wine education
Thoughts on Vintage Reports
You always hear a lot about vintage variation and it’s importance on the wine produced during said vintage. There are a variety of vintage charts out there that will tell you which vintage from a particular region was great or horrible, but those are sometimes fallible. Don’t get me wrong vintage charts are a great [...]
Trained wine tasters think more about their sips
After reading the story in the Wall Street Journal about “Why wine ratings are badly flawed?” it got me thinking. Not about wine ratings because that part of the article I agree with, wine ratings are subjective, and can generally be inconsistent across various types of “raters”. I’ve always thought it weird that one wine [...]
Test your wine knowledge and wish me luck!
Next Thursday I take my Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) exam up in Washington DC. Needless to say I am nervous, I have never been a good test taker, but I’m hoping since I LOVE the subject, it will help my test taking skills. I know I have said it before, but the more I [...]
Ah So What the Heck is That?
The picture to the left is a picture of a non traditional wine opener, yes a wine opener. The term Ah So, is a translation from the German saying “Ach So” loosely meaning “Ah, I see”. Aptly named, because from looking at this object you would not think that it would be capable of pulling [...]
New Years Eve Sip and Growers Champagne
Growers Champagnes (aka Farmer Fizz) are finally becoming, dare I say more popular and available, and this year Megan and I purchased one to enjoy on our quiet New Years Eve. With that said, what exactly are growers Champagnes? Growers Champagnes are Champagnes that are made by the grower themselves, pretty self explanatory huh. Are [...]
The Wine Book Club
In the spirit of Wine Blogging Wednesday (WBW), Dr. Debs of Good Wine Under $20 (along with several other well known wine bloggers) has started a new adventure with The Wine Book Club and asked both bloggers and non bloggers to join in. Every other month, a blogger from wine blogosphere will be asked to [...]
Education Series – What exactly is an AVA?
If you read wine publications, blogs, and newspaper columns or have ever looked closely at some bottle labels you may have come across the acronym, AVA. AVA stands for American Viticulture Area and is a designation given to certain wine growing regions by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). AVAs can be [...]
Wine Bottle Sizes – Who knew there were so many?
I just thought I would shoot a little fun wine fact out at everyone today. Below I have listed all of the actual allowable bottle sizes for wine. Can you believe there are so many? I think I knew up to Methuselah, but that was as high as I thought the list went, and [...]
Education Series – Gather ‘round the Oak Barrel – Part 2
In part 2 of this oak barrel trilogy I will be discussing the cooperage process, which is the process of making the barrels themselves.You may recall from part 1 that this whole process starts in the forest. Coopers (those individuals who make barrels) have historically utilized wood from the region that they are familiar with, [...]
Education Series – Gather ’round the Oak Barrel – Part 1
This Education Series is going consist of 3 parts. Today we will focus on the types of oak that are used in barrel making, where they come from, and what makes them different. Next Tuesday, in part 2 we will talk about cooperage, the process by which oak barrels are made. Then the following Tuesday, [...]
Education Series – What are Tannins?
A while ago I said I was going to start a wine education series. As you may have noticed, I didn’t get very far with that idea– I think I did only one entry on malolactic fermentation. So I am recommitting myself to this effort through Education Tuesdays. Every Tuesday I will post on a [...]
The Evil Cellar Palate!!
I think the first time I read about cellar palate was on the website of Jim Law’s Linden Vineyards here in Virginia. He emphasizes that he and his staff taste wine from around the world on a regular basis to keep their palate honed and to ward off the evil cellar palate.A recent article by [...]
Wine Closure Systems and the Environment
VS. “Cork vs. Screw cap: A fight over the environment” is the title of a recent article in the Seattle Times. The title being what it is, I thought it would be a push towards screw cap usage to better the environment – I was surprised to read that I was wrong. Apparently, cork farming [...]
Wine Education Series Today’s topic: Deciphering German wines (in particular Riesling which is the majority of wines produced in Germany) German wines in general can be broken down into 2 categories QbA (Qualitatswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete) – basic everyday, inexpensive, quaffing wines. Qmp ( Qualitatswein mit Pradikat) – quality German wine with specific traits and the [...]
Wine News
- Novato's 29th Annual Art, Wine & Music Festival - San Francisco Chronicle
- Digital Holding Company of Grupo RBS Acquires Share in Wine.com.br - MarketWatch (press release)
- How to pair wine - Chicago Tribune
- When Is a Wine Not a Wine? When European Regulations Say It's Not - New York Times
- Great Taste, Affordability And Portability Make CalNaturale(TM) Wine The ... - MarketWatch (press release)
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