Food may be the way to a man's heart, but keep in mind that the food goes through his nose before it reaches his stomach.
In other words, a huge part of enjoying food involves smelling it.
Don't believe it? Then try this trick: Place pieces of four different
types of food with similar textures on a plate, then close your eyes
and have a friend hand you a forkful of one of the items - but before
you bring the fork to your mouth, squeeze your nose so you can't smell
the food. Once the food is in your mouth, try to identify it. Trust us,
it's not as easy as it sounds.
Because the aroma of food is so closely associated with its
flavor, it should come as no surprise that some of the best wine judges
in the...
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New research by The Nielsen Company into consumer wine consumption
patterns and attitudes reveals surprising facts about a wine both loved
and maligned in the United States: Merlot.
Commissioned by
Blackstone Winery and utilizing multiple Nielsen
data sources, the research finds that Merlot has the single largest
consumer base of any varietal wine in the U.S. and, of the major wine
varietals, is the one most closely associated with high quality at an
affordable price.
Complete results of the research are detailed in a report
entitled, "Merlot Today: The State of the U.S. Merlot Market, Consumer
Attitudes and...
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"Every heart is ice-bound till wine melt it."
So said Herman Melville, and whether he knew it or not, Melville's observation applied even to ice wine.
And what better time to discuss ice wine than as the 2010 Winter Olympic Games begin to wind down in Vancouver, B.C.?
Ice wine is a sweet treat for wine lovers, the result of using
grapes that have been left on the vines much longer than normal (thus
developing very high sugar levels), and then...
What's your favorite wine? There's a good chance your answer changes with the season.
During the cold winter months, we tend to comfort ourselves with rich, full-bodied wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Rhone blends and so on -- the types of wines that go well with winter classics like braised short ribs, pot roast and meatloaf. Food that sticks to the ribs, and wine that warms the soul.
But now that things are warming up, comfort food can seem a bit heavy. We begin to crave lighter fare -- salads, chicken, fish, etc. And lighter...
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The Tempranillo Advocates, Producers and Amigos Society (TAPAS)
has announced that the most extensive annual tasting of domestically
produced Spanish and Portuguese varietal wines in North America will
take place this year on Sunday, June 14 at the Fort Mason Conference
Center in San Francisco.
From 2 to 4:30 p.m., consumers will have an opportunity to taste
wines produced by TAPAS members from grape varieties indigenous to
Spain and Portugal that are now cultivated in America, in a delightful
walk-around setting in...
The annual meeting of the
American Society for Enology and
Viticulture will feature a number of firsts when it convenes June 23-26
in Napa.
For one thing, it will be the first time in the event's 60-year
history that Napa Valley has hosted. For another, it will mark the
inaugural
International Cabernet Symposium (on June 26), after other
annual meeting activities have concluded. Two other full-day symposia,
on rootstocks and...
Rose producers in Italy have joined forces to fight European Union proposals to allow the mixing of red and white wines to make rose.
Two Lake Garda rose associations -- Bardolino and Garda Classico -- are working together for the first time since they were created in 1968.
"We must be against a European law that allows the mixing of red and white wines to produce rose,' Sante Bonomo, President of the...
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Although California Chardonnay, Cabernet and Merlot are still by
far the most popular varietal wines in the U.S., comprising more than
half of all California table wine sold in the U.S last year, recent
data shows that the state's winegrowers and vintners are increasingly
catering to wine enthusiasts' thirst for varietal diversity.
From winegrape acreage to the annual crush, a new crop of
"emerging" varietals such as Pinot Gris/Grigio, Riesling, Pinot Noir
and Tempranillo are gaining in wine production all over the Golden
State. Vintners also are increasingly blending new combinations of
popular and less-familiar varietals.
"Because of the cultural diversity of California's growers and vintners, it's only natural that the state would become a...
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"One of the most insidious myths in American wine culture is that a wine is good if you like it," writes Karen MacNeil in her groundbreaking book,
The Wine Bible.
"Liking a wine has nothing to do with whether it is good. Liking a wine has to do with liking that wine, period."
MacNeil goes on to suggest that wine requires two assessments, one subjective and...
Speaking during the 5th annual Franc Fest, Buttonwood winemaker Karen Steinwachs called Cabernet Franc "the Pinot Noir of the Bordeaux world," as she poured a library selection of three vintages -- 2001, 2002 and 2003 -- of Buttonwood Cabernet Franc.
"It's thin-skinned, cranky and pretty much needs more care."
Located 30 minutes north of...
