Here's a call to arms: Let's call it "freshness." You know what I mean: that quality of wine that makes it food-friendly. That keeps it from sitting on your tongue like pudding, tiring your mouth. That refreshing quality. Which we have been scaring newcomers to wine by calling "acidity." I'm
A few weeks ago, I was walking around a small fair of Italian foods and wines, in Northern Italy. A little crowd was gathered around a cotton candy machine that, swirling quickly, formed fluffy balls of cotton candy on the sticks. “Ah! Good for the kids, but too sweet for
WBC12, the Wine Blogger's Conference in Portland, Oregon, was a fascinating experience. Kudos to the folks from Zephyr, who get better at this every year. So many have written about it already that I feel no need to do a "best of," review, or post-mortem of the event. Rather, I'd
Early Mountain Vineyards, one of Virginia's newest wineries, opened in late June with a mission: elevate and support the Virginia wine industry. Owners Jean and Steve Case, former America Online (AOL) executives and founders of The Case Foundation, believe that Virginia has the potential to compete with some of the
On a recent trip to the Finger Lakes, my husband and I were amused to encounter a wine list that was not exclusive to local wines. We were less amused when it happened again. As a pattern slowly began to emerge, we could not help remembering vacations to Sonoma County
If you've ever thought about laying wine down for a few years or more, how can you know what to expect when the wine has been aged in oak? How can you tell when a wine will integrate that oak and when it will succumb to it? One of the
Without a doubt, one of the most recognizable styles of wine in the world is Champagne. Regardless of your level of wine knowledge, or even if you despise the beverage with all of your being, you know Champagne. It is the standard for hip-hop videos, World Series Championship celebrations and
In a most delicious twist of serendipitous weather, we are producing here in California what I’m calling “adult” wines. That is, because of a confluence of maturation in the marketplace and three consecutive cool growing seasons—2009, 2010, and 2011—we’re seeing wines that are more balanced, more elegant, and wines that
