Look at the bottle on the table in front of you. (Or visualize it, if you’re at work). Does it have the name of a single grape on it? So, that means that its made from only one grape, unlike like other ‘blended’ wines from France. And Italy. Spain, Portugal. Right? Uh, nope. You see,[…]
I don’t want to disappoint anyone, but those that buy into the notion that Spring arrives around these parts in March is either new to the neighborhood or sadly deluded. The calendar may say Spring, but the thermometer will more often than not that say 40 degrees and the Weather Channel will say “cold and[…]
All things go out of fashion eventually; many are re-discovered by a subsequent or future generation. Cocktails are perhaps exceptional in that they were fashionable for about 80 of the past 100 years. As a soon-to-be senior and an amateur alcohol historian, I can easily recall the cocktails of the 60’s and 70’s and my[…]
I’m not going to dive down some rabbit hole and conjecture some mysterious connection between St. Valentine’s Day and Roman bacchanalian rites to support my topic. Nor am I going to attempt to wax poetically on the alleged romantic virtues of red or sparkling wine. And, let’s just get it out there…wine is no more[…]
A brief history of wine (not necessarily in correct chronological order) Once upon a time, there was wine. Wine was easy to make because grape vines grew easily (and in places where other things didn’t) and all the ingredients for making the wine were present. Basically, the ingredients were (and are) grapes. That’s it. Anyway,[…]
Here’s the thing…cheating (in wine) is not a new thing. For centuries, less scrupulous producers have blended grapes from other regions into their wines in order to make their wine seem more impressive. It used to be, that, the culprit was found out because wine drinkers were generally in agreement upon how a wine was[…]
Wine is not particularly self-evident, meaning that when you look at a wine, you really don’t know very much about it. Many people claim that they know something about a wine just by looking at it, but they are just fools or liars. Or both. To understand anything at all about a wine, one has[…]
Nebbiolo is the grape that grows in Piedmont, in Northwest Italy, and in Barolo and Barbaresco, arguably, better than any other place on earth. Nebbiolo is difficult to ripen, its finicky about rain and wind, and its susceptible to vine diseases. It also does not adapt particularly well to differing vineyard soil types, preferring soils[…]
No. Next question? Yes, Virginia, beers can be seasonal creatures. And yes, one can imbibe cold beverages in the winter, just as one can drink hot beverages in summer. (you drink coffee year round, don’t you?). Seasonal beers (like Oktoberfest) have been produced for centuries, and ‘winter warmers’ have been prevalent since the pagans celebrated[…]
So, what is the precise passage of time needed as to when one should consume a wine? Or, If it’s not so exacting, what is the range? I mean, should every wine be held for 3 years? 5 years? And when does the clock start? With the vintage date? Or the release date? And how[…]