Joseph Roberts

I've spent a decade+ in the wine business, but before getting into it as a full-time gig I was an avid wine lover who went waaaaaay down the rabbit hole of wine geekiness. After having read just about every book imaginable having to do with wine (and writing a few myself), I've found these books to be insanely helpful to the budding wine lover.

Over the years, i have reviewed samples of just about every wine gadget that you can imagine. Most of them simply aren't worth the money. This list is all about the wine gadgets that you will actually use, and most of them are still in regular rotation in my household.

Italy's Mt. Etna, on the island of Sicily, is one of Europe's largest active volcanoes. It's also one of the most celebrated places in Europe for fine wine, as the grapes grown on the region's volcanic soils translates to wines with distinct minerality and extraordinary freshness. I have toured the area many times, and here are some of my very favorite wines from the region.

Asolo Prosecco Superiore from Italy is quietly making a splash on the international market: From 2014 to 2021, bottle production grew over 600 percent! Asolo sits north of Padova, and southwest of Conegliano Valdobbiane, in the Province of Treviso. It’s the 4th largest Italian wine sparkling appellation, and while it produces 24 million bottles per year, only two producers churn out more than 1 million bottles each—most are much smaller. Asolo sparkling wines offer a nice alternative to Valdobbiadene Prosecco, often for a bit less cash outlay. Here are some Asolo highlights to try if you're thirsting for your next bottle of bubbly.

These Napa Valley wineries might not get as steady an amount of foot traffic as many of their neighbors, but they not only have beautiful properties worth visiting; they also have excellent wines worth tasting. If you're hitting the adult wine Disneyland that is Napa Valley wine country, put some of these off-the-beaten path producers on your list to visit.

California is best known for Napa Valley and Sonoma County. But California's wine scene is much, MUCH larger than just those premium wine regions. In fact, all on its own, California is among the top five wine producing locations worldwide. Here are some underrated California wine regions to visit if you're a wine lover in search of something new.

Fortunately for wine lovers, there are a plethora of great wines to be had at reasonable prices right now. This list is NOT about those wines. This list is about some of the highest-quality wines on the entire planet. If you get to taste one of these before your time on this world is over, you can justifiably say that you have sampled some of the world's very, very best!

As the Fall approaches and the weather gets cooler, the foods get heartier and the baking spices start to creep back into the recipes. This is high time for “spicier” white wines, in my opinion. Here are a few Autumn sipping recommendations for you white wine lovers out there.

Wine brands LOVE to show off their medal-winning wines, but how can you know if a wine competition actually has the goods to make a determination of what wines are great (and which ones aren't)? I've judged a ton of wine competitions, and here are some that I think are among the very best worldwide!

Although I've traveled all over the world for my wine media business, I still call the Philly area home. Here are some of my favorite spots for sipping and discovering wines close to my home base.

I have had the good fortune to visit Australia's Victoria wine region, and it's one of the world's most exciting places for quality wine right now. Victoria is in the far south-east of the country, between South Australia and New South Wales, and boasts more wine sub-regions (22) than any other portion of the country, taking advantage of the area’s geographic and climatic diversity. Here are some great wines to try from Victoria.

I've been fortunate enough to have toured the wine producing regions of Colorado, and judged at the state's annual Colorado Governor's Cup Wine Competition. So, I probably have a deeper appreciation for Colorado wines than the average wine media person. Here are what I consider some of the best wineries in the state, who are producing some excellent vino.

New Mexico is probably not the first place that you're thinking of when it comes to fine wine. But I've toured their wine scene, and I can tell you that some very exciting wine stuff is quietly happening there. In fact, New Mexico has a long wine tradition stemming back before the Prohibition era, and its combination of inexpensive land and ample sunshine make it a great place to plant vineyards. Here are some of the best wineries to visit and wines to try if you find yourself in New Mexico wine country.

Portugal's two main styles of fortified wine—Port and Madeira—are legendary for their aging potential. For Port, many of these can age for several decades in the bottle. In the case of Madeira, most of them can literally live forever, in that they never degrade to any appreciable extent even after the bottle is opened. Here are some of the most legendary Port and Madeira Wines that I have tasted. All of them are rare and expensive, but all show the true potential of Portugal's greatest dessert wine styles!

I will freely admit that most wine-related movies are terrible. There have been, however, a handful of wine-related films that have stood the test of time and worth taking the time to watch (preferably with a glass of something good in hand).

This might just be the best time in history to be a wine and cheese lover. Well-priced, high-quality examples of both wine and cheese abound, and almost anyone can put together a gourmet wine and cheese pairing on a low budget that would have been impossible only a couple of decades ago. Here are some great, inexpensive wine options to pair up with your favorite cheeses.

I’ve got a longer history with Portugal’s Alentejo wine region than most wine writers (and I might be the only person to ever wave the Steeler's mighty Terrible Towel from Esporao’s iconic ancient tower in the heart of the region!). Alentejo means “Behind the Tagus (river),” and it’s located in southern Portugal, covering 30% of the country’s land mass (about the size of Massachusetts or Belgium), but only containing 1/10th of its population. It’s got over 4,000 years of winemaking history across its 8 sub-regions, for those more Euro-centric among you). About 80% of its wine production is red and the area sports about 250 producers. Here are some of its most iconic wines to try.

As a part-time gigging musician, I can't always afford the top-of-the-line gear. But I still want my stuff to sound good! Here are the electric guitar brands that I have found to deliver way above their price points for those of us performing live “in the trenches.”

I play music part-time, and have for decades. I've used all kinds of gear chasing after better bass and guitar tones, from low-end junk to high-end wallet-busters. What I have learned is that there are a lot of inexpensive options that can refine your sound without busting up your bank account, and I'm sharing a bunch of those with you here (most of which I am still using!).

I've been playing bass guitar for almost four decades. Here are some of my favorite bass guitar model lines, from budget/entry level all the way up to wallet-busting works of art.