In Vino Veritas

    This question was asked of me a while back, and just for (explicative) and giggles I decided to answer I guess it could be a two parter. One way of thinking would be which varietal is typically vinified with the highest alcohol percentage thereby getting you both drunk enough to overcome social anxieties, [...]

  I’ve compiled a short list with simple explanations for some facts that can impress people: What are the 5 red varietals allowed by French law in Bordeaux wine? Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and a sixth almost never used varietal.. Carménère What two parent grapes gave way to Cabernet Sauvignon? Cabernet [...]

This is my second installment of Wines on the cheap tip. I’ve had my years of affluence and my years of absolute poverty. Strangely enough some of the most relaxing, peaceful, blissed out times I’ve had were when I had only the change in my pocket to my name. I had one year when I [...]

A few years ago I went to a restaurant called Dans le Noir?. This was a unique experience for so many reasons. The restaurant was in Paris on a little alley called Quincampoix not 50 yards from the Musée National d’Art Moderne. The premise was that the entire eating experience would be done without the [...]

I was asked for the umpteenth time to recommend affordable good wine buys in every department. Or as it was put “Inexpensive tasty wines for the grad student! That can be found anywere?…say Texas ” I decided to skip my usually playful banter and just go over a ton of wine that can be found [...]

  There I was. In the dark. In my bed. I awoke with a shudder. There is something in the room with me. Fear grips me. I can sense it close. I can even hear its heart beat. Thump thump thump. I dare not move. Straining my eyes as if I will suddenly be able [...]

    I was asked to teach a class two Sundays from now, and was trying to decide what I would go over. Where does one begin when just being introduced to wine? I asked myself a few questions that I asked when I first started. I’m going to tease you with answers now, but [...]

Intrigue isn’t usually a word I would associate with wine tastings. I went to Paris not too long ago. I took a train for a day trip to Epernay, in the heart of Champagne, and then cabbed it to Ay to see Gosset (the oldest wine house in Champagne). I enjoyed the small town and [...]

Drew told me the tasting was at three. I knew I had to get back to the house by at least 2:15 or I’d miss my ride to the tasting. I ended up wearing a gray fleece coat and suede brown pants. The car was screaming through traffic to make it on time. I dodged [...]

Imagine if you will a warm summer night. The moon is missing, making the dark thicker then Papa Jones’s molasses barbecue sauce. A gang of fireflies pierce the void with a spattering of the tiniest suns. The breeze brings a mosquito that changes its meal ticket as soon as you blow cigar smoke in her [...]

I’d like to continue talking about my favorite region in California. Santa Barbara I left off with Longoria. Mosby is another winery that we frequented. At Mosby they produce almost entirely Italian varietals, and do a great job of it.  William ‘Bill’ Mosby is an eccentric ex-dentist who made the switch back in ‘98 to [...]

When I first started getting into wine I went to Santa Barbara area and tasted wine at many places repeatedly over the course of ten years. Every year we would go to some places religiously. Most of which are still my favorite California wineries to date. I often wonder how much nostalgia plays a part [...]

I have an on going battle with a lot of wine geek friends of mine. I love Italian wine and talk about it often whereas they love everything else. Italian wine grows on you if you let it. Kind of like a jasmine vine if someone introduces it to you and tells you how amazing [...]

Here I am writing on my birthday. I’ve begun consumption of an inexpensive Sauvignon Blanc, and started listening to  Tony Tribe “Red Red Wine.” Classic I can’t seem to collect my thoughts. Distracted by music and my mind keeps drifting to people I’m thankful for, so if this one is a bit divergent, self indulgent [...]

    If Champagne cost less than $30. Then you bought it off the back of a truck alongside a pair of Folex wrist watches and a Juicy sweat suit that actually said Bouncy in a half circle rainbow from the left cheek to the right one. When you are in the torrid Sahara desert, [...]

Why is it that sometimes when you taste a wine produced by a specific vintner it might taste fabulous. Then the next year it doesn’t float your boat. In fact the little cargo ship that carries your happy wine thoughts gets torpedoed by a U-boat. Just as you were laying on the deck chair reading [...]

I shortened the title this second time around in an effort to be less ostentatious, but then I used the word ostentatious which in itself is ostentatious. From here on out I promise not to use the aforementioned really long word. Scouts honor. Ostentatious Damn. Okay so I lied. I couldn’t help myself. I wrote [...]

Yeah I know.. It’s my longest title to date, but I don’t know any shorter way to put it. I’ve spoken many times about different practices in wine making that different states or countries observe. Knowing these laws and restrictions placed on wine makers by their governing body helps one identify what’s behind the label. [...]

…so before I was so rudely interrupted by my glass of wine we were discussing tannins. Grape tannins are a bit more subtle and can often turn into bitterness if the wine maker is not careful. The key with tannin is to know your audience. If you want your wine to be drunk immediately upon [...]

Acidity, Tannin, Weight and Balance There are so many components in how one experiences a wine. It’s not just whether the wine tastes good or bad, but more how the wine achieved the result it did. When I take a sip of wine to determine whether I like it or not. I like to reflect [...]

I’ve talked on occasion about blending wine. What regions have what restrictions or styles, but I’d like to take some time to elaborate. I think I will start with Syrah and Viognier. I liken this blend to the Yin and the Yang. No two wines could be more opposite yet work so well together. “Yin [...]

Bordeaux produces some great wines in many shades of red, white and sweet. I definitely think that devoting some time to explore these wines would be beneficial to broadening your palate, and quaffing wine is so rarely a chore.

I agree with the Italians on Barolo. It is the king, but calling Barabaresco the Queen I feel is incorrect. I think of Barbaresco more as the heart stealing vixen.

Syrah, Shiraz and Petite Sirah What’s the difference between these? Is Petite Sirah just a small Syrah? Is Shiraz any different from Syrah? When I first started learning about wine I was rather confused. it took me forever and a day to notice the fact that Petite Sirah had an I instead of a Y. [...]

It was getting late, probably around 10:30pm when a friend of mine asked if I was going to the Chill tasting. Caught off guard I said “when?” Now till 1:30am was his response. I’d been to a few in the past, and they tend to be a hipper crowd with a DJ, food and great wine. So naturally I said yes.

It was at the St Francis Yacht club in San Francisco. A warm 65 degree early January day with a view to die for.

Located in the far west side of France, Beaujolais is a wine region in the region Burgundy in France. They use the ol’ style of wine making, and no I’m not talking about pruno like they make in prison.

Wine talks to you through taste, touch, sight and smell. Honestly it even talks to you audibly.

When I ask someone what kind of wine they like I tend to lead with a general question to help narrow the field. I first ask if they want red or white. If the answer is red I ask if their preference is light, medium or full bodied. I use this information to help narrow [...]

This is the sixth year in a row that I’ve organized a non-traditional Thanksgiving. After the whole brine bag explosion debacle I didn’t have it in me to do turkey any more. I therefore have decreed that each year be a different nationality of food. The first year we did Chinese food complete with six [...]

Thanksgiving. Each year nearly every single person in America celebrates this national holiday. Regardless of how it all started what remains is a day of friends and family. This often includes in-laws and friends of friends as well as those choice relatives who you can’t refuse, but can very nearly make a mess of everything. [...]

Ah Sonoma… hot and hot with a touch of wine

I woke up this morning to the sound of turtles.

Don’t discount aged white wine. Its more difficult to achieve fabulous aged whites, but they are well worth the wait!

I find it odd that entirely by coincidence I am posting a blog about aging wine on my birthday…

I’ve talked about how different regions have different growing and vinifying styles, but not about what a wine maker can do to make the wines taste so different. Aside from where the grapes are grown having an effect on wine—the choices made once one has a set growing area can affect the wine enormously. With Chardonnay in particular, what the vintner does to a wine can have a drastic effect on what the wine tastes like.

Pairing food with wine has been a back and forth battle of–drink what you like and the food will follow or pairing is a delicate process of balancing the hints of fruit and terroir to the subtle spices and textures the dish you are eating provides. I say both are correct.

To take a step away from wines in general here is a wine blog about a new San Franciscan restaurant.

Sangria. Sangria is a way to make wine that you don’t like palatable and therefore alleviates any guilt you would garner as a result of dumping boring wine.

In my last blog I discussed how to improve your chances of finding a chardonnay that suits your tastes, without knowing any specific producers. One can get a feel for what a wine will taste like based on the standard growing and vinifying methods a particular region practices. Most regions are consistent in their style [...]

There are so many times when I see someone looking at wines in a store with that lost look in their eyes. They are aimlessly searching in hopes that a wine will jump off the shelf and shout “I’m affordable, and have the exact flavor profile that you’ve been waiting for!” Except every time the [...]