I once stayed at a Washington winery with a couple of friends who were chefs on the estate. We were wandering in the on-campus garden one day when my friend said, “I hate the smell of sage. It reminds me of cat pee.” I laughed at first, but he was serious. He said, “Smell that…
Early in my career, if you told me that I’d one day be buying up Argentinian Malbec by the case full, I’d have assumed you’d gone mad. Many of the Malbecs I’ve tried have managed to be both bold and bland all at once, with jammy fruit and no complexity. However, recent years have changed…
A few weeks into September, like clockwork, I start getting email notifications letting me know that my wine allocations are on their way. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up with multiple cases of wine at my doorstep, and no place to put them. Fall is one of the two busiest times of the year…
With its long aging potential, complex flavors, and high market value, Riesling is a must-have wine for any collection. However, in my experience, this is one of the toughest wines to get right. For starters, it’s almost impossible to tell how this varietal will taste based on data points like residual sugar and acid levels.…
The first time I tried a glass of Petite Sirah at a restaurant, I had no idea what was in store for my senses. Hearing the name “Petite Sirah” roll off the sommelier’s tongue conjured up images of tiny, delicate grapes, like a miniature version of the Rhone Syrah I knew so well. After one…
The biggest mistake I ever made as a young, inexperienced wine drinker was when I chose to keep a bottle of Italian Dolcetto given to me on my 21st birthday by a cousin studying in Italy over the summer. I had no idea at the time that it wasn’t a wine worth cellaring, so I…
Wine enthusiast Tim Atkin once opened a Chenin Blanc that was bottled in 1921, and to his surprise, the wine was supremely sweet, with a fresh, crisp profile that could compete with any young wine on the market today. If Chenin Blanc can age so well for more than 50 years, why isn’t it on…
Wine experts Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher never planned on becoming serious collectors — it suddenly happened one day when they realized they owned more bottles than they could possibly drink. However, it isn’t always this easy to start a wine collection. As much as 90 percent of the wine sold in the US is…
This past summer, I was fortunate enough to attend a wine event offering samples of some incredible Rhône wines, including a number of Syrah vintages. As one might expect, most of the wines that I tried were heavy in new oak flavors, brimming with intense earthiness. While these wines were delicious, by the end of…
It’s difficult to say where the next big wine market boom will hit, but Bloomberg’s Elin McCoy predicts that Cabernet Franc will play a huge role in the coming year. Wine critics and collectors alike are favoring the spicy, acidic notes of the Cabernet Franc grape, which lends well to dry red blends. The…