All posts in April 2014

Like the fashion world it mimics, the world of wine likes to move a little faster than most of us can comfortably keep up with, thus the need for the occasional touch-up and top-up of our wine vocabulary. What follows are five terms you really ought to be familiar with even if you don’t plan…

Today, it’s common for people choose wines the same way they choose movies: by consulting what they consider to be expert opinion. While it takes the two thumbs of a film critic held way, way up to fill seats at the local cineplex, it takes a score of 90 points or better to generate real enthusiasm…

First, plant a chardonnay vine in the commune of Puligny-Montrachet in the French region of Burgundy. Now quickly plant another genetically identical to it in Santa Barbara County, California. Prune and train them similarly and when they’re of age make wine and mature it, using identical techniques, from the fruit of each.  Now taste them…

The Georgians – and here I refer to those denizens of the Caucasus Mountains rather than the inhabitants of the sprawling suburbs of Atlanta — claim to be on vintage no. 8000, or thereabouts. If true, their boast sets the origin of wine culture deep into the era we call the neolithic and makes wine older than…

It seems laughable now, but in European theaters it was once common practice for the impresario to hire applauders for opening night. Claques, as they were called, were brought in to give it up enthusiastically for the playwright and cast at the end of the debut performance with a view to ensuring a long run. I…