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…
In 2010, Screaming Eagle released special edition cases of its Sauvignon Blanc to members of its elite mailing list, selling each case for $1,500 a pop. Soon after the first shipments arrived on customers’ doorsteps, some members turned around and resold the wine on the secondary market for as much as $15,500 per case. Consumer…
About 25 years after becoming a serious wine collector, Scot Six had accumulated a collection of about 14,000 bottles. With a collection this big, Six was in desperate need of an easy-to-use app that would make organizing and keeping track of his collection more simple. “I was looking for something to make it easier…
MENTIONED IN THIS POST: Domaine de la Romanee Conti Chateau Margaux Moët & Chandon When you’re a wine collector throwing a party, the pressure is high; your friends often expect you to pull out the best wines for your guests, especially if your friends are wine collectors themselves. However, as sommelier Jeff Kellogg points out,…
When I visited a friend’s wine bar last year, I asked him which wines he’d recommend. As he pulled out a few bottles, he pointed to one and said, “That’s actually my own bottle. I’m keeping it here because I don’t have room for it at home right now.” My friend buys hundreds of bottles…
A classic wine joke goes, “It doesn’t matter if the glass is half empty or half full, there is clearly room for more wine.” That may technically be true, but most wine experts would be horrified if you filled your glass to the brim with wine. Most wine glasses are specifically designed for swirling,…
Every month, we’ll highlight one wine that is highly underrated for its supreme quality and projected market worth. March’s Hidden Gem of the Month focuses on Pinot Noir, but before you invest in your next bottle, you might want to think about skipping Burgundy in favor of Oregon. Pinot Noir from Oregon is steadily…
Robert Parker has the kind of expansive wine cellar in his home that many collectors only dream of owning. Parker’s cellar is located in a basement of sorts, housing an estimated 10,000 bottles of wine. Because Parker is a full-time wine critic, he can afford to spend the hours needed on his personal collection;…
When regions like Oregon and California are crippled with drought, it seems counterintuitive to withhold water from vines. Yet more winemakers in these regions are turning to dry farming practices as a way to make better tasting wine; so far, the change is working. Dry farming has been around for centuries, long before humans…
During a recent survey of producers from the Cote d’Or wine region, Jancis Robinson said, “I think our general impression of the Cote d’Or, the heartland of Burgundy, is that it is one of the world’s most traditional wine regions and hardly changes at all.” What she found during her tour surprised her; multiple…
Can vegans drink wine? For more than 50 percent of all wine vintages, the answer is no. Most of today’s wines are still made using more than simply fermented grape juice; techniques for fining wine require the use of egg whites or animal organ linings to sift out sediment. Although relatively few wines cater to vegan…
Sweet wine sales are on a steep and steady decline around the world as more wine drinkers prefer the taste of dry white wines. Where does this leave traditional white wine regions such as Alsace and Sauternes? Terroirs that grow some of the finest white wine varietals in the world are being forced to either…
