Taking the world one wine at a time.
Grapes 100% Chenin Blanc Facts Chenin Blanc! Not exactly the first grape that springs to mind when you think of California! Some people may even say that, as a winemaker, you would have to be CRAZY to bother with a grape which has a relatively low level of consumer recognition. This, when you could much more easily make/market Cab or Chard etc. This leads nicely to my next point… The founder of the Rendez-vous…
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Disclaimer: This interview is normally only something I would post on my sister site: JacksonvilleWineGuide.com, since most of the discussion is very focused towards Jacksonville. However; I think that even if you don’t live in Jacksonville, there’s some very interesting topics of discussion here… Chad Munsey has been a friend of mine for quite some time, and so when I heard he was opening a new wine bar (in the old Original Pancake House…
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Over the last couple of months I’ve received a few emails/Facebook comments/carrier pigeons with notes attached to them, from people looking for advice on purchasing a wine fridge. I’m therefore going to defer to the superior knowledge of my good friend Curtis Dahl, co-owner of Joseph & Curtis. His company builds some of the best wine cellars known-to-mankind, and they also stock an impressive selection of wine coolers (as in refrigerators, not the drink…that would…
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Grapes 100% Petite Sirah (sometimes written as Petit Syrah, although it refers to the same grape). Facts Petite Sirah is a wine you can’t take lightly. You to be in the mood for it. That’s because Petite Sirah typically has about as much subtlety and restraint as being awoken in the morning to a 300lb man in a dark purple suit, jumping up-and-down on your bed, singing Bohemian Rhapsody, while he simultaneously throws…
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According to a recent interview in Parade.com, funnyman Steve Carell wasn’t always in the acting biz. Responding to the question: “What was your worst pre-fame gig?” Steve answered with: “At one point, I was a wine telemarketer. Talking people into buying wine on the phone is not an easy job to begin with, but when you don’t know anything about wine and you really don’t drink it, it becomes even more difficult.” Click here for…
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Mr Donald Trump has once again uttered his famous catchphrase “YOU’RE FIRED!!!” to the one-time famously wealthy socialite Patricia Kluge, and removed her from her own former Kluge winery. Kluge — who famously won a divorce settlement in 1990 from billionaire media mogul John Kluge — proceeded to spend her $100 million dollars on a 1,000 acre Charlottesville, Va wine estate, complete with mansion. With the downturn in the economy and even at one…
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Let’s face it, we all know someone we would deem to be a “wine snob.” In fact, I’m sure a lot of people call me a snob. The truth-of-the-matter is that some people have earned the right to varying degrees of superiority on a topic when that’s what they do for a living. To illustrate, let me tell you about my dad. He’s a joiner (carpenter) back in England. Needless-to-say, whenever he comes to…
Read MoreClick here for the rest of my Wine Myths Busted series.
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The four directors of Maison Labouré-Roi have been thrown in the slammer, charged with the heinous crime of wine fraud. The ol’ Gendarme busted the 180-year-old Burgundy negociant house after an 18-month investigation by the National Fraud Office. Computers and files have been seized from the firm’s Nuits-Saint-Georges property. Labouré-Roi, is the largest producer in the Burgundy region to supply wine to airlines. It is also estimated that 50% of net sales from Labouré-Roi comes…
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Wine Industry Insight has reported that Crushpad, the DIY winemaking service that enabled budding wine enthusiasts to make their own vino is closing its doors. Wine Industry Insight goes on to state that several reliable sources confirm that Crushpad was urgently seeking $500,000 last week in last-ditch hopes to stay afloat after Bill Foley (the company’s main investor) decided he would no longer underwrite any more of the operation’s mounting losses.
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