Wine Geek Speaks

Wine is a wonderful thing. And taste is a highly subjective thing. These two tenets are what make selling wine fun: there are no finites and virtually every wine made has a potential fan somewhere (and likely a detractor or two as well). Because of this, we find it interesting …

Sherry is truly one of the world’s noble wines. It has been produced in some form for millennia. Its place in humankind’s history and the colonization of the ‘New World’ is notable: Columbus had Sherry on his sails to the Americas, and it has been written of by the likes …

Having a diverse selection of types, styles and price-points of wines by the glass is a particular draw for a growing number of restaurants. Not just high check-average places, but for all manner of restaurants (have you been to an Olive Garden lately?). Depending on the specific type of restaurant …

If you are serious about serious wine, then you are at least a little bit informed about ‘Biodynamic wines’. BD wines are those produced following the agricultural and philosophical dictums of Rudolph Steiner, a late 19th/ early 20th century agronomist, philosopher, professor, activist and lecturer. Though only a sliver of …

Of course, lots of red wines (and whites for that matter) are a blend of several grape types; Bordeaux and Chianti are two notorious examples of multi-varietal wines. But even ‘varietal’ wines from California, Washington, Chile or wherever frequently have other grapes in the mix. Usually included to ‘soften’ a …

The Wine Geek was in one of his FAVORITE Michigan restaurants recently and during a casual conversation with the owner/manager/wine buyer, the owner stated “we are going to start offering ONLY grower Champagne on our list going forward; no more ‘Grand Marques’.” At the time, we thought nothing of it—this …

Wow. Timing is everything. We had planned on doing this feature on the fabulous, valuerich wines of Chile and just before going to print—bang! The strongest earthquake in recorded history hits smack dab in the middle of some of the veryy best growing regions. What this will mean to the …

Yes, we do sell Michigan wines, and we’re pretty sure that 90% of those reading this do as well, so what’s the appeal you ask? A few reasons: Due to our current economic challenges, there is a movement of sorts in our state to support all things Michigan. What better …

No, that’s not a new breakfast cereal or a dietary supplement, it’s the terminology used by and ever-growing number of winemakers around the globe when referring to what is more correctly known as ‘oak alternatives’. Oak barrels originally became part of winemaking for a single reason – they were a …

My, how the world changes. There are likely many reading this whose first ‘real’ wine (i.e. not Boone’s Farm or Riunite) was a White Zinfandel. Of course, that “gateway drug” of a wine was usually quickly left behind as we fledgling American wine drinkers matured and moved on to “fighting …