I’ve been to countless wine tastings and dinner parties in my lifetime, and I’ve noticed one peculiar thing: some hosts love to make wine pairings that complement the food, while others love to contrast wine with the food, and few, if any, mix the two tasting styles together. With a complement pairing, the food and…
When I was in college, the closest self-storage wine locker was located two and a half hours south of town. I didn’t go to school in an especially small city, and my college town had a thriving wine culture, so this fact always surprised me. To pick up or drop off bottles, I would have…
This summer, Sancerre winemaker Jean-Jacques Auchere awoke one morning to find that almost 6,000 of his youngest IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) Sauvignon Blanc vines had been ripped out of the earth at his estate, The Cabarette. Auchere told reporters that the ransacking, believed to be the work of vandals, has cost him at least $13,000…
One common problem I see with many wine collections today is lack of diversity. It’s great to specialize in the wines you love, but a diverse cellar is fun to drink from, as well as being a good investment. I know a wine collector who only invested in Cabernet Sauvignon or red blends made primarily…
I have a stockpile of halogen light bulbs stacked in my pantry. Most of the time, my house is filled with LEDs, but in the winter, when temperatures drop, I switch out my LEDs for a month or two to enjoy the warm glow of my halogens. Believe it or not, I’ve noticed that I…
Having a home cellar can be a form of torture for those of us who love drinking wine. It takes a lot of willpower to leave that bottle of Bouchard Pere & Fils where it is, knowing that it’s sitting on the shelf just waiting for someone to uncork it. That’s one reason I only…
Deciding on a vintage’s quality before all of the grapes have been plucked from the vines can be a gamble. Years ago, when I first heard reports about Bordeaux’s 2012 grapes, I was ready to write the vintage off entirely; cold, wet spring weather resulted in uneven flowering, and by July, a massive heat wave…
I think of Sancerre and Chablis as sisters from another mister. Sure, Chablis is technically Burgundy, just as Sancerre is technically Loire, but they have far more in common with each other than they do with any of their regional peers. The very first time I tried a bottle of Chablis, I did a double…
I’ve had plenty of terrible restaurant experiences, but never while I was sitting at a wine bar. It might be the sense of camaraderie that comes with dining at the bar; formality dissolves, complete strangers strike up conversations, and most importantly, the sommelier is in the mood to talk. Years ago, I struck up a…
Years ago, I took a tour of a California winery with a few friends. Our guide took us through the gem of the estate: a carpeted wine cellar hidden away behind the kitchen. In the beginning of the tour, our group was loud and boisterous, but the moment we stepped inside that cellar, the mood…
I distinctly remember the first time I saw a vintner culling grapes. I was just seven years old, wandering through the vines of a family friend’s California estate, admiring all of the big, juicy grapes hanging from the branches. You can imagine my surprise when I saw one of the vineyard’s workers snip off what…
Some wine experts have a pretty loose definition of “unicorn wine.” I’ve seen critics give unexceptional wines the unicorn title simply because the vintner didn’t produce as much wine as expected in a particular year. Personally, I’m far more measured about which wines I deem unicorns. They can’t just be rare or expensive; they should…
