Napa Valley Wine Academy

The pilot episode of the new NBC sitcom “Grand Crew”—a buddy comedy about a group of Black friends who adopt a wine bar as their go-to hangout spot—begins with a monologue, delivered by an older Black gentleman in a snappy black suit. “For ages, the Black man has been seen as many things,” he begins.

Napa Valley Wine Academy

What if I told you that I could change the taste of wine—using only my mind? You’d probably think I was eccentric, a liar, or just plain delusional, or, perhaps, that I had seen The Matrix a few too many times. 

Napa Valley Wine Academy

Back in 2011, one of my favorite party tricks at the wine bar I co-owned in San Francisco was to slip a blind taste of Sheldrake Point Dry Riesling to unsuspecting guests any time they requested a crisp, dry white. Invariably, they would exclaim, “Oh, that’s delicious! What is it?” 

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If you look at a map of the classic wine regions of the world, you’ll notice they all have something in common: latitude. In each hemisphere, the vast majority of quality wines are produced between the 30- and 50-degree parallels. This isn’t a coincidence.

Delectable

A decade ago, I invited a friend to join me for a casual Friday evening wine tasting at a top Manhattan bottle shop, expecting her to be as excited as I was about the prospect of free wine. I was surprised when she visibly recoiled, as though I had just proposed we spend the night deep-cleaning my bathroom.

Napa Valley Wine Academy

While over 80% of consumers admit to choosing wine by its label, they tend to admit it sheepishly. But, for as long as they have been in existence, wine labels have, in varying ways, given us many helpful clues—not just about what’s inside the bottle, but about the society that created it.

Napa Valley Wine Academy

Within the context of wine education, we are taught to think of flaws and faults in binary terms—on an exam, a wine is clean, or it’s faulty. But in real-world conditions, where most of our wine exploration and enjoyment takes place, it’s not so cut and dry.

Napa Valley Wine Academy

In nearly every quality wine region on the planet, it’s safe to assume that a bottle of red wine contains exclusively red grapes. But in a small handful of appellations, it’s common—even expected—to find a deeply colored, richly concentrated red wine that has been enhanced by the inclusion of white grapes prior to fermentation.

Napa Valley Wine Academy

Although recent numbers identify Meunier as France’s tenth most-planted black grape variety, its inclusion in a Champagne blend is rarely boasted about, and Pinot Meunier’s name is almost never displayed on a wine label. 

Napa Valley Wine Academy

Champagne is one of the most instantly recognizable names in wine: even the staunchest teetotaler knows to associate it with sparkling wine. On the other hand, few beyond the most dedicated oenophiles and wine professionals are aware of the various wines and wine-adjacent beverages made in Champagne that contain no bubbles at all.

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It can be difficult to keep up with the ever-changing world of wine. There are so many producers, grapes and regions to discover. And just when you think you’ve finally gotten a handle on your favorite bottles, a new vintage is released, and suddenly there’s a fresh set of wines to taste and learn about and sometimes entirely new categories and styles.

Edible East Bay

Mandy Aftel wants you to get to know your nose. Smells—both pleasantand unpleasant—are all around us, but we often take them for granted.Opening our senses to the world of scents can heighten our awarenessand bring daily pleasure.

Wine Folly

In tasting wine, it’s helpful to know to pick out the good from the flawed. This can be a tricky pursuit, since (ideally) we don’t often come across examples of various wine flaws. After all, each person has a different natural threshold of perception.

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Without a doubt, there’s something to be said for the classics. When you know what to expect from a favorite wine region, you’re unlikely to be often disappointed. However, it’s also true that when you stick to the usual suspects every time, you’re limiting your opportunities to discover new and exciting wines that you may end up loving.

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If you’ve ever been intimidated by the prospect of ordering wine in a restaurant or wine bar or requesting a recommendation in a bottle shop, know that you’re in good company.

Edible East Bay

One of the great perks of living in the Bay Area is the ease of launching a weekend wine country getaway. But if you have only an afternoon and want to spend it tasting rather than driving, you have options.

Edible East Bay

I’m a wine professional. I spend my days tasting, evaluating, discussing, and writing about wine in an office in San Francisco. When I go out on winery visits, I expect to learn about various technical aspects of viticulture and winemaking, as well as how the people involved bring their passions and talents into their work.

Edible East Bay

Don’t call it a trend: Natural wine has existed as a concept for as long as winemakers have had the technology to produce “unnatural” (or manipulated) wine.

Liquor.com

It’s a common refrain: “I hate chardonnay.” So much so, in fact, that a whole movement has sprung up around it—the ABC faction. You guessed it. That stands for Anything But Chardonnay.