Hey winemakers! If you find yourself in a Pinot noir crisis due to yield shortages, increased demand or simply outrageous pricing, don’t despair for there is the other pinot; Pinot meunier, to be exact. Pinot meunier is actually just a mutation of Pinot noir, so they have similar taste profiles and growing requirements. Yet, for…
I recently participated in a barrel tasting and noted something that was quite interesting All of the barrels contained wine made from Pinot noir grapes grown at the same vineyard site, cared for in the same manner and produced by the same winemaker, yet they had strikingly different characteristics. The only difference was the type…
If you just so happen find yourself passing by the quaint college town of Chico, California, you should definitely go out of your way to experience the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Hoptimum Beer tour. Not only will you be blown away by the caliber of the tour itself, but the amazing beer samples at the end…
White Zinfandel wine is usually a popular choice among people who would not otherwise drink wine or are just starting to experiment with drinking wine. White Zinfandel is known to be quaffable and easy to drink for it possesses low alcohol, bold fruit and sweetness. Novice wine drinkers usually prefer these light, sweet, fruity wines…
Syrah is one of my favorite wines to make and drink. Shiraz, on the other hand, is not one of the wines on my list of favorites. I find this amazing since the wine is made from the same grape. It’s just the climate and winemaker that creates the vast differences in the style, aroma…
When you think of the traditional St. Patrick’s Day dish, Corned Beef and Cabbage, one automatically thinks of whisky and beer, not wine. That may have something to do with the fact that Corned Beef and Cabbage is difficult to pair with wines due to the meat’s strong briny flavors and bold spices. This particular…
Since there seem to be so many Thanksgiving Dinner wine recommendations, I can’t help but to add my own. After decades of laborious research, drinking and eating. I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no one single wine that goes with Thanksgiving Dinner. My recommendation is simply to have a variety of different wines….
Müller-Thurgau and Pinotage are obviously very different in that one is a white grape and the other is red. Another striking difference is that one comes from the Northern hemisphere and the other from the Southern hemisphere. Despite these vast differences, both varietals are similar in that they are the product of varietal crossings. The…
Syrah is one of my favorite wines to make and drink. Shiraz, on the other hand, is not one of the wines on my list of favorites. I find this amazing since the wine is made from the same grape. It’s just the climate and winemaker that creates the vast differences in the style, aroma…
I was stunned during my Sommelier training to learn how much the taste and characteristics of wine are influenced by the soil in which the vines are grown. As the vine roots burrow through the earth, they absorb the mineral characteristics of each soil-type or rock layer they penetrate. Rieslings from Germany are notorious for…
