Category: Recent Columns

Using words to describe wine is fraught with peril and leaves wine writers exposed to ridicule. Adapting a line from Martin Mull: writing about wine is like dancing about architecture. And we do it anyway. Continue reading →

Grapes remain the highest value fruit crop in the U.S.—estimated at $7 billion. There are a million acres of grape-bearing land in the U.S.—wine grapes, table grapes, and raisin grapes. Continue reading →

For Christians, the coming days are a transition from the promise of Christmas to the time of fulfillment of Easter. Continue reading →

While wine has been an integral part of civilization for at least 8,000 years, it also is subject to the waxes and wanes of fashion. What is rad and fav today can be tomorrow’s meh. Think merlot. Think white zinfandel. Think Milli Vanilli. Continue reading →

Porto (port wine) often is mistaken to be a depth-of-winter libation sipped while gazing at a roaring fire, the finale to a robust meal. Porto certainly works in that scenario, but you miss out if you so limit your porto possibilities. Continue reading →

More interesting facts and trivia about wine: Continue reading →

Some interesting facts and trivia about wine: Continue reading →

Wine has enjoyed quite a run. Consumption up for decades. Quality up—the best in the 8,000 year history of wine. Availability up, thanks in no small part to elimination of antediluvian restrictions on direct-to-consumer wine sales. Continue reading →

Valentine’s Day, the inspired capitalist fabrication of greeting card makers, florists, and chocolatiers, happens next Wednesday. Here are some notions about wine to titillate your cherished someone. Continue reading →

Terroir is that baffling French term you often encounter with wine. There is another French term that sums up the meaning of terroir—je ne sais quoi [something that cannot be fully described or expressed]. Continue reading →