as art, music, lyric writing and poetry, history, sciences, organization management, and making things less complex I have been a former national wine marketing manager for a large off-premise food and wine retailer (280+ retail locations in 30 US States); the love for wine taught me the good practice of using the best methodologies to right side a business which unto itself is complex. Further complexity is wine. Wine simple to enjoy and yet profoundly complex because of many factors: Many grape varieties States of wine: sparkling, still and fortified wines Vintage Blends Regions/AVAs/DOCs etc. Many producer styles Many producers Limited supply Limited and often restricted distribution My experience is still a lot of intimidation with respect to wine. Wine means many things to many people; status, fear, success, ‘you’ve arrived’, enjoyment, good times, tradition and even ceremony. I have consulted with wine producers and association. I have spoken on Wine and Social Media, Wine and Video and The Business of Wine in conferences in the United States and Europe. Beer and spirits do have the same dynamics–there are many producers but compared to wine there is no other consumer product like it. I have been writing about since November 2006 on my site and I have over 3,000 wine videos on my YouTube channel talking about general wine subject matter as well as specific educational topics on wine and reviews. I have been a wine judge and have traveled to many wine countries in the new and old world. Wine has taken me to great places. Life is tough for most of us and it is nice to celebrate life with those near and even far. What wine is really about is sitting around a table with family and friends raising your wine glass and saying—to life! I love to write about travel, food, technology and business–please subscribe! Santé, *** A plethora of wine reviews from wines regions around the world. Read more of my wine reviews:jamesthewineguy.wordpress.com © 2022, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2010 James P. Melendez – All Rights Reserved.
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1 Response to Wine Wish List 2023

  1. claudiomarvin says:
    January 4, 2024 at 2:09 PM

    That’s an ambitious list James, happy hunting and I hope all of them find their way to your table.

    Clyde

    Reply

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