Harvest Approaches for 07/19/2022
Here in wine country, where the weather always turns warm or hot about this time of year, everything is in a heightened state of frenzy.The wine business really is a 365-days-a-year enterprise, and in...
View ArticleVisit Local for 07/26/2022
With apologies to James Garner and the film company that made his superb comedy-western about a local sheriff, I recommend that wine lovers support their local winery.There are several reasons why this...
View ArticleSauvignon Blanc for 08/02/2022
One of the world's greatest grapes, sauvignon blanc, has suffered enough indignities over the years to qualify as a survivor — though the accolades it has received recently make it seem as if it's...
View ArticleVino Alfresco for 08/09/2022
Dining outside can be a treat, but it has a way of affecting how we enjoy our meals, which includes wine — which I consider to be an extra course in the meal.In the waning days of summer, many people...
View ArticleFirst Pick for 08/16/2022
It's harvest time in many U.S. wine areas, and the first grapes to be picked annually, almost everywhere vines grow, are those that make sparkling wines.Wine with bubbles, a most celebratory beverage,...
View ArticleWine Prices for 08/23/2022
Most of the wines we're offered these days are too expensive.I could have written this article several times in the 45 years I've been writing about wine, but it's probably more relevant today than...
View ArticleThings in Wine for 08/30/2022
Winemakers love to say their products are made of grapes and nothing else. It's largely accurate, but if you really get into the weeds, it's hardly all that's at play.As a "basically natural" product,...
View ArticleLooking for Values for 09/06/2022
As popular as wine is today, it's still seen as fairly pricey by regular consumers, so daily consumers are always seeking strategies to find good values. And now is a perfect time to stock up.Wildfires...
View ArticleFree Wine for 09/13/2022
There are many reasons that the phrase "There's no free lunch" usually is accurate, but there are ways to save money when it comes to wine — and to say that this column ought to be called "Free Wine"...
View ArticleWine for St. Swithin's Day for 09/20/2022
Public-relations people around the world are always thinking up "clever" ideas to "help" magazine and newspaper writers — although the main reason is that such articles will help the promoters sell the...
View Article2022 Harvest for 09/27/2022
In the last two decades, no one has done more instant adjusting to life's meteorological vicissitudes than a California winemaker.Erratic weather events, including climate change, have altered normal...
View ArticleWine Prices and the Euro for 10/04/2022
In the last 25 years, imported wine has become fascinating for many American wine lovers.Starting about 2003, we began buying more imported wines than in any prior year, and one reason was that...
View ArticleNZ SB for 10/11/2022
One of the world's most intriguing wine stories of the last quarter-century has to be the astonishingly rapid rise onto the world stage of New Zealand sauvignon blanc.In fact, about 25 years ago it...
View ArticleAging White Wines for 10/18/2022
I suggested in a column some years ago that in general most white wines are best consumed young, after which a reader chastised me for ignoring what he said was my naivete.He said great white...
View ArticleAlcohol in Wine for 10/25/2022
I love wine, of course, but my favorite wines have lower alcohol levels than I have usually seen in the last decade or two.The debate about alcohol levels in table wines (which are aimed at going with...
View ArticleVariety in Reds for 11/01/2022
As the weather begins to turn colder and our thoughts turn to heartier foods including beef stew, steaks and other red meats, we begin to think more of red wine as our dinnertime companion.Not that red...
View Article'Champagne' By Any Other Name for 11/15/2022
Just because it has bubbles is no reason to call it Champagne. Yet that's what some writers suggest is the beverage to consider for the upcoming holidays.Indeed, using the term "champagne" with a...
View ArticleHoliday Party Strategies for 11/22/2022
When several people gather to celebrate, such as at year-end holiday parties, the beverages often aren't particularly upscale, which is perfectly appropriate.In multiparty festivities, people rarely...
View ArticleValue Wines for 11/29/2022
Americans who consume domestic wines on a regular basis are always looking for decent values, if not bargains, and what they choose depends on how they consume wine.Those who are satisfied with any...
View ArticleThe 'Right' Wine for 12/06/2022
Wine purists say that the wine you choose should match the food — and some of them can be rather persnickety about this. Others say, phooey: Drink anything you like with any food. Riesling with steak?...
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