by Bernard Kenner
Can an 85 point wine be more enjoyable than a 95 pointer? If you’ve been around the wine block a few times, you’re probably thinking, “It depends….” Lots of things besides the raw number come into play. Who did the assessments, how old was the wine, am I drinking it today, where is it from, what am I going to eat with it, or just have it by itself? Feel free to add anything else.There are so many subjective and objective factors going into a score, that without looking at an accompanying paragraph of descriptors, and knowing something about the tastes of the rater, it’s only a gross approximation if you are going to like or appreciate the wine that got a good score from someone else.Let’s take a look at the systems that are currently in use and what the numbers are trying to ...
by Jess Delbalzo
Have you seen the recent Banoosh article highlighting 8 Beers You Should Stop Drinking Immediately (http://banoosh.com/blog/2014/04/03/8-beers-stop-drinking-immediately/)? For some beer drinkers, that post was an unhappy surprise. Pointing out GMOs and unhealthy additives in popular beers, the author suggested that we avoid the worst offenders if we want to enjoy a good ale, stout, or lager. We’ll take it one step further and suggest that you make your beer-buying a local affair. Here are four compelling reasons to support your local craft brewery while avoiding commercial beer offerings. #1: Craft beers have more funDiscovering local breweries is one of the best parts of becoming a beer aficionado. Many local craft breweries feature taprooms where you can sample a variety of ales an...
by Elena Cawley
Have you ever wondered how wine glasses make a difference when you taste wine? There are three characteristics of wine glasses that can affect the taste of wine: the material of the glass, the size of the bowl and the shape of the glass.First, the material makes a difference, not only visually, but practically. Crystal is the best material you can choose for wine glasses. Crystal has a rough surface that helps agitate the wine when swirled, allowing you to better smell and enjoy the wine. Crystal increases the production of bubbles in Champagne. Also, crystal is the only material that allows for the production of very thin glasses with thin rims. Second, the size of the glass affects the taste of wine. White wines develop their full potential in glasses with a smaller bowl. White wines ar...
by Michelle Valentine
There's excitement about a fabulous Malbec wine on the market by Tango Real wines! I had the opportunity to meet with Juan Pombo, the owner of TangoReal, the U.S. operation for Goyenechea Winery andVineyards, founded in 1868 in Mendoza, Argentina. We had a lovely time talking about his wines, and I had the pleasure to sample the Malbec at Cork& Olive in Lake Mary.This is 100% Malbec grapes from the growers' own vineyards in the small village of Villa Atuel towards the Southern portion of the Province of San Rafael, just about 50 km east of the massive ridge of the Andes where the snow-capped mountains provide most of the water for the region.Ten days of initial fermentation followed by malolactic fermention in the bottle and one year of rest in the old cellars of the winery are finally rou...
by Robin Dutt, Lori Reyolds, Mercé Mueller
Tucked away in South Eastern Arizona amidst the Sky Islands of the Santa Rita, Whetstone and Huachuca Mountains lies Arizona’s one and only American Viticultural Area (AVA). An odd place for the modern Arizona Wine Industry to take root, literally and figuratively, ranching is still the predominant culture in the area, but it is slowly changing to more and more Wineries and Vineyards within such a short period of time as the last 10 years. The Sonoita AVA began as a research project by University of Arizona soil scientist, and pioneering vintner, Dr. Gordon Dutt in the 1970’s. He was looking to develop a drought resistant, high cash crop for Arizona and soon discovered that Arizona had a wine grape growing history dating back to 1690 with the Listan Preito grapes brought by Jesuit and ...
by Laura Ness
Ten Things I Learned At Pebble Beach Food & Wine, Vintage 7by Laura NessFour days of epicurean overload can do you in. You have to pace yourself. Attending the bountiful array of seminars and lunches, though, can really give you some precious and meaningful insights into what makes this food and wine business so insanely attractive. I treasure those insights more than the chance to gorge myself on every manner of interesting and unusual food tidbit, like fried oysters Rockefeller, head cheese croquettes (Moody’s, Truckee) or burnt spam on toast (Chef John Cox, Sierra Mar), although those are fun, too.Here, then, some lessons learned:1. Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm Sommelier and Director of Food and Beverage, Andy Chabot, began his presentation at The Blackberry Farm Cellar Raid seminar ...
by Michael S Baumohl
Marketing expert and wine guru Jerry Greenfield offers a riotous memoir of an ordinary couple’s seduction into the world of fine wine. Even if you have only a passing interest in the subject, Mr. Greenfield’s recollections and “secrets” will make for a delightful read."Secrets of the Wine Whisperer" is subtitled “How I Learned to Drink Wine and Found Ecstasy, Joy, Peace, Happiness, Life, and Salvation.” And indeed, the author carefully traces the journey taken by him and his wife as they educated their palates, discovered how to find those “bargain bottles,” and learned to understand how the juice in the bottle connects with the cultures and places that produce it.He also details (with some regret) their impulse to spend beyond their means as they pursue their travels to ...
by Andrew John Chalk
Zinfandel is the Apple computer of wine grapes. No grape has a following like it. These oeno-moonies flock to San Francisco each superbowl weekend to attend ZinFest, AKA ZAP (Zinfandel Advocates and Producers), a tasting of virtually every Zinfandel maker’s wines. The winemakers themselves are there pouring, connecting one-on-one with their reverential disciples. It’s a hugfest. Or it was. I attended reliably for a decade – and then I stopped. It wasn’t the fact that ZinFest had grown from 2,000 people in a section of one of the halls at Fort Mason to 10,000 spilling like a corpulent’s spare fat out of both halls onto the deck outside (to the doubtless amusement of the sea lions swimming in San Francisco bay). It wasn’t the long lines. The deciding factor was the changed charac...
by Maria Shultseva
A Chinese proverb says “cheap things are not good, good things are not cheap”. But is it true for second wines which often claim to be ‘Grand vin quality for a fraction of the price’? While it is hard to disagree that first wine (or ‘Grand vin’) from top-notch estates can be one of the greatest pleasures, their prices are definitely outside of my drinking budget and I had to look for cheaper alternatives. Just recently I got a bottle of Reserve de la Comtesse 2010, the second label of Pichon Lalande (Second Growth). This second wine from Pauillac is known for its velvety texture and feminine character due to a higher percentage (46%) of Merlot in the blend. On the palate it was rich, yet elegant and smooth, displaying cassis, black cherry, cigar box and forest floor notes. Alth...
by Bok Nan Lo
"Wine must always be shared… I think it would be a sad day if one were to drink a bottle of Pétrus by himself.”- Dr. Gordon KuOn my birthday, I received a few messages asking me what wine am I going to drink that night? A 1968 Bordeaux? I got no answer for them that day, as my wife had booked me a dinner at a Japanese restaurant Shinji, and thus for the dinner, I brought the bottle of sake I bought from Otaru, Hokkaido during last year’s ski trip. Nobody believed a wine lover like me had gone without wine on my big day! Half way through my sumptuous dinner, I received a call from Christie’s. What a birthday surprise! They gave me a ticket to dinner at Au Jardin served with top Bordeaux 1982 labels. I was so happy that day! My wishes were granted! I had celebrated my last year...
