Ice cube wine.

Each summer, the wine writing world produces articles about and lists of “picnic wines”, “summer wines”, “poolside wines”, “Labor Day wines”, etc,

I’d like to propose the category of “ice cube wines” as an all-year category.

I use this term to refer to wines that need to be poured over ice cubes because that improves their taste - both through chilling and dilution. (more…)

97 points.

Today, on PalatePress.com, Ben Simons thinks out loud about the place and utility of wine rating. I did a very light edit of this well-written piece. The day after I received the assignment, my Google alerts notified me about an article in a seemingly obscure journal in which the wine rating scale I had developed for redwinebuzz.com is compared to some pretty formidable contenders. (more…)

Many a wine enthusiast (and Old World winemakers, no doubt) would thoroughly enjoy using the current Old World wine regulations, particularly the French ones, to light a fireplace. However, in the context of modern history of wine, these regulations are the reason why Old World wines are the global benchmarks - and for good reason.

Admittedly, these regulations are products of the early or mid-20th century legislation and they are plagued by shortcomings and weak points. In some cases, wines receive appellation status by virtue of the letter and not the spirit of the law. Nevertheless, there is rationale behind these rules. (more…)

"The apple cake recipe" by Jacek Yerka

At a tasting seminar during a recent wine festival and while discussing different wines, a member of the audience said of a wine: “It takes you there”. Well, I’d like to know where to get those tickets.

The “somewhereness” of a wine or any other produced beverage; that character which unmistakably conveys the essence of the place where it was grown and produced, is believed by some to transport one to the place of the drink’s origin. I have always believed that this can only happen if one really knows something about the nature of the place where the drink originates. Even then, there is not necessarily any part of that place contained in the liquid one sips. (more…)

Veuve Cliquot Rosé in chiller

Sparkling wines, in many western minds, seem to be inextricable from the celebratory setting. I think this goes beyond precedents and traditions set by tales of debauchery at the widow’s estate. There is something about the effusive nature of bubbly that is visceral in ways that go beyond what is acceptable in polite company.

But I am not polite company.

I guess the American wine consumer of all ranks is having trouble extricating their definition of sparkling wine from rap videos and NASCAR winner’s circles. But it’s not uniquely American to think of sparklers as celebratory. (more…)

Blind games.

Steve Heimoff, today, wrote an interesting post about the importance of tasting blind. The core of his argument is that it eliminates taster bias and it levels the playing field.

I disagree vehemently. In short, blind tasting is a fun exercise and can make for an entertaining party game.

I believe tasting blind, while eliminating “cues” of reputation (from the label), relies primarily on the taster’s preferences. The idea of leveling the field disregards regional variation. This notion represents very misguided thinking which can only contribute to the much-decried homogenization and loss of diversity in wine. (more…)

George Carlin.

One of my all-time favorite comics, George Carlin, died yesterday.

I really don’t have heroes or people I idolize. I see traits and qualities in everyone which are worthy emulating. My favorite thing about George was the when he smelled bullshit, he called it what it was.

I liked his unconventional way of looking at conventional things. In all parts of our society (even in science and medicine) certain notions become “accepted wisdom” and then “dogma”. It was Carlin’s way of looking behind the facade and questioning the validity of some assumptions that really resonated with me. Sure, he could be irreverent, absurd and even profane, but his material always reminded me that we should never complacently accept the party dictum. (more…)