Classic Wines

Picking grapes for wine is the first step a winemaker must do to make delicious wine. The timing is crucial for picking grapes with the correct sugar content since this is so important in making the wine. It goes beyond this one fact though, so join us at Bedell Cellars as we learn more about fine wine making.

One of the important steps in making wine comes before the grapes are even picked. The winemakers job is to determine the correct time to pick the chardonnay, or viogneir grapes for optimal flavor. Classic Wines interviews the winemaker at Bedell Cellars, John Levenberg, in Long Island to find out the many determinations that a winemaker will make to bring you that wonderful glass of wine.

There are many wine tours along the North Fork of Long Island. Bedell Cellars, known for producing a high quality Merlot, has redesigned their tasting room into a beautiful state of the art facility. Join us next week for more in a series on the Long Island wineries, where we visit the vineyards, taste some wine and meet some of the winemakers themselves.

Does the smell of a cork tell you anything? How many different shapes of wineglass should you buy? And what's the deal with decanting? In this episode, the sommelier instructors at The Wine School of Philadelphia discuss how to get the most pleasure from a bottle of wine. And the answers, as always, may surprise you.

What's your favorite California wine? Join us this week as we compair two wines from California in The Classic Wines Wine Showdown. The Miner Viognier with an aroma of marzipan, apricots and orange blossoms or The Cline Viognier with a more subtle taste. It's a tough decision for most but we can count on our own Brian Freedman to help you find the answers.

What does your wine smell like? Vanilla, butter, how about green pepper? Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc all have complex descriptions and aromas. We visit with The Wine School of Philadelphia to found out how and where all these aromas come from. Join us as Brian Freedman speaks with Keith Wallace about the smells, descriptions and tastes of wine.

Mmm, wine and chocolate. The Classic Wines Minute visits Pinot Boutique, a toy store for wine lovers, where Brian Freedman talks with the owner and samples a cabernet wine chocolate sauce that's out of this world. Join us as we find out just how many accessories there are for wine lovers! We talk about everything from gift baskets and decanters to refrigeration and corkscrews.

Have you ever wanted to learn about wine? Do you want to find out about all the red wine myths you've heard. The Classic Wines Minute visits a few expert wine sommeliers at The Wine School of Philadelphia. Join us as we learn a few things about wine tasting and maybe why the 'wine expert's' review may not always be right for your palate.