Taking the world one wine at a time.
I was recently faced with a minor problem. A guest had ordered a bottle of ‘07 Napa Cabernet ($70) from my wine list (that’s right, in case you didn’t know, I run a restaurant/wine bar). The problem arose when the guest realized the bottle (after it had been poured) was in fact not from the ‘07 vintage as the wine list had stated, but actually ‘08. Did the Server explain the vintage discrepancy before the…
Read More
China Basketball Star to Sell ‘Yao Ming’ Wine Months after retiring from basketball, Chinese sporting hero Yao Ming is venturing into business by setting up a wine company to meet a growing thirst for the tipple in his home country. Yao, 31, is China’s first global sports superstar with a personal brand valued at more than US$1 billion. Yao Family Wines will sell vintages using grapes from the famed Napa Valley region of California,…
Read More
"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."…
Read More
Grapes Carignane, Zinfandel, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Viognier (probably in that order, %’s unknown). The term “Synchronicity” refers to a “meaningful mix of seemingly unrelated events resulting in a significant sum”, which was the inspiration for this red wine blend of grapes which aren’t commonly seen together. Facts Quite unbelievably, Sting is actually hand-harvesting all the grapes himself from this “Synchronicity-blend”. He also serves as winemaker; and can regularly be seen in the…
Read More
#1 Variety My top reason to love wine! They say variety is the spice of life, and there are literally hundreds of thousands of wines produced each year, from a vast number of wine producing countries, from a plethora of grape varieties, from a multitude of vineyard regions, from……I’m running out of clever-words, but you get the idea! There is nothing more sad to me than people who limit themselves to one grape, or region,…
Read More
#2 Wine drinking is about as social as it gets! Sure you can drink wine alone, but where’s the fun in that? A bottle of wine begs to be shared, invites discussion, and there is nothing more satisfying than sharing a glass of vino (or 3) with the ones you choose to be close to, often over a great meal! The juice in your glass undoubtedly has a story behind it, and to be completely…
Read MoreWine Spectator Top 100 2011
Read More
Selecting Wine Since there’s no possible way you can select one bottle of wine to satisfy everyone’s taste-buds,so I recommend we split it up! The one theme I do suggest you stick to is, whichever wine you choose, make sure it’s from the U.S. (Beaujolais being the exception). It’s an American holiday after all! White Wine Californian white blends are usually a big hit, especially ones with a hint of sweetness to satisfy the Riesling…
Read More
#3 Wine is good for you! It seems that every week a new study is released showing the health benefits of wine. Research shows that moderate consumption of wine can combat everything from premature aging, to Alzheimer’s, to risk of heart attacks, or cancer. I would however like to “throw a spanner in the works” to a certain degree, and give you something to think about in terms of all wine these studies. Let me…
Read More