Chilling Reds
The general rule of thumb is that red wine should be served at room temperature. However, there are some exceptions. When dining al fresco in the summer a red wine can get...
Wine/Food Matching Rules
Wine and food are a marriage made in heaven. Some simple rules can help make the job easier. Match the character of wine with the character of the dish. A fuller wine...
Component Sensitivity
Everyone’s sensitivity or threshold to the main components in wine (sweet, sour, bitter and salt) differs drastically and can affect your enjoyment. Some folks find a particular red wine too hard and...
Wine Marketing
Whether a producer has a big budget to market his/her wine or a small one, it’s an important issue. Sure fancy, funny or unusual images on labels and interesting, oddball wine names...
Softening Tannin in Red Wine
Many red wines get better with age. One of the main reasons why is aging allows the tannin (dry, puckery sensation on the gums) to soften. However, there’s a very important issue...
Wine’s Sweetness
The sweetness of a wine is determined by its residual sugar at the time of bottling and is usually experience on the tip of the tongue. The sugar code in wine shops...
Pinot Grigio/Gris
One of the hottest white wines in the world right now is Pinot Grigio from northern Italy. It’s light, fresh, crisp, fruity, floral, minerally, sometimes spritzy, unoaked, and extremely easy-drinking. A great...
Prosecco
Prosecco is a sparking wine made in the Veneto region of northeast Italy just north of Venice. Utilizing the Glera grape, it is produced with the Charmat/Tank method (2nd fermentation in a...
Tannin in Red Wine
You know that bitter, puckering, drawing sensation one gets on the gums when drinking red wine? That’s tannin from the skins of red grapes used in its production. In many red wines,...
Assyrtiko
When it comes to Greek wine, perhaps the most noted white grape variety is Assyrtiko. Grown in most Greek wine regions, the grape produces dry, lean, minerally, green-fruited, concentrated white wines that...