by James Bogaty
The Great Grape By Jim Bogaty Romancing the grape A Grape Wine AVA is that a WHO or What? (American Viticultural Area) What is a Wine Appellations or American Viticultural Area and what does that mean to the grape? Any grape that will become a great wine must begin and end with the terroir. A " terroir " is a group of vineyards (or even grape vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine. When you visit a set of wineries you will be in areas that have been designated official wine growing regions called American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Here are some important ideas that will help you understand what the...
by James Bogaty
The Great Grape By Jim Bogaty Romancing the grape -- ALL ABOUT NORTON America’s True Grape This is a story about Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton and the Virginia Norton grape variety. Although some believe that the Norton is a true native of North America, most experts suspect that it is a hybrid of one or more native varieties. Virginia, whose first vineyard was planted in 1608 (Jamestown) the first in all the NEW WORLD to native grapes and up to very recent years Virginia’s most successful varietals were hybrids such as Seyval Blanc and Vidal Blanc. The Virginia wine industry has blossomed over the past decade to the point where the state ranks 5th among vinifera-growing U. S. states The Norton Grape was introduced by Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton of Richmond, Virginia, who ...
by Kathleen Lisson
By Kathleen Lisson, CSW http://kathleenlisson.blogspot.com Step One: Train Yourself to Taste Wine Gary Vaynerchuk is making the rounds of late night TV with bowls full of dirt and tobacco, but you really don’t have to go that far to discover the aromas and flavors in the your favorite wine’s tasting notes. If you’re in the Albany, NY area, attend my wine palate training class at the Honest Weight Coop. Step Two: Learn to Taste Like a Pro Wine tasting can be a sample as enjoying a glass on the deck at sunset or as complicating as judging flights of wines in a wine competition. If you’d like to get more enjoyment out of every glass of wine, do what the professionals do: To full appreciate a wine’s flavor, inhale, take a sip, roll the liquid around in your mouth, coating your ...
by Kathleen Lisson
By Kathleen Lisson, CSW http://kathleenlisson.blogspot.com Do you have wines gathering dust on your wine rack? Here are ten great excuses to open your home, and that bottle of wine, to others this season. Invite your coworkers over to a simple but festive meal. Bake a lasagna, toss a salad and open a few bottles of Chianti. Have everyone agree to leave work problems at the front door and talk about hobbies, brag about family and share funny or happy memories. Celebrate a recent success with pizza and a bottle of Pinot Noir or Chianti. Meat Lover Supreme your idea of pizza? Pair your slice with a robust glass of Zinfandel! Invite your boss or your spouse's boss over to dinner. Try a nice roast paired with a bottle of Pinot Noir. Treat your next door neighbors to a casserole and a bottl...
by Kathleen Lisson
By Kathleen Lisson, CSW http://kathleenlisson.blogspot.com Last year I attended Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery's Hudson Valley Red Wine & Chocolate Pairing event. Capitalizing on the fact that wine lovers are always looking for the 'holy grail' – a wine and chocolate pairing that actually WORKS, Whitecliff offered a variety of chocolates for tasters to pair with a complete tasting of the winery's red wines. Chocolate Wine Pairings: I chose a piece of Cote d'OR Intense 70% Cacao, a piece of Green and Black's organic milk chocolate and two Chuao Chocolatier Choco Pods – the Modena, which is filled with strawberry and balsamic caramel, and the Picante, which is filled with spicy cabernet caramel. Dark Chocolate and Red Wine The winery's Beaujolais-style Gamay Noir wine was the best ...
by Kathleen Lisson
By Kathleen Lisson, CSW http://kathleenlisson.blogspot.com I recently came across a slew of great research on the Wine Spectator website indicating the positive effects of wine, especially red wine, on reducing health risks. The idea I want to share with you is an easy way to start a practice of drinking one glass of wine a day without wasting the rest of your bottle of wine. Its called the Buddy System. The way I get my one glass a day is to plan my meals ahead and use a meal 'buddy system.' Basically, I choose two or three meals that pair well with the same bottle in on my wine rack and serve them for dinner back to back! A great way to brainstorm ideas for meals is by using a wine and food pairing website, like the one at Canadian Sommelier Natalie MacLean's website, but there ar...
by Subhash Arora
Vino is Italian word for wine; vino is also used colloquially for basic and cheap wine but Wino is a word incorrectly and frequently used by some people for a wine lover. I am affectionately referred to or addressed at times, as a wino by friends and well wishers who feel they are putting me thus, on a pedestal as a wine lover, connoisseur or aficionado. I generally smile it off or tell them emphatically that I am not one, if they are well known to me. I was surprised to read an article in an Indian wine magazine once by a known Indian sommelier, incorrectly using word for wine lovers. I had the urge to comment but I let it pass. I was anguished when I visited a website www.localwino.com which is a wine informal portal with a lot of useful information and I do access it occasionally fo...
by Jennifer Jordan
When it comes to the holidays, there is a right and wrong way to get the presents you want. For instance, making a detailed list and giving it to family and friends is the right way, performing a lap dance for the local mall Santa is the wrong way, no matter how right it feels. For wine lovers, getting what you want can be even trickier: with so much wine paraphernalia in your possession, you want to make sure you don’t receive something you already have. You certainly don’t want a wine opener when you already have ten. In fact, nine was plenty. If you, like a lot of wine lovers, are hoping to be wined and dined this holiday season (in the form of gifts) then try asking for wine related items that you’ve only dreamed of having. Keep the following in mind, and on the top of y...
by Jennifer Jordan
Ah, bottle shock. Some people know it for its true definition; others imagine it’s what a bottle of red feels whenever a bottle of white is chosen instead. Whatever meaning you lean towards, one thing is certain: bottle shock isn’t a term with which many wines hope to be labeled. In the scientific sense of the word, bottle shock, also called bottle sickness, is when wine adopts strange, disordered flavors. These strange flavors make the wine taste less fruity, make the presence of the alcohol more noticeable, and cause bottles of Cabernet to repeatedly call in sick for work. Bottle shock is often a result of the wine bottle being – in James Bond fashion - shaken…not stirred. In a suitcase, through the mail, on an airplane, or in the trunk of the car, continuous vibration...
by Subhash Arora
One thing that strikes you as you reach the Langhe hills, driving from Torino in the month of October is the beautiful patchwork of green, orange, yellow and red all around you. How come, the painters, writers and poets love Veneto, Tuscan hills of Chianti Classico and Lake Como etc. but do not rave this region, you wonder? Perhaps, they did not visit the region in Fall, when the Dolcetto vines turn a combo of red, orange and yellow spreading a multi-colour sheet. The slightly- yellow turning patches of Nebbiolo vines lend a beautiful contrast. Occasional glimpse of snow capped Alps add as a magnificent backdrop that would be any nature lover’s delight- the pleasure would be amplified with a glass of Dolcetto di Dogliani in hand! ‘Drink Well- Drink Dolcetto di Dogliani’ is what th...
