Recognizing a wine name on a page feels reassuring. Remembering its grape, country and style without looking is a more useful test. The difference
Continue ReadingFood and Wine Pairing Explained: How Flavors Change What We Taste
The wine hasn't changed, but after a bite of sweet dessert it suddenly tastes sharper and less fruity. The bottle is innocent. The food has change
Continue ReadingHow to Serve Wine Properly: Temperature, Opening Bottles, and Service Checks
Room temperature sounds reassuring until the room is a warm kitchen in midsummer. For wine service, the phrase means a relatively cool condition,
Continue ReadingHow to Store Wine Properly and Keep It Fresh
The kitchen counter is convenient, especially the sunny section beside the cooker. For wine, convenience can be a poor guide. Heat, light and chan
Continue ReadingSparkling, Sweet, Rosé, and Fortified Wines Explained
Pink tells you a colour. Bubbles tell you about dissolved gas. Fortified tells you that alcohol was added. Sweet tells you about sugar. Put those
Continue ReadingFamous Red Wines Explained: Beaujolais, Chianti, Rioja, and Rhône Wines
Five bottles display five place names, and none of the names appears in the principal-grape list. That isn't an omission. Many European wines anno
Continue ReadingPinot Noir and Syrah/Shiraz Explained: How Red Wine Styles Differ
Hold a pale ruby red wine beside a much deeper purple-red example. The colour contrast is useful, but it doesn't reveal everything. A lighter-look
Continue ReadingCabernet Sauvignon and Merlot Explained: Two Famous Red Grapes
Blending wine can sound suspicious if mixing is assumed to mean hiding a problem. In fact, it can be an ordinary way to build a desired balance. O
Continue ReadingRiesling and Pinot Grigio Explained: Understanding White Wine Styles
The word fruity causes trouble when it is asked to do two jobs. A Riesling can smell vividly of lime and peach yet be dry. A Pinot Grigio can tast
Continue ReadingChardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc Explained: Two Classic White Grapes
Someone says they dislike Chardonnay but love Chablis. There may be a perfectly sensible preference behind the statement: perhaps they dislike ric
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