Alphabet Soup – The Wine Trade and Post Nominals
Alphabet Soup When Wine Geek was a little wine geek, his father’s best friend sold ‘booze’. Not exactly sure of everything he sold, but Geek specifically remembers hearing that said salesman ‘could drink any man in town under the table’. Apparently, this was the skill-set needed to be a ‘booze salesman’ in the 50’s & […]
A Noble Pursuit — “In Pursuit of Balance”
A Noble Pursuit ‘In Pursuit of Balance’ is not just a movement but the actual name of an organization of some movers and shakers at the super-premium end of the wine business, and they are starting to bring some balance back to the ‘style debate’. The group even has a ‘Manifesto of Balance’. Wine Geek […]
Decanting: Is your carafe half full or half empty?
Although things like appellation boundaries and production rules are finite and not flexible (unless you are in Burgundy), the appreciation of wine, i.e. drinking & enjoying it, is entirely subjective. Wine Geek has read of or witnessed the entire spectrum of opinions and practices on this subject. His kitchen looks a bit like a vinous […]
The Other 1,350 Grapes
Think you’re a Geek? Let’s talk about the ‘other’ 1350 grape varietals and see what you’ve got… Jancis Robinson, OBE/MW is irrefutably one of the greatest wine writers living (or dead for that matter). Her mastery of the subject matter is legendary plus she has a compelling writing style that is mid-way between pedantic and […]
Keg Wines!
An old idea + new technology = a wine revolution* The most seasoned (read: oldest) of those reading this might remember ‘draft wines’ from the 70’s and 80’s. Usually in flavors of ‘Chablis’ and ‘Burgundy’ in 15 gallon beer barrels, they were innocuous, inoffensive (usually) wines that were great for places like sports arenas and […]
Paper Palates
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 (and frustrating) when we encounter […]
No Wood – No Good? “OAK-ALTS”
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 holding vessel, plain and simple. […]
SAY “YES” TO MICHIGAN!
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 way – other than buying […]
The Wines of Chile (shaking up the wine world)
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 industry short-term remains to be […]