COLUMN ARCHIVE
Veni, Vidi, Vino
Most recent stories
May. 16, 2012 / 865: Road Trips
Cheap, but good
How to choose great wine on a budget
Price is not an indication of quality. This basic truth of consumerism applies to wine as much as it applies to anything else, but luckily there are some… Read more »
Mar. 21, 2012 / 857: Ben Folds
South Africa
Should it be your new watering hole?
I thought for a long time that South African wine smelled and tasted like dirty elephants, zebras and giraffes bathing in a warm watering hole. Maybe South African… Read more »
Mar. 07, 2012 / 855: (Re) cycling
Sober wine
So, what's the point of non-alcoholic wine?
So you wake up one hazy morning, head throbbing and stomach churning, swearing off alcohol forever. I've vowed it a thousand times, but somehow the lure of a… Read more »
Feb. 22, 2012 / 853: Folkways
Eye of newt
The essence of blending wine
Picture the witch's cauldron ... bubbling up with smoke, fire and brimstone. She tastes the brew ... and discovers it needs something, perhaps a pinch of eye of… Read more »
Jan. 11, 2012 / 847: The great indoors
Not easy being green
The wine industry has a way to go to become Earth-friendly
Green is everywhere. Green tints my magazines, permeates my podcasts and infiltrates my inbox. Green can exhilarate ("one more bottle recycled!") or render guilt ("Damn, I forgot my… Read more »
Dec. 14, 2011 / 843: New Year’s Eve Style
Taming your tannins
Decanting step by step
I poured the tannic, unfriendly wine slowly into the decanter and hoped it would fruit up and become more approachable. Mixing with oxygen often softens rough, bitter wine… Read more »
Nov. 16, 2011 / 839: Ox
The oak in you
When the forest and the vine collide
I'm not sure if the noun has officially morphed into a verb: to oak. And I don't think it's an official adjective yet, since "oaky" still sends my… Read more »
Nov. 02, 2011 / 837: Cleopatra’s Sister
Avoid the auction
Wine is for drinking, not hoarding
"Such is American business, I guess, where the desire for obscene profit mutes any discussion of conscience." —Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes Wine auctions make me nauseous. Something… Read more »
Oct. 19, 2011 / 835: Colleen Brown
What would Jesus drink?
Wine has come a long way since it was invented
I doubt the Romans contemplated the tannins in their grapey grogs. The end goal was drunkenness, mixed with gorging on food and other bodily pleasures. But Rome's ancestors… Read more »
Oct. 05, 2011 / 833: Fall Style 2011
Giving thanks
Options abound for Thanksgiving wines
With Thanksgiving almost on the table, chances are there's a dinner party in your future. Whether you're hosting or a guest, here are a few tips for having… Read more »
