Toni Johnson's Page

Every day, it seems that Brew City folks pop more and more corks. And Milwaukee's growing passion for wine owes a lot to some passionate folks who work hard to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for the grape and its bounty.

Two of those people are Toni Johnson, a former sommelier at Lake Park Bistro, and Nate Norfolk, who cut his teeth in the business working in retail at Downer Wine and Spirits.

They now work as salespeople for Purple Feet Wines in the Milwaukee area and together they are… Continue

2005 Rocca di Frassinello Poggio alla Guardia Maremma Toscana IGT

A collaboration between Baron Lafite Rothschild and Castellare di Castellinathis, this is the entry level wine of this estate of Rocca di Frassinello. On the nose it has ripe plum anise pepper and Granite. 45 Merlot, 40 Cab and 15 Sangioveto and ages in steel and concrete. Great structure and length. Great value compared to the higher end wines from this estate. Great texture on the palate mochaey and black berries not red berrie… Continue

Every Friday…almost……I participate in a ritual where I and some of my contemporaries gather at a co-conspirator’s wine store on Milwaukee’s chic east side on the even chicier Brady Street called Waterford Wine. http://www.waterfordwine.com/

There the usual suspects arrive with one or more bottles to open and taste, and comment about (and hopefully sell) and compare. Eventually the room is full and more bottles are being grabbed from the shelves with cries of “Let’s open this one! I’ll buy it!!!… Continue

In looking through some of the portfolios that I now read on a regular basis, I have rediscovered a Spanish wine dynasty. I remember selling these wines years ago when I was in retail and finding them again has been a pleasure.

In 1972 Alejandro Fernandez licensed their bodega in the town of Pesquera in Ribera del Duero, and after years of growing grapes and making wine for his own consumption, he and his wife Esperanza realized their dream. The estate now has over 500 acres of mature vineyard,… Continue

Cencibel, Ulle de Llebre, Aragonez, Valepenas, Tinto de Toro, Tinto Pais and Tinto Roriz. What do all of these things have in common? Well they are all names for the same grape and with the exception of three of them, these are names for the same grape in the same country. And by no means are these the only names for this grape. I have in my notes about thirty synonyms for this wonderful grape of Spain most commonly called Tempranillo.

There is this geeky thing on the web called the Geilweilerh… Continue