Archive for the ‘How to…’ Category
Find your Vinotype profile, find wines you love
A while back, I wrote a post that discussed the unreliability of wine competitions and cited a study from the Journal of Wine Economics. The study examined 13 wine competitions in the U.S. and found that there was no consensus among the different outcomes. The bottom line: wines that were awarded medals at one event, [...]
Five ‘I-dare-you’ wine resolutions for 2013
In the spirit of New Year resolutions, and in the purpose of this blog, I’ve got some radical wine resolutions for you which are all intended to help you expand your current wine horizon, and keep more bucks in the bank. Which of these will you take on? Kick local, go global. Greenies and carbon [...]
On building your first wine cellar
In 1999, my wine collection was about 500 bottles — the largest it has ever been. Somehow I had convinced myself that this is what wine enthusiasts should do, and I would be even better off if I started architecting a 2,000-bottle cellar plan. So I got my hands on a blueprint for wine storage [...]
How restaurants ruin your wine
The newly opened St. Vincent just rocked my world. It’s a restaurant started by David Lynch, whose forte is wine (former sommelier for Babbo and Quince). It has one of the best medium-sized lists I have ever seen, and meanwhile, the food is humbly amazing. But walking out of there Saturday night, I realized my [...]
Wine preservation methods for an open bottle
At our home, weekday wine drinking habits are erratic, meaning we often open a bottle that may be left around for up to 4 days. On ‘pour and store’ occasions, I keep some important tools on hand to prevent the bottle from spoiling and wasting not only the wine, but my money as well. The [...]
Why is it so hard to find an awesome $10 bottle?
Pick a random $100 wine at Costco and you are likely to get a very memorable bottle. But if you walk further down the aisle and pick a random bottle in the $10 range, I’ll estimate your chances of finding an outstanding wine to be about 1 in 50. (And Costco is great, BTW. Your [...]
Buy wine online? Yes, but stick with what you know
Online wine shopping is better than it’s ever been, but still has a lot of room to grow. To echo previous posts, I believe your most important wine merchant is the shop your hometown — which is where you should do 80% of your buying. But online buying should always be in your mix, even [...]
When the best wine choice is a beer
For me, ordering wine out is a different game than buying it in a retail shop. Because I can count on the price being marked at least 2x above retail, restaurants and bars are places where I’m extremely conservative with my wine budget dollars. Food quality being the same, I heavily favor restaurants and bars [...]
Holiday wine – pairing to the people
Ugh. The first holiday wine pairing request just came in…which ones will go best with a Thanksgiving dinner featuring thyme-roasted turkey with gingered-cranberry stuffing? My answer: beer and Boone’s Farm. Gewurztraminer and Coke. Pinot and Pelligrino. I know that’s a wacky answer. But I’m serious. Thanksgiving dinner is NOT the place to play a headdy wine-to-food [...]
Wine shopping at Safeway…finding a needle in the haystack
On the hunt for new value wines, I’ll usually tell you to steer clear of large grocery stores, because wine is ‘just another category’ in the grander scheme of the store. This means there will be no expert walking around offering his opinion of which pinot noir is best of the 40 available. Instead, you [...]
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Interview: Barry Jackson, Bard of Bubbles
December 7, 2012 11:12 -
Find your Vinotype profile, find wines you love
December 4, 2012 08:12 -
Five ‘I-dare-you’ wine resolutions for 2013
November 26, 2012 09:11 -
On building your first wine cellar
November 15, 2012 12:11 -
$15 Shiraz fans – take a look at Jumilla from Spain
November 13, 2012 07:11
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Christoph Roeper:
right now I vinotyped myself with Tim's survey and I was really astonished that -
Christoph Roeper:
Have you ever tasted a Shiraz from Austria? I would like to recommend Shiraz Gab -
Christoph Röper:
The USA is always a step in frnt. In Germany or Austria I haven't seen a IPad Wi -
KF Louis:
Ken - I, too, dream of an interactive wine list that gives me so much more than -
Ken Rosen:
My first thought was: expensive, breakable gimmick. But I came around quickly--a
