Wine Blog

Social Scene: Wine & Dine for the Arts – Albany Times Union

Social Scene: Wine & Dine for the Arts Albany Times Union Were you Seen at the Wine & Dine for the Arts Grand Gala in the Hotel Albany on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012? (Joe Putrock/Special To The Times Union) Were you Seen at the Wine & Dine for the Arts Grand Gala in the Hotel Albany on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012? … and more »

Small Talk: Help solve the mystery — Follow the clues to the CSI wine-tasting … – Anniston Star

Small Talk: Help solve the mystery — Follow the clues to the CSI wine-tasting … Anniston Star The 2012 annual wine-tasting dinner hosted by the board of directors of Children's Services Inc. is scheduled for Jan. 28. The event benefits our community's Parris Home for Children. The fun begins at Classic on Noble at 6 pm Chairpersons for this … and more »

Jancis Robinson’s Wine Course: A Guide to the World of Wine
The enormous variety of wines available today can be baffling even to an experienced buyer. Anyone who enters a wine store is immediately confronted by rows and rows of racks filled with a myriad of choices. Where do you begin when all you want is a reasonably priced quality wine to serve with dinner? Jancis Robinson can make anyone an expert, or at least an informed buyer, in short order. In this comprehensive guide to the wine-producing countries of the world, she captures the flavor of each region’s wines and presents her personal recommendations on the best names from around the world, with thirty-two completely new pages covering the latest developments in South America, South Africa, and Eastern Europe. Robinson also describes the distinctive characteristics of hundreds of different grape varieties and studies the traditional and innovative methods employed in the creation of great wines. A fully updated vintage guide makes selection even easier.

Dedicated to ensuring that you get the most out of every glass, Jancis Robinson’s Wine Course explains how to taste and store wine, what to serve on special occasions at home, and how to order the best value from a restaurant wine list. Full of infectious enthusiasm and heaps of personal tips, this book will soon have you reaching for the corkscrew.

Customer Review: Everything You Need To Know About Wine
What a great book! This book teaches you as much or as little as you want to know about wine. It takes the confusion out of tasting new wines and shopping for wine is now fun. You could study it like a textbook and become well versed in the subject or learn what you need to know to make drinking wine more enjoyable.

Customer Review: Not The Best For Starters
If you are looking for a good book to start out with, to learn the basic ABC’s of wine, then I would reccomend The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Wine by Phillip Seldon. This one (Jancis Robinson’s) however is good for people like myself who already know the basics (the distinguishing characteristics of grape varieties, the main regions, how to make reasonablly good food/wine pairings, etc.)
In other words, it’s not the easiest book to follow.

Another note- she makes her disgust of Spanish wines known in the opening paragraph on page 222 when she says “If it (Spain) had Germany’s love of efficiency, or France’s respect for bureaucracy, Spain might be sending us oceans of judiciously priced wine made expressly for the international market. But Spain is an anarchic jumble of districts and regions…and heartbreakingly awful human constructions, and has to be treated as such by the wine enthusiast.”
I found those comments to be misleading, as Spain to me is a model exporter of high quality wines. Just about any Rioja or Tempranillo wine imported and that goes for less than $…is of fine quality. That is my opinion of course. Another semi-complaint is that there was not enough material on Argentina (only 6 paragraphs) which I found to be a shame, since Argentina has very unique and delicious wines.

Overall this is good, as I said earlier, for those who already have a basic knowledge.

GreenBottle cardboard wine and milk bottles could help green the RV lifestytle
The cardboard wine bottle – which is claimed to have a carbon footprint just 10 percent of that of a glass wine bottle – is made of two parts: a sturdy paper outer shell and an inner liner made of plastic which holds the wine. The paper outer is recyclable

The Joy of Wine Clubs
Whether you’re an amateur wine buff, an aficionado of fine vintages and lesser known grape varieties, the perfect dinner party host or simply someone who appreciates a decent glass of good quality wine with which to relax and unwind

Port and the Douro (Classic Wine Library)

Customer Review: Port and Douro wine library
The book was exactly what I ordered.It was received in a very short period of time.

Customer Review: Definitive, comprehensive, informative, articulate.
Port And The Douro is the fascinating story of Port over the centuries and surveys the remarkable physical conditions of the wine growing region of Portugal, the grape varieties, and the vineyards that make the Douro valley so special. Richard Mayson draws upon his many years of experience in the wine trade in general and his remarkable expertise in Port wines and how they are made. Port And The Douro is definitive, comprehensive, informative, articulate, and greatly rewarding reading for connoisseurs, dealers, and the nonspecialist general reader seeking to select just the right Port for the occasion.

The 12 Wines of Christmas — Day 3: The must-have wine map – San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

The 12 Wines of Christmas — Day 3: The must-have wine map San Francisco Chronicle (blog) As a prelude to the big holiday, Inside Scoop brings you the 12 Wines of Christmas. Each day from now until Dec. 23, we'll have a suggestion for something wine-related to make your season brighter. Wine maps are one of those supreme nerd devices. … and more »

Andrew Jefford’s Wine Course
Let Andrew Jefford be your guide to the rich and fascinating world of wine. His wine course consists of 20 clearly defined projects, so you can learn the essentials in a helpful order and at your own pace. The first part of the book, The Tools, covers the kit you’ll need for tasting and thinking about wine, including different glasses, the varying colors of key wine types and their smell and taste. You’ll learn how to choose wine and record your impressions. The Elements explains wine’s components. Andrew profiles the magnificent seven grape varieties: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Pinot Noir, plus many more from the extended vine family. He also pictures what happens in the earth and sky as the vine grows, and the role of the winemaker in shaping the finished product. The final part of the book, The Journey, takes you on a tour of the world’s wineproducing countries, describing the characteristics of each. • “Exceptional…a must buy and read.” Robert Parker on Andrew Jefford’s The New France. • Includes helpful factfiles, “try” boxes suggesting easy tasting comparisons, and “what people love about…” summaries of the world’s main wine types.