What does this mean, Old World/New World? Old World: the best wines, the only ones worth drinking, the most historic and fancy, I only drink Buuuuuurgundy and Italian wines (i.e. the earth is flat) New World: rule breakers, I’m going to plant what I want, where I want, give me BIG FRUIT! (i.e. the earth…
I’ll have a GSM, please
Google “GSM” and you’ll find no mention of wine on that first page of results. For a wine lover, GSM stands for the grapes Grenache (Greh-NAH-sh), Syrah (Seer-AH), and Mourvèdre (More-VED-rah) – three red beauties delicious on their own, but magical when blended together. Winemakers around the world love blends. Why? Because you can highlight…
What Is Rosé?
Are all rosés from the famous Provence region in southern France? NO!!! They are from all over the world with varying styles. Rosés can be vastly different – some are sweet, some are off dry (aka slightly sweet), and others are totally dry (no perceived sweetness). So how do you know what you’re getting in…
Remote Wine Education
During COVID many folks are spending less time at tastings and more time with Netflix, myself included. If you’ve been scanning for some new knowledge, here are a few things I’ve found over the past couple of months. Wine in 9 on Udemy (thanks Shawn!) is a series of online courses that you take at…
My First Wine…since having a baby
I have missed you. And I have missed wine. I have missed this time to taste, research and write. What has kept me from you? The day I passed my Certified Specialist in Wine (CSW) exam on August 20, 2019, I also found out I was pregnant! And even before that I hadn’t been able…
Syrah? Shiraz? Both!
And I’m not talking about a blend here, they are actually the same grape variety! The term Shiraz is mostly used in Australia, but it can be used in other parts of the world, typically if the winemaker is accenting the Australian style – fruitier, higher alcohol. So how does one grape get two names? …
Host your own wine tasting
“Do you have any tips for my wine tasting next weekend? I’ve asked people to bring one bottle per person…and we have picked 3 or 4.” Do. I. Have. Tips. I have to reign it in because I get so excited and geek out and tend to overcomplicate things. And even though there are already…
The Gambler’s Wine
You won’t know if it’s sweet or dry, unless the bottle tells you (or of course, you could taste). It could also be still (no bubbles) or sparkling! That’s the tricky thing about the Chenin Blanc (shenin blawnk). Depending on when the winemaker stops the sugar fermentation, there could be a little Residual Sugar (RS)…
Sparklers!
Just in time time for New Year’s Eve (well, if you’re like me and you didn’t select your Champagne for toasting yet because you still have a few more days), here’s a little info on some sparkling wines and a few that you might try, of course under $25. Cheers to saving and sipping in…
What is all the fuss about Pinot Noir?
I finally get it. After visiting Sonoma for a few days, I actually found a couple of Pinot Noirs I liked. AND one from Napa too. But this is really unusual for me. So I wanted to dig into what made these Pinots palatable for me, and most of the others so meh. A Pinot…
CorkProf 