writing wine tasting notes

Write the Best Wine Tasting Notes of Your Life: Structuring and Honing Your Tasting Note Technique

Take it from Andrew Jefford if you want to write great wine tasting notes; as one of the best wine writers in the modern world, Jefford knows what it takes to write gorgeous, pragmatic prose. He says, “Numbers alone cannot adequately address the mystery of wine’s complexity; words must be involved.” Yet these words are…

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A group of friends holding glasses of wine at a party

Throwing a Party? Here’s How to Buy Wine for a Party That Everyone Will Love

MENTIONED IN THIS POST: Château Montrose Moët & Chandon Louis Roederer Château D’Yquem Clarendon Hills Aubert Tenuta San Guido Dominus  Colgin Château Canon When you’re a wine collector throwing a party, the pressure is high; your friends often expect you to pull the best wines out of your cellar, especially if your guests are wine…

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light pinot noir

Fruit Bombs Fall Out of Favor As Classical-Style, Light Pinot Noir Takes Center Stage

  The ripe “fruit bomb” style of much Pinot Noir over the past 10 years has finally fallen out of favor in the United States. Colder regions like Alsace are growing more robust and richly-flavored Pinot Noir than ever as the weather in the region becomes hotter, yet this wine style is still losing ground…

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wine yeast

The Yeast Makes the Flavor: New Study Finds a Link Between Wine Yeast and Terroir Flavors

  A recent study conducted in New Zealand could explain the source of New Zealand and Napa Valley’s one-of-a-kind terroir flavors.1 Terroir characteristics in wine have little to do with minerals in the soil, and everything to do with the yeast strain S. cerevisiae, according to this study. Certain strains of this yeast, which seem…

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wine oxidation

Is Wine Oxidation Always a Fault? The Modern Wine World Shows a Growing Interest in Oxidized Wine

  On public radio station NHPR, Chef Evan Mallett describes the first time he tried oxidized wine at a Parisian restaurant, Saturne.1 A decade ago, Saturne’s owner would have been committing a major faux pas by knowingly serving an oxidized wine to a customer, since this wine quality is considered a fatal bottle flaw. However,…

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minerality in wine

Earthiness and Minerality in Wine: How Does Terroir Affect Mineral Flavors?

In my experience tasting Chablis wines, one tasting note consistently shines through: flint. The limestone-rich soil in this terroir is sprinkled with fossilized oyster shells that allegedly add minerality to its flavors. While scientists have found that mineral flavors certainly exist in wines, they are still unsure why this minerality is present. In multiple studies,…

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