Right now, many in the wine world are freaked about the decline in wine drinking. Advice: relax, take a deep, cleansing breath. A nice, chilled rosé also might help. Continue reading “Lifestyle choices and wine 2-25-2026”
Category: Recent Columns
Wine’s tough year 12-30-2025
Ah, it was a heady wine time while it lasted. Wine enjoyed more than 50 years of vineyard and winery growth, more than 50 years of improving quality, more than 50 years of consistent year-over-year market expansion. Those were the days, my friend. We thought they’d never end. We’d sing and dance forever and a day. Continue reading “Wine’s tough year 12-30-2025”
Tannins explained 10-8-2025
Tannins are natural and essential to wine. They also are wine’s most misunderstood element. Even wine scientists admit they do not fully understand tannins. One expert called tannins a “chemical train wreck.” Let’s explore. Continue reading “Tannins explained 10-8-2025”
Controversial wine review terms 9-16-2025
Wine writers freely admit that trying to describe how a wine tastes is the classic “like dancing about architecture” folly. But amid the thousands of wine choices, people still want guidance. Even if the guidance has flaws, it still beats the “even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes” method. Continue reading “Controversial wine review terms 9-16-2025”
Wine writer times they are a-changin’ 9-2-2025
After 17 years of communicating to readers as a newspaper wine columnist with a side gig online, the ground shifted, the medium and the stylistic conventions of the message changed. Continue reading “Wine writer times they are a-changin’ 9-2-2025”
Wine reviews humor 8-13-2025
I get it. Using words to describe what a wine tastes like is like dancing about architecture. But wine writers do it anyway, and wine readers read it anyway. Continue reading “Wine reviews humor 8-13-2025”
Perceived sweetness in wine 8-6-2025
What makes a wine sweet and what makes a wine taste sweet? As you might expect in the convoluted world of wine, the two are not the same. In the wine world, things are not always what they seem. Continue reading “Perceived sweetness in wine 8-6-2025”
A widow solves a Champagne riddle 7-30-2025
Revolution and evolution in wine in the 17th and 18th centuries set up the sparkling wine world we enjoy today. Christopher Merret’s experiments in secondary fermentation. Dom Pérignon’s vineyard and winemaking improvements. English breakthroughs in glass making. Continue reading “A widow solves a Champagne riddle 7-30-2025”
Sparkling evolution-revolution 7-23-2025
Wine has been evolving for at least 8,000 years, and so it goes in the world of sparkling wine. Continue reading “Sparkling evolution-revolution 7-23-2025”
Days of thine and rosés 7-16-2025
Summmer-time, and sippin’ rosé is easy… fish are jumpin’… and the cotton is high. Continue reading “Days of thine and rosés 7-16-2025”