I know that I complain too much about wine critics. Some would say that I’ve already lost the war; that the critics and the ‘point’ system are here to stay and anyway, why does it matter? The contention is that ‘scores’ are nothing more than shorthand to allow the consumer to understand quickly the opinion[…]
Back in the late 90s’, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher, who wrote a wine column for the Wall Street Journal called ‘Tastings’, invented the “Open That Bottle Night”, encouraging their readers to open a symbolically significant bottle any night of the week, for any reason. The idea was that, generally, a ‘special’ bottle should[…]
Resolved: All wine is good. Now, that doesn’t mean that you must like them all. If fact, you don’t have to like any. Or many. You’re well within your rights to prefer whites over reds (as true connoisseurs do) and to prefer young, sweet, fruity wines that don’t age well (like Napa Cabs) to more[…]
Wine’s a funny thing…it means completely different things to different people, depending upon a myriad of factors. And I’m not merely talking about taste, which is completely subjective, despite an entirely fictitious ‘point system’. Before the consumer gets around to tasting a wine, they grapple with their perception of wine, which is often shaded by[…]
The worst wine review that I’ve ever read described the wine as ‘incredibly limpid’. Limpid [lim-pid] adjective clear, transparent, or pellucid, as water, crystal, or air: We could see to the very bottom of the limpid pond. free from obscurity; lucid; clear: a limpid style; limpid prose. completely calm; without distress or worry: a limpid,[…]
A Brief History of Whiskey (with recipe) Making whiskey is not all that complicated, however it’s development was centuries behind beer and wine. No doubt about it whiskey was late to the party. Humans figured out the process of distillation around the 10th century, but it wasn’t until the 13th century that wine was distilled[…]
It seems that in the modern hierarchy of wines, the three most damaging characteristics that can be assigned to a wine are: thin, sweet and white. Frankly, this is patently ridiculous, especially since many (if not most) of the ‘prized’ wines (red and thick) are also sweet (how do you think that they got thick?).[…]
Sometimes, people hunting for the exact, precise, without-a-doubt right wine to pair with a dish are really annoying. Because sometimes the ‘right’ wine is a beer. Regardless of what the ‘experts’ might think. (One thing to always remember about experts…they are usually not. Expert, that is.) The absolutely correct wine to serve with steamed Maryland[…]
It’s supposed to be spring, but it won’t stop raining. Depressing, I know. These wines will help… Mont Marcal Cava Rosado Brut, NV…$17.99 It’s spring in a glass…bright, fresh, berry scented, and exuberant. 2016 Domaine A Deux Sauvignon, Touraine…$14.99 Fresh citrus (lime & orange) flavors, crisp and dry, it’s refreshing and lip-smacking 2016 Terenzi Morellino[…]
I, of course, am in the wine business, so my perspective on wine is different from that of most consumers. That doesn’t make me better or smarter but it is a fact that I likely have more, and more accurate information, about wine than most (if not all) consumers. Not only do I do this[…]