Did you know that only 10 countries are responsible for making 80 percent of the world’s wine supply? That’s because grapes are a fickle fruit; to grow them, you need a climate with relatively little rain, the ideal amount of sunlight, and the perfect balance of fast-draining compounds in the soil. Knowing how difficult it…
Painting your wine cellar is deceptively easy, and can quickly turn into a nightmare. I once knew a wine fanatic who wanted to transform the extra basement space in her house into a wine bar. She started off strong, replacing the carpet with tile, buying a humidifier, and installing wine racks on the walls. At…
In the film Sideways, a character muses, “You know, the day you open a ‘61 Cheval Blanc…that’s the special occasion.” The main character in the film is obsessed with 1961 Cheval Blanc, and for good reason; in its best vintages, it’s one of the finest wines in the world. But the 2005 Cheval Blanc received…
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…
When you think of celebrating the holidays, you probably imagine crystal flutes of fine Champagne, but writer Eva Weirich dreams of Cremant de Bourgogne. Her family originally bought this famous sparkling Burgundy to cook with, and over time they’ve realized they enjoy drinking Cremant more than Champagne, especially during the holidays. She says Cremant is…
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…
In 2006, Master of Wine Susan McCraith decided to put the en primeur system to the test to find out whether collectors should invest in wine before it’s been bottled. She pre-ordered six magnums of Feytit Clinet and 12 magnums of Chateau Jonqueyres while they were still in the barrel, spending about $383 on the…
Writer Alex Beggs was sitting at a Manhattan restaurant when she saw six fashionable women walk in. Minutes later, the women’s wine orders had arrived: Provence rosé all around. This got Beggs wondering why rosé was suddenly popular again in New York City. She says, “One day — some time in the late mid-aughts maybe?…
Over the past decade, Bordeaux has seen some of the most extreme ups and downs in the history of wine. Coming off a high note in 2000, when wines received excellent scores and were the most expensive in Bordeaux’s history, critics had high hopes for Bordeaux in the new millennium. However, their hopes were dashed…
For decades, wine negociants have had a nasty reputation in the wine world, yet this reputation is undeserved. Jancis Robinson explains, “The old cliché that merchants, negociants in French, are all baddies and growers are all goodies is now well and truly out of date.” Negociants are merchants who buy grapes, juice, or finished wine from…
With millions of online users posting content from all over the world, you might worry that your own lone voice doesn’t matter. However, studies have shown that even a handful of wine bloggers can have a meaningful impact on the wine market. A few years ago, South African winery Stormhoek wanted to step up its…
Famous wine writer Lettie Teague has seen some incredible wine cellars in her lifetime, some of which featured ornate chandeliers, expensive paintings, and detailed marble statues. She says, “Wine in these cellars isn’t so much consumed as it is revered. I don’t have one of those cellars. In fact, I don’t really have a cellar…
