Clik here to view.
My Life Is Corked
When I was in junior high there was a song called Love Is All Around by a group called The Troggs. I think it might even have been the song that was playing during my first slow dance. Which at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Grapescape of the Future: How Climate Change Will Affect Wine
One of the more important features in my tasting book—Message in the Bottle: A Guide to Tasting Wine is the lists of grape variety descriptions, which range from the tried and true Cabernet Sauvignon,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Deliciousness
Two wines from recent dinners were the 2021 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina and the 2021 Domaine de Fontsainte Gris de Gris. Carla and I enjoyed the Falanghina with roasted salmon filets and the gris...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2 + 2 = Tacos
Taking a cue from good friend and fellow MS, Evan Goldstein, I tend to put food and wine pairings into three distinct categories. First, there’s “Switzerland” where the dish and the wine stay in their...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thoughts on Tannin in Red Wine
Tannin, or tannic acid, is found in red wine. But it’s also infrequently found in a white wine like Chardonnay if the wine in question is kept in oak for an extended period of time. Otherwise, tannin...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Favorite Smells
The story goes something like this. It was the first summer after Carla and I started dating, which was many moons ago. How many? That year the number one movie was the original summer...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Le Ballet Tragique du Vin (Tragic Wine Ballet)
The process of opening a bottle of wine, be it still or sparkling, is straightforward. However, there’s only one way to do it correctly, with minor variations depending on the style of restaurant. But...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Holiday Wines
This post is primarily for all the non-industry compadres out there. I’m grateful that you keep reading my misguided ramblings. In this entry you’ll find a veritable plethora of great bottles. Most...
View ArticleClik here to view.
2023 Holiday Book Bag
It’s that time of year. The holidays are banging on the front door of your mind like a bunch of Jehovah’s Witnesses gone rogue. Yes, the end of the year is nigh and with it comes the chaos of gift...
View ArticleClik here to view.
American Hooch
Mankind has been happily consuming alcoholic beverages for thousands of years. Historical evidence points to beer being made long before wine. At the very least, we know that the scores of unfortunate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Romaines of the Day
Happy New Year to all. I hope you were able to enjoy some quality down time during the holidays. Pictured above is our New Year’s eve dinner. Beverage choices for the evening included a pre-meal glass...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Master the World–Wine Tasting Kit and Webinar
One of the questions I’m most often asked is about the meaning of life. Which, as anyone knows, is 42. Sorry, inside joke. Actually, the most often asked wine question is a variation of how someone...
View ArticleClik here to view.
El Poncho Perdido
In the early 70s, there was a time when the gaucho look was all the rage in women’s fashion. Suddenly, suburbs were afloat in bolero hats, leather boots, and gaucho pants, which always looked like...
View ArticleClik here to view.
My First Durian Experience
It was February, 2013. I was in Singapore teaching an MS class. At some point near the end of dinner one night, fellow MS, Brian Julyan, and I suddenly thought we smelled natural gas in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Café Exotique
Praveenp, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons Over the years I’d heard rumors about a mysterious coffee from the mystic east. It was said that this particular coffee was made from the berries of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Le Goût de la Lumière – Light Strike in Wine
“Wine is complicated. Almost impossibly so.” Jamie Goode from his book, Flawless: Understanding Wine Faults Unless you’re a winemaker or chemist, there’s a lot we take for granted about wine. At the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Sommelier Brain
Many studies have shown how playing an instrument or singing helps shape the brain in young children. That’s no surprise given how playing music involves multiple skills, including reading musical...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Van Gogh’s Glass
What can you discern from a wine’s appearance? Two things I shared with my Dad were classical music and a love of great art. The first, music, was a vital part of my life from fourth grade all the way...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Perfumed
The rules of engagement for wine writing are largely unwritten, but strict: you can praise, whine, or complain about a given wine. But whatever you do, never, ever, under any circumstances,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
About European Hotels
I remember my first wine tour in Europe over 25 years ago. It was an importer trip to Germany in the spring of 2000. I traversed the country with a group of U.S.-based sommeliers and buyers for over a...
View Article