Canadian Wines
I think a lot about wine: Pinot Noir is on my mind whenever dinnertime rolls around, Beaujolais is in my thoughts as the holidays approach, Merlot and Cabernet share time on my brain when I attend a local happy hour. Sometimes wine is even in my dreams: bottles of White Zinfandel, knowing I am not a fan, chase me into dark and desolate alleys. But then, of course, there are the times when I don’t think of wine at all; one of these times is when I think of Canada. In my thoughts, the words “Canad...    Read entire article

Sugar on Top: the Basics of Dessert Wines
Most people will agree that wine and dessert go well together, holding hands as they skip into the sunset of your mouth. Just the very image of a glass of wine next to a plate of tiramisu is enough to make most people salivate, drooling like a person about to fall in love at first bite. It seems simple enough: a glass of wine, a plate of sweets, a taste bud or fifty, but wining and dining in this manner needs more than a twinkie and a bottle of sugary liquid; it requires proper pairing of food a...    Read entire article

Wine Terms For the Scared
For whatever reason, wine has become a drink that some people fear. Some people are simply too scared to approach it, looking at a bottle the same way they used to look at the popular girl or boy they had a crush on in high school. No one is really sure when wine got this reputation, but it did: wine is the most intimidating of alcohol. Yet, this notion seems absurd: should wine really be that scary? It is, after all, just a drink; people should be able to outwit even the most cunning of vint...    Read entire article

The Fountain of Youth
Throughout centuries, people have searched for a proverbial Fountain of Youth, a fountain whose water can actually slow down the aging process. From Juan Ponce de León to the modern day seeker, the search for the Fountain of Youth, much like the fountain itself, springs eternal. While this fountain’s location has proven elusive, it’s believed to be somewhere near Florida, causing hopeful searchers to leave no Cadillac unturned: as the Atlantic winds blow onto the shores, the sounds of “here f...    Read entire article

Organic Wine, A Reprieve for the Allergic
When I was a kid, I developed an allergy to peanut butter, something I loved to eat by the spoonful. While others ate it, mixing clumps with strawberry jam and putting it between two slices of bread, I stood by drooling; then, with a sense of defeat, I went to stick my head in my Easy Bake Oven. To me, there was nothing worse than being five years old and having a peanut allergy; it‘s the equivalent to having a wine allergy when you’re over 21. Lucky for me, I’m not allergic to wine. I’ve sel...    Read entire article

A Breath of Fresh Air, Why You Should Decant
This year Christmas came early for me when my fiancée gave me my Christmas presents early. As I sat opening my many attractively wrapped packages, the one that excited me and intrigued me the most was an attractive glass wine decanter. Even though I am an avid drinker of red wine, it has never occurred to me in all my years that I should ever use one. Usually I would just set an open bottle of red wine on the counter for a little while before finally drinking it. However, after having used a win...    Read entire article

The Art of Tasting Wine
When it comes to tasting wine there is a lot of finesse and etiquette involved , but this is no reason to be intimidated and run away! Tasting wine is where all the fun begins. Smelling, sipping, tasting, and drinking! The etiquette in wine tasting exists because taste is entirely affected by smell. Wine has so much to offer our taste buds, so in order to get the whole experience a short ritual must first occur. 1. Color - Take a look. View the wine, examine its color. Each varietal will show...    Read entire article