A wine label can look as though five different people each contributed a favourite word. One names the place, another the grape, another the a
Continue ReadingFood and Wine Pairing Explained: How Flavors Interact
Take a sip of wine, eat something sweet, then try the same wine again. The liquid hasn't changed, but your impression may have. Food and wine
Continue ReadingWine Faults Explained: How to Recognize Common Wine Problems
Something smells odd. Is the bottle faulty, simply unfamiliar, or being served in a glass that spent the week beside a scented candle? Wine fa
Continue ReadingWine Storage and Service Explained: Temperature, Glassware, and Decanting
A well-made wine can have a disappointing evening if it spends the afternoon beside a radiator, arrives in a detergent-scented glass or is pou
Continue ReadingFortified Wine Explained: Port and Sherry
Adding grape spirit to wine raises its alcohol. The crucial question is when you add it. Fortified wine explained through that timing turns Po
Continue ReadingSparkling Wine Explained: Champagne, Prosecco, Cava, and Asti
A sparkling wine's bubbles tell you that gas has been kept in the wine. They don't tell you whether it should taste of fresh pear, fragrant gr
Continue ReadingFurmint and Tokaj Explained: Hungary’s Famous Wines
Sweet wine needs something to keep it lively. Without enough acidity, even wonderful fruit can feel rather like syrup. Furmint and Tokaj expla
Continue ReadingZinfandel and Primitivo Explained: From California to Southern Italy
How can one grape produce both a substantial red and a pale, sweet pink wine—and also turn up under another name in Italy? Zinfandel and Pri
Continue ReadingPinotage Explained: South Africa’s Distinctive Red Grape
If Pinotage has Pinot Noir in its family, why doesn't every glass taste like Pinot Noir? Pinotage explained through its identity and productio
Continue ReadingMalbec and Carménère Explained: Argentina and Chile’s Signature Red Wines
What happens when two French-origin grapes find especially important homes on opposite sides of the Andes? Malbec and Carménère explained th
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