Category: Facts About Wine

As this gruesome summer of heat domes burns on, incidents of rosé slurping likely have increased in your wine world. Rosé has long been considered a quintessential bellwether of hot weather, so global warming is a boost to the rise of rosé. Continue reading →

American Viticultural Areas attempt to tie wines to places. Ideally, vineyards in a specific AVA share similarities in soil, climate, geology, and elevation. Those various things, along with human interaction, comprise what winemakers call “terroir.” Continue reading →

Wine descriptions often refer to “texture.” What the heck does that mean? There is a texture difference between silk and sandpaper. There is a texture difference between a crisp apple and creamy mashed potatoes. Wine is a liquid. Liquid is liquid texture, right? Continue reading →

Arcane knowledge is the bane of wine writers. While we fulminate over nuance differences between bâtonnage and pump-over, readers roll their eyes over esoteric words with obscure, oddly accented letters. Continue reading →

Last week we argued Champagne was a poor choice for a wedding reception. Too many people, too high prices, too much cacophony to appreciate expensive French bubbles. Continue reading →

The U.S. wine industry has been on an historic 50-year run. Demand from Baby Boomers drove the effort. Now the wine industry is fearful the run is done and tough choices loom. Continue reading →

Wine bottles come in various shapes, sizes, weights, and colors of glass. A quick tour. Continue reading →

If you enjoy California chardonnay, you likely have Charles Wente and his children to thank for it. Continue reading →

Pale gold color; lime, yellow apple, grapefruit, spearmint, vanilla, oak on the nose; pear, citrus, apple, melon, pineapple, oak spice, butter on the palate. Continue reading →

The wine world divides into two camps: factory wines and distinct wines. That artificial division is black and white while the wine world is grey; it is simplistic and annoys those who recognize nuance. But the paradigm works in broad stroke terms. Let’s explore. Continue reading →