Taking the world one wine at a time.
Pick up any wine book, and flip to the page on the Southern Languedoc region of France. More often than not, the term “wine lake” or “ocean of vines” will be used, usually within the first set of paragraphs. No-doubt, the Languedoc certainly has some marketing challenges on its hands! With wine history in the region dating back to Roman times, the Languedoc has had plenty of time to practice the art of winemaking. However,…
Read More“We created a 13 x 8.2 foot structure with 1000 acrylic cells and an automated robotic mechanism, that would be filled with 6 different shades of wine, people could choose a cell and sent a text message, and the robot filled each box with wine. At the end people could recreate the Van Gogh’s self portrait and build a masterpiece with our masterpiece Navarro Correas wine.”
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I couldn’t resist! Fernando Beteta (Master Sommelier) made a post on Twitter late last night which spoke to me, channeling my inner-wine nerd! Haven’t YOU always wanted a guide to the wine regions of France, all laid out before you in all its 18×24 glory, formatted in a similar style to the London or Paris subway maps!?!? Ok, granted it has never crossed my mind either until I saw San Francisco architect and professor David…
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As you some of you may or may not know, I recently spent 10 days back home in good old England. The reason for my visit? Well, it was really more of an obligation than it was a vacation. It’d been a couple of years since I’d been back, and in that time my younger sister had given birth to a bouncing baby girl. How time flies! We were just playing hide-and-seek last Wednesday…or that’s…
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“Garcon, could you please recommend a wine to pair with the worst tragedy this country has ever seen…” As we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the nice folks at Long Island winery Lieb Family Cellars are issuing a "commemorative" Merlot and Chardonnay released "to benefit the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum”. The wines have approval from the 9/11 Memorial Foundation, with "6% to 10% of the sales" of each bottle, sold at…
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Only because I took so many photos do I think it necessary to post a journal of my recent trip back to the Mother Land. It will however give you a nice little insight into my former-life in England. Photos are in no particular order. The food hasn’t changed since I was there last! Haworth and Worth Valley Railway, and not Disney Land as I’m sure you’re thinking! Haworth is about a 30…
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Car that Runs on Wine and Cheese Showcased at Eco-Rally Wine, cheese, chocolate and human sewage are just a few of the eccentric alternative fuels showcased at the Eco-Rally. The specialized Lotus Exige (pictured) is capable of running on an ethanol fuel that is made from wine, or whey, which is also a byproduct of the cheese or chocolate-making process. It was one of several new cars showcased last week at an eco-rally…
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Fiji water’s owners buy Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards Fiji Water’s owners announced this week the company’s second California winery acquisition in less than a year. Fiji Water and parent company Roll Global are buying Sonoma’s Landmark Vineyards, known for high-quality Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah (a winery featured on this website). The deal includes the winery, inventory and an 11-acre vineyard. The sale price was not disclosed. In December, Roll Global purchased its first…
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Everyone has their own idea of what they deem a “good wine list” to be, but here’s what I look for… Diversity A decent wine list should have representation from the majority of the worlds major wine producing regions. Fair enough, a French restaurant isn’t expected to carry a huge Chilean selection, if any at all; but they should at least consider a few wines from outside of France. The main place where I…
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The Story Torrontes [Tohr-ron-tez] is quite easily the most widely planted white grape variety in Argentina with Chardonnay in a distant 2nd; and with the recent upsurge in sales over the past couple of years, it’s likely to stay that way for a while! Most folks in the wine community are already on-board with the idea that Torrontes has the potential to become as popular in Argentina, as Pinot Grigio is in Italy. It’s not…
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#5 Poor Glassware Anyone who knows me knows that I remain very down-to-earth when it comes to wine. With that being said, if I’m out at a restaurant (normally the inexpensive kind); and I see they are using some kind of crappy generic Costco-style wine glasses, I’m going to forego the wine and stick with beer. I don’t for one second believe a restaurant should carry a different wine glass for every single style of…
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#10 Poor Lighting What could be viewed as a seemingly minor point, but I personally like to be able to appreciate the color of a wine before tasting it! The color of a wine can give away a lot of clues to its age, possible grape, and other keys elements such as fining or filtration. If the room is too dark, you are left, well, left in the dark as to all these elements!…
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