Welcome to Rick Thompson Wine. My passion lives in the profound wines of planet earth. Given the massive scale of the vinous world, the focus of this website is far narrower. Here I cover the finest wines of Italy, Champagne, Oregon and the Iberian Peninsula. Even that narrowed-down coverage is far more than any one critic can possibly taste and review. I select producers that in my 25 years of vinous experience as a wine professional are among the best of the best, by focusing on the finest quality in a pure, artisanal sense, as well as the finest quality for the consumers’ ever-shrinking buying power. Wine can be expensive, but my mantra is that you should be able to savor great wine for under $20 per bottle.

This site is divided into four segments/areas of focus:

• Feature Articles: provides an overview of the winery including the history, current trends and reviews of a selection of their recently released wines. This is a popular segment, one that includes the preferred style of the winery and their bottlings.
• Recent Reviews: recently released wines ranging from current to some that are 10 years or older. The age of the wines featured in this segment are a function of how long a wine ages before being released. Some wineries can age wines for multiple decades prior to release, but most are shipping their wine to market in a shorter time frame. On occasion I will include an older vintage in this segment to remind folks of the merits of cellaring, especially bottles crafted for early-consumption and mid-term cellaring.
• Hot Picks: a vitally important part of my website, in this segment I focus on top values available in the market today. Wines that are authentic, hand-crafted, artisanal bottlings that display the magic of wine at an affordable price.
• From the Cellar: for those seeking information on mature, age-worthy wines that have been properly cellared, this segment illustrates why cellaring wine is so important to the overall vinous experience when considering long-aging bottlings. Many of these wines have been bought on release and stored in my cellar, others from various friend’s cellars, and occasionally I receive Library Releases from a producer.

Rick Thompson Wine is a subscription-based review site. I do not accept any advertising dollars or paid-for trips, etc., and my reviews remain 100% independent. The sole source of support for my site is through your subscriptions. Thank you for your support and engaging in the magical world of fermented grapes.

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