Classic Wines

Sauvignon Blanc goes well with shellfish, but do you know the differences in taste from Sauvignon Blanc around the world?Today Randy Torban gives us a quick lesson on sauvignon blancs from around the world. He gives you quick tips from wines from New Zealand, the U.S. and France. All delicious, but slightly different in their approach.

Shiraz is one of Australia’s most well known wines.  The grapes are grown throughout Australia’s regions and has grown world wide in popularity.  Shiraz is familiar to the rest of world as Syrah, only with an Aussie twist to it.

Join us today as Randy Torban explains more about the differences and similarities of Shiraz and Syrah.

We all know that the wine world is full of confusing terminology, and one of the most confusing (including the pronunciation) is the term  ‘terroir’.Terroir is the easiest word for a wine person to describe a variety of conditions, regulations and production of wine. It really doesn't have to be complicated,terroir is just an easy term to pull it all together.

Join us to hear Randy Torban explain this term in a quick and easy way.

Continuing our Wine Cellar Management series, host Brian Freedman explores one of the great aspects of collecting and organizing your own wine cellar - region exploration. Even if you don't have an expansive cellar filled with rows of wine, it's still possible to have fun with similar wines from different regions. For example, in today's episode, Brian examines two Cabernet Sauvignons from the same producer, but from different regions. What will the terroir bring? The wines featured today are the Louis Martini 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) and the Louis Martini 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma Valley). To find your favorite wine please visit us at www.classicwines.com.

In a previous episode, we discussed how long is too long for storing a bottle. Now we'd like to play our own devil's advocate and discuss how Short is Too Short. A lot of wine lovers will use expert opinions to guide just how long they store a bottle before they open it. Unfortunately, the expert's taste may not match their own. You may find yourself opening a bottle too soon based on someone else's instinct. Host Brian Freedman explains the parameters in which you can open a bottle, and how not to commit a panic open. Todays bottle is a Chateau Leoville Barton 1995 (Bordeaux).

Brian Freedman continues his investigation of good cellaring techniques. In this episode, Brian discusses the time element in storing wine. The tricky thing about storing wine for periods of time is that every bottle behaves differently. Depending on the level of tannins and their dominance in the wine itself, every bottle should get different treatment. As if that weren't enough, personal taste plays a role in cellaring time, depending on how tannic you prefer your wine. Time management can seem a little overwhelming, but is actually one of the most fun aspects of wine collecting. Used in today's episode is the Domaine Jamet 2001 Cote-Rotie.

Classic Wines TV continues to explore wine collecting in this latest video about wine cellar management. Host Brian Freedman uses a bottle from his very own collection to demonstrate the two main concepts of managing your cellar - bottle value, and personal affection. Certain bottles can be stored simply for financial accruement or because the bottle will age well. This is a very cerebral approach to wine cellar management. But the bottle can also be stored if it has a personal connection to you. Perhaps you visited the vineyard and had a wonderful experience. Perhaps the bottle was made on a child's birthday. Whatever the case may be, appeal may be another factor to consider when storing bottles. The bottle examined today is the Dierberg 2005 Pinot Noir "Steven".

Got a few wine bottles sitting on your kitchen counter? Maybe a few collecting dust down in the basement? Well it's time to get in the game - start your collection right away! Brian Freedman shows you the basics of starting a real wine collection, and gives tips and tricks for keeping yourself organized. Wine collections aren't just for aristocrats with thousands of bottles; anyone can do it. You might be surprised at how easy and cost effective it can be.