Classic Wines

The world of barrels is a complicated one, like so much else when it comes to wine. But unlike the necessity of understanding the difference between, say, cabernet and pinot noir, or Bordeaux and Burgundy, barrel knowledge requires far less depth and m... read more

Ah, yes: These are the terms that are far too often used interchangeably and, well, incorrectly. This is a good time, then, for some clarification. Because they are not, contrary to popular belief, all the same.Producer: This is the name on the label, ... read more

Is there any task more rewarding or fun than trying to integrate more wine into your life? Really, now: It's not like trying to integrate, say, more bench-presses, or more foot-callus scrubbings. This is wine! It shouldn't really be work.And despite th... read more

Put simply, a sommelier is a wine waiter. But, of course, the job entails far more than simply pulling guests' wines from the cellar and serving them. After all, the world of wine is huge, and one of the most important aspects of the sommelier's job is... read more

It's become common knowledge that wine consumption, within reason, is good for you. And not just the tastebud parts either: Recent studies - this phrase always sounds like it's about to precede a TV ad for athlete's foot cream, doesn't it? - have shown... read more

Like any other specific area of expertise, wine has its own vocabulary. And for people who are not as well versed as others in the world of wine, words like terroir, malolactic fermentation, and 1855 Classification are not only confusing, but often off... read more

Playing any kind of market is a risky proposition, and the one for fine wine is really no different. The only thing that does set it apart is the fact that, at any given point, you can physically lose, destroy, or drink your investment into oblivion.Ba... read more

Aside from choosing the right bottle of wine, storing it in the appropriate conditions is the single most important aspect of your wine life between the time you buy the bottle and when you drink it. Of course, this is only really an issue if (a) you l... read more

Reading the label on a bottle of wine is an exercise fraught with danger, and has the potential for confusion or worse. This is because there is no real universal system for labeling wine: Different countries have their own rules, and even within some ... read more

Cork has come in for a lot of criticism in recent years, and the race to find a replacement has reached a fever pitch. Not that cork is all bad: Indeed, it has served the wine industry well for hundreds of years. It allows an appropriate exchange of ox... read more

    Wine bottles come in four main varieties: Bordeaux, Burgundy, Riesling, and Champagne. And while these are far from the only kinds of wine available, they have inspired the vast majority of bottle-shapes in use today.  &nbs... read more

Rule number one: Don't drink too much. And rule number two: If you do, take a few aspirin with a glass of water before you go to bed. Aside from that, there's little you can do to avoid wine-related (or other-alcohol-related) headaches.And contrary to ... read more

Ah, decanting, that most intimidating and misunderstood aspect of the wine-service ritual. When should you use a decanter? What kind of wine benefits from a stint in it? And how much should you spend on one?The vast majority of wines will benefit from ... read more

Pouring wine into a glass may seem like a no-brainer, but, in fact, there are a few rules. Okay, there are more than a few rules, but as with everything else wine-related, these rules are meant to enhance your experience, not to make it intimidating.Fi... read more

In many ways, wine is a lot like golf: Without the right equipment, you'll get nowhere in your pursuit of pleasure. But unlike the "good walk spoiled," it's relatively cheap to amass all of the equipment you need to enjoy a good bottle of win... read more

Opening a bottle of wine is fraught with danger: What if the cork crumbles? What if you spill? What if—heaven forbid!—it’s a screw-top bottle: What then?Fortunately, you have nothing to worry about. If your bottle is sealed with a cor... read more

Though wine is really nothing more than fermented grape juice—we’re excluding things like “white merlot” here, or “peach-flavored white zinfandel”—it is the result of countless hours of work in both the vineyar... read more

Once grapes have been harvested and crushed, an inevitable situation arises: the winemaker must choose suitable vessels with which to contain the liquid. The winemaker chooses what to use based on factors including gape varietal, desired flavor style, ... read more

A couple of weeks ago, I attended UC Davis's Internship and career fair. It was a rather large-scale event attended by almost 200 different companies, and covered the entire floor of the basketball pavilion. Thousands of students from freshmen to gradu... read more

It took about a week and a half for the fermentation to come to a halt. My vat of purple pulp stopped bubbling carbon dioxide, signaling the time to proceed with pressing. Unfortunately, I was suffering a severe time crunch when this happened. My infan... read more