Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

">/0.jpg" alt="YouTube Preview Image" />

We’ve all seen it happen: you’ve got the status quo going nicely in your company, your school, or your neighborhood. Everyone knows where they stand in the pecking order: who’s the boss and who are the supporting cast. So when someone new moves into town, you expect them to work their way up the ladder, and pay their dues along the way.

But what if they don’t? What if they just come storming into the neighborhood, acting like they own the place. Or not acting at all – just taking charge by doing what they do very well.

If you’ll pardon the long-winded analogy, that’s exactly what’s happening in the wine world with the so-called “emerging wine regions.” Countries such as Spain, Argentina and Chile are taking American wine markets by storm.

Of course, they’re “emerging” only to us North Americans. These countries have a much stronger wine-drinking heritage than North Americans and have been producing wine, and lots of it, for centuries. But much of it was relatively low quality stuff. That’s all changed in the last five to 10 years with significant improvements in vineyard practices, grape quality and winemaking technology. We’re now seeing lots of good, better and best quality wines from these countries – and often at bargain prices. They’re giving domestic producers a run for their money. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ll admit my prejudice right off the bat. I like Spanish reds. A lot.

For the combination of value and quality, it doesn’t get any better than the wines of Spain. But this wasn’t always so. Twenty years ago the country produced lots of wine, but most of it was simple and rustic. The technology was old-fashioned and many of the country’s vineyards had fallen into disrepair. But a man named Jorge Ordonez recognized the huge untapped potential in all the wonderful Old Vine vineyards in Spain, and set about re-creating the Spanish wine industry. He became a negociant like Georges duBoeuf in France, selecting vineyard sources and bottling many of them under his auspices. Today, he imports into the U.S. over 130 wines from 40 wineries. And I’ve yet to taste a bad wine in his portfolio. Robert Parker, Jr. has recognized  his work by naming him (twice) “Wine Personality of the Year.” And he single-handedly changed American wine drinkers’ perception of Spanish wine, introducing world-class wines from previously unknown regions such as Jumilla, Priorat, and Campo de Borja.

The wine I’m talking about today, Bodegas Borsao Red Wine 2008, is from the Campo de Borja Read the rest of this entry »

How to pair wine with your favorite junk food.  Junk food and The Wine Lady

The first time we met these two guys at a wine trade event in Ohio, we thought they were a little wacky. They were pouring bubbly for anyone they could drag over to their booth, and their bubbly was made in…New Mexico! We were skeptical, but their story was good and their sparkling wine was even better. Since then Gruet has been our favorite domestic sparkler, and the one we now recommend to everyone we can drag in.

Their story goes something like this: A French Champagne maker named Gilbert Gruet was travelling in the Southwest and met some European winemakers who were growing good wine grapes near the town of Truth or Consequence, New Mexico (really!). Land there was dirt cheap (pardon the pun) compared to the Champagne region, and the family decided to plant an experimental vineyard with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir (the two grapes generally used to make traditional method Champagne). The vineyard was at 4,300 feet elevation, one of the highest in the country, so temperatures that could be very hot during the day dropped by as much as 30 degrees at night. (The geeks call this the “diurnal temperature shift”, and bigger is definitely better: it creates tannin, acid and structure in wine grapes.) Read the rest of this entry »

To complement their individual tastes, wines are best served at specific temperatures. Generally white wines should be served cold and red wines served warm, but going overboard either way can ruin the flavor. These steps will guide you in how to serve wines at the best temperatures, bringing out the intended flavors of any wine you offer your guests.