by Byron Carman
Byron Carman, The Bay Area Critic BayAreaCritic.com "The Bay Area's Premier Online Magazine and Newsletter" There are multiple scenarios involving returning wine at a restaurant. Each has its own level of expectations surrounding it on both the customer and restaurant employee. Here are a few of the situations you may face; as well as, my proposed way of handling it. SITUATION ONE You have selected a bottle of wine on your own that wasn’t recommended by the Waiter or Sommelier. The wine appears to be “corked” and needs to be returned or the wine you’ve selected is not to your liking. If the bottle is “corked” then of course tell the Waiter and politely ask for another bottle. If the second bottle is bad, then switch to another label. If you’ve ordered a bottle that isn...
by Byron Carman
Written By: Byron Carman, The Bay Area Critic www.BayAreaCritic.com We’ve all purchased a bottle of wine at a store, winery or restaurant and discovered that it just doesn’t taste right. Here are some various descriptions used to describe a bad bottle, otherwise called as a "corked" bottle: “Tastes like vinegar” “All I taste is the cork” “Smells like old wet newspapers” “Strong Chemical Smell” “Smells like Old Moldy Wood” I’ve experienced a couple of bad bottles in my lifetime. To be honest, I have stored them in the garage with the intent to take them back, however ended up procrastinating and pouring them down the drain. Returning wine can be somewhat awkward, because bad bottles are rare and hardly anyone actually returns wine. If you have purchase...
by Jennifer Jordan
Wine quotes, like grapes themselves, tend to come in bunches. From those who’ve sipped a bottle of Riesling and claimed, “That’s the best wine I’ve ever had,” to those who, after a wild night, spend their morning assuring that they will “never drink again,” quotes are part of wine culture. The famous and not so famous alike have uttered them. But, not surprisingly, it’s only the famous that get theirs in print. Now, reading a wine book and coming across a quote by some of these famous isn’t far fetched. An utterance by Mark Twain isn’t going to shock anyone: Twain made it well known that he enjoyed the pleasures of life. Similarly, a wine quote by Ernest Hemmingway is more likely to leave the reader saying, “Duh!,” rather than, “Huh?” But, not every wine...
by Jennifer Jordan
When it comes to wine, we use a variety of our senses. Our sense of taste and our sense of smell helps us perceive flavors and aromas, our sense of sight helps us look for legs, helping us to identify body, and our sense of touch, well, that just helps us to make sure we grab a glass of wine, and not a can of beer. In fact, there is only one sense we don’t really use: our sense of hearing. Now, I’ve done it myself: I’ve had a few too many glasses of wine, put the glass up to my ear, and sworn up and down that I could hear the ocean. Except for those rare, okay frequent, instances, hearing, when it comes to wine, is a bit left out. That is, however, until it “auditions” for inclusion in the form of song. The following is our list of some of the best wine songs to ever grap...
by Subhash Arora
Avanti Chianti- and make mine Classico please A friend’s wife, who loves her husband immensely, faithfully loves Tuscan wines too. Ask her the difference between Chianti and Chianti Classico and you will draw a blank. Ditto for Tuscan wines and Chianti! Perhaps a majority of wine drinkers don’t know either. Chianti Classico is to Chianti what Chianti is to Tuscany and what Tuscany is to Italy, if you know what I mean. It is a designated area, within Chianti, Tuscany, between Florence in the North and Siena in the South. It finds a very special place because of its terroir and personality when one talks of Tuscan wines. It used to be a part of the Chianti DOCG appellation until August 5, 1996 when it became a separate Appellation through a government decree. Earlier, since 1984 th...
by Jennifer Jordan
Vintage, when it comes to wine, has a unique definition: it isn’t merely an old, classic bottle or one wearing a Guns and Roses hat and Van Halen (pre Sammy Hagar) shirt. In wine, vintage is defined as being made from a particular harvest or a specific crop. A 1989 vintage Riesling, for example, is made up of grapes from - you guessed it - 1989. Still, not every single grape used for the wine may be from the year denoted. Like a fruit with a fake ID, some grapes from other years may sneak in. How many, however, depends on the country. In the wine regions of Chile and South America, at least three fourths of the wine must be from the vintage year in order to bear that year on the label. In Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States the rule sits at 85 percent. But, the U...
by Byron Carman
Must Stops In Napa Valley Byron, The Bay Area Critic www.BayAreaCritic.com The local perspective on great wine tasting experiences. As the person who came up with The Bay Area Critic, I’m often asked for suggestions on wineries to visit when planning a trip to Napa. My typical response to the question is, “It really depends. Tell me more about what you’re seeking.” strongly believe Wine Tasting in Napa Valley is mainly about the wine you taste and the people you meet along the way. However, Napa Valley can be broken into the following categories: Scenic Tours (Breath taking views, old Chateaus, etc.) Red Wine Tours (Wineries tasting predominately red wines) White Wine Tours (Wineries tasting predominately white wines) Port Tours (For those who like ports or dessert wines) T...
by Jennifer Jordan
There are few things that will send a clean freak into a nervous breakdown like a red wine stain: red, red wine, when it’s spilled on the table and running onto the carpet, doesn’t make you feel so fine. No matter what UB40 says. But, luckily, there is hope. Take it from me, I’m an expert in stains. Now, my self-proclaimed “expert status” isn’t because I spill a lot of red wine, if I feel like there’s going to be a spill, I’m not above using a sippy cup as intervention. Instead, my status is deserved because I have a dog with a penchant for confusing the living room with the outside lawn. On occasion I can catch her before she stains my carpet – her sniffing around or asking for a magazine (Dog Fancy) are sure signs that she’s about to leave a mark – but more ofte...
by Byron Carman
THE WINE INDUSTRY UNCORKED Byron, The Bay Area Critic By the process of osmosis, you’re not instantly an expert because you live in Northern California when it comes to distinguishing the good, bad and the ugly when it comes to wines. Most can’t even tell the difference between a bottle of “Two Buck Chuck”(Charles Shaw Wine Sold at Trader Joes) and “KJ” (Kendall Jackson). While the bottles look alike, they’re different in many ways. This article is intended to give the basic wine consumer a little peek into the world of wine. MAGNETS Labels have a lot to do with the success of a bottle of wine. A good picture, graphic and of course a distinguishing or catchy name really impacts the popularity of a vineyard. Could a name like “Opus One” attached with hefty price tag b...
by Byron Carman
Tasting Room Basics Byron, The Bay Area Critic www.BayAreaCritic.com Think of Wine Tasting as like being on a cruise. Going from Port to Port (no pun intended) instead of selecting a single vacation spot or bottle of wine. The cruiser enjoys the journey (tasting), as well as the destination (bottle). When you wine taste, you get to sample many different varieties of wine, from a few different wineries, and most take home a souvenir bottle to enjoy. You can also do some wine tasting at wine bars all over the Bay Area. They offer “Flights” of wine. A “Flight” is a series of wines that take your taste buds on a journey. Sometimes it’s a flight around the globe with wines from Napa, France, Italy and New Zealand, other times it’s a flight of Pinots Noirs and even a flight of the...