Taking the world one wine at a time.
Gallo Winery Gets Russian River Valley AVA Expanded. After years of regulatory wrangling, mega-producer E. & J. Gallo eventually emerged victorious in its quest to enlarge the Russian River Valley AVA, in a decision announced by the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau (TTB) on Nov. 16, 2011, effective Dec. 16. As requested in the petition from Gallo Family Vineyards, the ruling expands the RRV AVA by 14,044 acres (about 23 square miles). The AVA…
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“Four? That’s a random number!” Why would he choose four!?!?” Because I couldn’t think of a fifth one, ok!!! Give me a break!!! Truth be told, I could have probably included more, but what is about to follow are the four I hear the most….but first…a short prologue… Working in a wine bar, I’m constantly approached by Servers with the same type of question: “Hey Kris…..I have this guy who’s looking for a red wine….
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French Lessons: Why Letting Kids Drink At Home Isn’t ‘Tres Bien’ Many European parents, and some American ones, too, have long figured if they let their kids drink alcohol at home, they’d be less likely to go hog wild with their friends. But recent studies of teen drinking behavior don’t bear that out. That’s unwelcome news in places like France, where these scientific developments are running head long into a culture that loves its…
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Following on from yesterday’s post, here are my 5 gift suggestions for a wine lover: A Good Wine Opener Every wine lover needs a decent wine bottle opener! It doesn’t have to be anything crazy; I know there’s a bunch of electric and even gas powered gimmicks on the market, but I personally like to keep it fairly simple! If you’re looking for a quality opener that combines form, function, and practicality, I recommend a…
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With Christmas being just around the corner, it seems that I’ve been getting asked daily as to what I would deem as a “good gift” for a wine lover. I originally started writing this article as just “5 Gift Ideas for a Wine Lover”, but then I realized that what’s even more important as what not to buy for a “wine aficionado”.This article is therefore a 2-parter. First, here are my suggestions on 5 wine…
Read MoreWine Critic’s Representative Defends Deals The Spain-based representative for an influential Baltimore wine reviewer defended himself Wednesday amid accusations that he asked wineries for money in exchange for a visit from the critic. The wine world has buzzed for days over news that respected oenophile Jay Miller, former co-owner of Bin 604 in Harbor East, had resigned from The Wine Advocate after accusations that his Spanish contact had strong-armed payments from local wineries in exchange…
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I haven’t written a social media post for a while. I recognize that this is basically a wine website, but I like to throw in the occasional social media article, as it’s a topic that interests me greatly. Also, according to my stats, Facebook is my #3 generator of traffic, (right after organic Google searches, and direct traffic). So there’s a very good chance that if you’re reading this, you found me through one of…
Read MoreWine Enthusiast Top Wines of 2011.
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What is Moscato? Moscato is a sweet dessert-style white wine, typically lower in alcohol, and usually lightly sparkling. It’s a taste that Millennials seem to be digging big-style (but we’ll get to that in a minute)! Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (to give Moscato its full name) is part of the Muscat family of grapes. There are a bunch of different types of Muscat, with varying tastes, and hues of color. It can be found…
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Fighting the Funk in Funky Wine Scientists in Australia have sequenced the Brettanomyces genome – a breakthrough that will ‘future-proof’ the industry against spoilage by the yeast organism known as brett. Brett is widely know to spoil wine with medicinal or metallic flavors, often described as “funk”. ‘Sequencing the brett genome, which reveals its genetic blueprint, means the Australian wine industry can future-proof its strategy against brett and the risk of spoilage,’ Australian…
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Some of the more frequent visitors to this website may have noticed that my posts have been a little few and far between over this last week. I have good reason, if you care to know what I’ve been working on: – I’ve enlisted a little help in giving the website an overhaul. Nothing crazy, it’s all "back-end” stuff, and there’s probably going to be no major changes that you’ll even notice. The reason being,…
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I was recently faced with a minor problem. A guest had ordered a bottle of ‘07 Napa Cabernet ($70) from my wine list (that’s right, in case you didn’t know, I run a restaurant/wine bar). The problem arose when the guest realized the bottle (after it had been poured) was in fact not from the ‘07 vintage as the wine list had stated, but actually ‘08. Did the Server explain the vintage discrepancy before the…
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