Photo Credit: Divya Thakur on Flickr Remember your freshman year in college when you’d crash the fraternity parties and there’d always be one of those large plastic garbage cans full of red wine with chunks of fruit floating in it? That little sting of brandy lurking just behind the fruitiness of every cupful? Remember you […]
Red Wine For Beginners
Picture by: Ian Britton – FreeFoto.com If you’ve ever wondered about the fascination people have with red wine, it’s kind of like someone’s fascination with cigars or food. It’s a luxury item that quickly develops into a love of and an appreciation for. Even better is that red wine has been attributed to certain health […]
What Is Merlot?
photo credit: Precept Wine Brands When it comes to learning about wine, newcomers often are confused about the different types of wine and how to distinguish them from one another. Not to worry though, your pallet will adjust over time and you will eventually be able to tell a Merlot from a Cabernet Sauvignon without […]
A Rosé Wine By Any Other Name
Rosé, Not Necessarily A Wine For Beginners My girlfriend’s daughter is three years old and she loves the color pink. She also wants to be a princess, a mermaid, and oh yes, let’s not forget the quintessential princess mermaid. Her room is pink. Her shoes are pink. She has pink pants, pink shirts and pink […]
Gamay: The Precocious
Learn About Gamay Your formal name is Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, or Black Gamay with White Juice. Some have confused your varietal, Beaujolais, as a grape of that wine. But nothing could be more misconstrued. For you, Gamay, are Beaujolais! Fruit forward and very light-bodied, you are candy sweetness in a bottle. And every […]
Sangiovese: The Incongruous
Learn About Sangiovese You have been replaced Sangiovese. With better vines of Sangiovese! And then you have been replaced once again by more variants. You are a finicky and demanding grape, Sangiovese and due to your various plantings in various microclimates you take on the characteristics of your surroundings and practically reinvent yourself in every […]
Shiraz: The Maverick
Learn About Shiraz/Syrah You go by the alias, Syrah, and are a very berry red wine, Shiraz. In a grand gesture of style you will express layers of sappy fruit with lots of spice, herb and smoke. Supple, you hit hard and detonate on the palate in your ready-to-drink red wine persona. But after some […]
Zinfandel: The Sultry
Learn About Zinfandel You’re a full-bodied, jammy red wine, Zinfandel. Dry. You are mouthwatering raspberry fruit with high pepper notes. Let me go on. You are cassis, licorice and graphite. You are dusky brambles and bay leaves. You are whiskey in a wine package. You are a hot red wine, Zinfandel, and this is accentuated […]
Pinot Noir: The Fickle
Learn About Pinot Noir While you are an easy red wine to love, Pinot Noir, you are a difficult bastard in the vineyard. You are the epitome of fussy, having a bad reputation of not being consistent in all areas of production and because you are a low yielding wine grape, supply and demand causes […]