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…
Change doesn’t come easily to French wine culture, as we have seen with wine enthusiasts lamenting the sale of wine land to foreign buyers in Bordeaux. The country’s reputation for fine wine has given it an esteemed reputation, and any minor change can elicit worry among its winemakers. The EU recently passed a regulation…
Vinfolio Manager of Collector Services Derek Cienfuegos has seen his fair share of messy cellars. As a professional cellar organizer, Cienfuegos regularly meets wine collectors who already have three cellars packed full of wine, and are looking to invest in a fourth just to keep up with the bottles they’re buying. It’s easy for…
You’re likely familiar with the phrases “Bordeaux futures” and “Burgundy pre-arrivals,” but do you know what these terms actually mean? Even well-educated wine collectors mistakenly assume that futures and pre-arrivals are the same thing. In reality, while both terms refer to buying wines “en primeur,” they represent two distinct styles of presales. The goal…
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…
