Here’s What Wine Casual Is All About
“Focus and further your wine learning the systematic and casual way. Seriously.”
Wine Casual is a resource for focusing your wine learning in a systematic and casual way. I take a decidedly casual yet systematic approach to learning about and reviewing wines.
I go deep and focus on one wine region or one grape varietal for weeks or months at a time. Fittingly, I organize my wine tastings, vacations, recreational reading, my Netflix queue, and cooking at home all around a handful of wine themes.
By coupling a desire to build wine knowledge with a supportive and immersive wine experience, I live and experience wine in 3-D. Now with Wine Casual, you can too.
If you’re seriously committed to systematically focusing and furthering your wine knowledge through a casual approach, start now, and sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of this page.
What Regions Wine Casual Is Focusing on Right Now
Mendoza, Argentina
Wine Casual is currently focusing primarily on two wine regions:
- Loire, France
- Beaujolais, France
Secondary region(s) of focus (and still tasting wines from these areas):
- Jerez de Frontera, Spain
- Western Cape, South Africa
- Alsace, France
In addition, I am also keenly passionate about worldwide expressions of Cabernet Franc.
During the upcoming months I’ll be doing intensive, in-depth exploration including reviews of Beaujolais, Sherry-based wines in Spain, Cabernet Franc (especially Chinon and New World versions) and Chenin-Blanc-based wines in the Loire and South Africa, and Rhone Varietals, and Cabernet Franc-based wines in Lodi.
Past Visits
New York Finger Lakes
- Mendoza, Argentina: February 2015, January 2016 (2 visits)
- New York Finger Lakes: August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, August 2018 (4 visits)
- Rheinhessen, Germany: December 2015, October 2016, December 2016, December 2017, December 2018, December 2019, September 2020 (7 visits)
- Casablanca Valley, Chile: February 2015, January 2016 (2 visits)
- Lodi, California: April 2016, August 2016 (2 visits)
- Amador County California: April 2016, August 2016 (2 visits)
- Alsace, Colmar & Strasbourg, France: September 2016 (1 visit)
- Portland, Oregon: October 2014, August 2016, August 2021 (3 visits)
- Sonoma, California: November 2017 (1 visit)
- Livermore, California: November 2017 (1 visit)
- Stellenbosch, South Africa: January 2018, January 2023, January 2024 (3 visits)
- Franschhoek, South Africa: January 2018, January 2023, January 2024 (3 visits)
- Walla Walla, Washington: October 2018 (1 visit)
- Douro Valley, Portugal: January 2019, October 2024 (2 visits)
- Lisbon, Portugal: January 2019, October 2024 (2 visits)
- London, United Kingdom: January 2019 (1 visit)
- Various Areas, Virginia, August 2019 (1 visit)
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania: September 2019 (1 visit)
- Catalonia, Spain: (September 2019) (1 visit)
- Hunter Valley, Australia: October 2019 (1 visit)
- Mudgee Region, Australia: October 2019 (1 visit)
- Queensland, Australia (Granite Belt): October 2019 (1 visit)
- Outer Coastal Plain & Cape May Peninsula, New Jersey: October 2019 (1 visit)
- Willamette Valley: October 2014, August 2016, August 2021 (3 visits)
- Eugene, Oregon: August 2021 (1 visit)
- Southern Oregon: August 2021 (1 visit)
- Sevilla, Spain: December 2014, September 2019, September 2021, November 2021, September 2022, November 2022, September 2023, October 2023, September 2024 (9 visits)
- Jerez de la Frontera: September 2021, November 2021, September 2022, November 2022, September 2023, October 2023, September 2024 (7 visits)
- Lombardy, Italy: September 2022 (1 visit)
- Lugana, Italy: September 2022 (1 visit)
- Valtellina, Italy: October 2022 (1 visit)
- Loire, France: July 2023, February 2024, May 2024 (3 visits)
- Beaujolais, France: July 2023, January 2024, March 2024 (3 visits)
- Languedoc-Roussillon: June 2024 (1 visit)
Upcoming Visits:
- Sevilla, Spain: September 2025
- Jerez de la Frontera, Spain: September 2025
Future Wine Regions of Focus (2025-2026)
- TBD. Suggestions?
Photo Credit: Wine Casual, Reggie Solomon, DipWSET, CSW, CSWS, Wine Casual
About Reggie Solomon
Hi. I’m Reggie, and Wine Casual is my shingle on the internets to focus my learning about wine in a systematic and casual way.
I’ve been hacking wine since 1998. I travel to different wine regions, consume multiple-forms of wine content, and regularly explore new wines at home and with family and friends.
The late British wine expert, Steven Spurrier, who organized the Judgement of Paris in 1976 winetasting, awarded Reggie Solomon a DipWSET diploma in Guild Hall in London in January 2019.
My goal for Wine Casual is to reflect on my own learning, help you further your wine learning, and benefit from your experiences and the experiences of others.
Reggie Solomon is a passionate wine enthusiast who loves acidity and wishes he didn’t have such a regrettably and categorically-expensive wine hobby.
Reggie is a Writer at Large for Wine Enthusiast Magazine where he is on the tasting panel and reviews wines from France (Beaujolais, Loire Valley), Southern Coastal Spain (Andalucía, Murcia, Valencia), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Israel, Macedonia, Montenegro & Asia.
In his free time he writes at Wine Casual where he takes a decidedly casual, yet systematic approach to learning about and reviewing wines.
Reggie holds a Diploma in Wine & Spirits (DipWSET) from the UK-based Wine & Spirits Educational Trust (WSET) headquartered in London which he completed at the International Wine Center in New York City.
He is a member of the U.S.-based Society of Wine Educators, holding their Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) qualification.
Reggie has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Wine Educators, and on the Advisory Board of the Wine Media Conference.
He is the Club Sommelier for the Elizabethan Club of Yale University of which he is a member.
Reggie is a Certified Sherry Wine Specialist (CSWS) as certified by the House of Lustau and approved by the Regulatory Council of Jerez-Xeres-Sherry Denomination of Origin.
He holds a BA from Yale University and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Reggie lives in Norwalk, Connecticut.
He is co-author of the book I Garden: Urban Style.
He also loves tomatoes, mosaics, Nutella, Palo Cortado Sherry and primary colors (though not necessarily in that exact order).
The International Wine Center (IWC) in New York announces 23rd graduating class of DipWSET diploma holders. Ian Harris, WSET Chief Executive, and Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW, President of IWC, recognize DipWSET graduates including Reggie Solomon.
