Wine Faults and Wine Storage
How do you know if a wine is bad and what to do? You are in a restaurant and the waiter pours you a taste of the wine you chose. You take a sniff and recoil at the odor. What do you do? a) Pretend it’s fine. It must be me b) Look quizzically at…
February 23, 2022
Components of Wine— and How to Begin Tasting Them
So what exactly is in that glass of wine? Simple answer: water and ethanol make up approximately 98% of what’s in your glass. Let’s begin there. The Big Picture Ethanol is one of many types of alcohol (from a chemistry angle) which includes methanol (wood alcohol) and isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol)….
February 16, 2022
Wine History in a Hazelnutshell (Part 2)
Just tuning in? Check out Part 1 of this story here. California Dreamin’ Although the earliest winemaking was recorded in Florida in the 1560’s and the oldest winery in the USwas established in 1839 in New York, California is the center of the US wine universe. The Golden State claims over 80% of US…
February 9, 2022
Wine History in a Hazelnut Shell (Part 1)
Forgive the Willamette Valley reference but I am a proud supporter! For those in the know, the valley floor of the Willamette River is full of hazelnut trees, where 99.9% of the US’s hazelnuts are grown.1 What does that have to do with wine history? Glad you asked! The #1 rule of growing grapes is…
February 2, 2022