Big data is big nowadays. Big, really big—just look at the data.
When it comes to wine, however, big data is problematic because wine’s big data is bewildering. Continue reading “Big data 9-30-2015”
Category: Facts About Wine
Parker 9-23-2015
Robert Parker. Like New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys, you either revile with corrosive intensity or adore with hagiographic veneration.
Arguably, Robert Parker made wine what it is today in U.S. The 100-point scale—his transformative gimmick—is why America is world’s largest consumer of wine. We were timid neophytes before. He made it possible for barefoot Pilgrim consumers to pretend they knew what they were doing.
Continue reading “Parker 9-23-2015”
Wine stains 9-16-2015
Drink enough red wine and you are going to spill red wine. On clothes, tablecloths, rugs, maybe all of the above in one big, dramatic cataclysm.
What do you do?
Continue reading “Wine stains 9-16-2015”
Sauv blanc 9-9-2015
Sauvignon blanc ranks as world class wine after once being associated with poorboy plonk or snooty French names no one understood. Long, strange journey.
Continue reading “Sauv blanc 9-9-2015”
Cork conundrum
An effete wine server ostentatiously extracts the cork and pretentiously presents it to you. Now what?
Do you studiously examine the cork for flaws? Smell it? Lick it?
Continue reading “Cork conundrum”
Foil capsules
A wine bottle’s foil (or faux foil) cap is an almost-anachronism.
Today, the cap usually is an unnecessary obstacle to opening the bottle. It serves little purpose other than a branding opportunity for the maker and a chance for your wine server to show off. Continue reading “Foil capsules”
Dirt tasting
We should have known it would come to this. With growing emphasis on organic farming and terroir (vineyard environment, soil, climate), obsessive wine/food afficionados would do dirt tastings.
Yes, people tasting dirt. Continue reading “Dirt tasting”
Low end glut
Today, Americans collectively drink more wine than any other nation, an epochal change that began three generations ago. In addition, we are more sophisticated about what we drink.
Not all wine makers, however, are thrilled by increased sophistication. Continue reading “Low end glut”
Supermarket wine
Fine wine makers have mixed feelings about supermarket chains selling their wine.
On one hand, grocery stores offer exciting opportunities to sell to folks who would not set foot in a wine or liquor store.
On other hand, wineries worry about image. What if loyal customers of a winery’s high-end efforts balk when they find winery’s third-level bottles alongside cheap bargains on a grocery aisle? Continue reading “Supermarket wine”
Random wine facts
Random wine facts to calm timorous tipplers and furnish factoids to help you impress friends. Continue reading “Random wine facts”