Recent chatter around grower produced and single vineyard Champagne is teasing intellectually vinous curiosities. I “think” most winemakers and growers in any wine region usher fruit from vine to barrel to bottle with the idea of producing pleasure inducing liquid. On a global basis, wine makers rely on vineyard or broader appellation specificity for reasons that […]
Wine Style Experiment Offers Palate Redemption
Raging self doubt and curiosity fuels an unremitting panoply of cross examinations intended to dig up the root cause of my shifting preference in wine style. Have I fallen victim to trend and popular fashion? Is my palate simply evolving? Or, have I discovered regions and varietals I once dismissed without fair chance? Did I subconsciously succumb to a new breed […]
Authentic Wines Advance Palate and Stir Soulful Wine Appreciation
I repeatedly ponder two questions about wine appreciation. First, I query myself about my evolving preferences, wondering if my shift to more authentic old world wine is palate driven or trend inflicted. Secondly, I ask myself how so many practical people get so wrapped in wine minutia, devoting large chunks of their waking time studying, tasting, […]
Wine-Searcher.com Turns Joys of Wine Shopping into Risky Anonymity
If wine-searcher.com has its way, their claim and grip on wine market transparency will replace the joyful pleasures of physical wine browsing and shopping. Wine enthusiasts will be relegated to replaying memories of crouching dusty floors and scavenging Sam’s (Chicago wino history) original North Avenue location’s end bins for discoveries and deals. No longer will […]
Connecting Intellectual and Palate Learning: Tasting Two Sakes and California Cabernet
An insatiable hunger for discovery and wine education is rewarded every time I taste wines in peer groups. Without the chance to examine lots of wines every day over an extended period, even frequent tastings of one wine per sitting lays down hurdles to thorough assessment most easily cleared via contextual, side-by-side tastings. The most […]
Sake Mastery, Prosecco Fun, and Independence Day
Saké and Prosecco occupy my brain’s vinous lobe on this independence day, shoving aside thoughts of domestic barbecue reds, rosés, and celebratory sparklers as swiftly and completely as South Africa’s American-less pitches vacated our nation’s collective mindset. Last year at this time, I added a caveat to Alder Yarrow’s thoughts of wine independence with a serious look […]
Uncovering Boston BYOB and Wine Berserkers
Late edit and FYI: Disappointingly, Mark Squires unfriended me on Facebook minutes after publishing this post here and sharing the link on Facebook. To Mark Squires: Sorry if you were offended by anything I have mentioned here, it was not my intention. Please refriend me on Facebook, I enjoy the information you share there. Open […]
Zalto: Wine Glasses for the Cosmic Connoisseur
Somewhere in between making wine and storing wine, service plays THE crucial supporting role in a wine’s performance. Mistakes in temperature, aeration, and glassware can foul things up as easily as contaminated or cooked cork can. Conversely, it is not secret that great glassware can pump up a tasting experience like sluggers on steroids. That […]
Bottle Age Challenge: 1985 Lynch Bages vs. 1985 Chateau Montelena
I opened two $20 wines, one from Napa Valley and one from Bordeaux’s Paulliac appellation, for a few remaining tasters hanging around after our challenging 2007 Southern Rhone tasting. Don’t let the retail values throw you; price tags are acquisition costs for the 1985 Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon and the 1985 Lynch Bages that I […]
Open Offer to Taste My (Malcolm's) 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan
I consider myself “wine fortunate”, acquiring wine and friends over the years that fuel hedonistic and intellectual wine passions. One of those friends is Malcolm. I don’t see Malcolm regularly, yet each year for the last 15 we manage to find opportunities to get really silly and drink ridiculously excellent wine together. It was great to see […]