Category Archive

With October comes that wonderfully sweet American holiday known as Halloween. Or as I like to call it: My nieces’ annual sugar induced meltdown. Chocolate, and stress from hyper, screaming children pair exceptionally well with wine. So this Halloween, whether you want an excuse for drinking wine while you have your once a year gorge on candy, or you need … Read More

I absolutely love in old films or novels where a character goes to the sideboard and pours a glass of wine out of the decanter. Something about the idea of having wine ready to be served out of a crystal bottle seems decadent to me. Drinking wine is already something of a treat and putting some thought into the visual … Read More

Wine is one of those products that will lend elegance to any celebration or party, regardless of your reasons for or place of entertaining. Wine is an incredibly social beverage which makes it such a great choice. Even better, it is one of the alcoholic drinks that can still taste wonderful even at a lower price point (cheap wine will … Read More

Wine headaches suck, especially red wine headaches. Personally, I think out of all the different types of alcoholic hangovers, wine is the worst. When I first started drinking wine, headaches appeared pretty much every time I had a glass. Fortunately, I was able to learn how to prevent these headaches and continue to enjoy a delicious glass (or three) of … Read More

Legend has it the words spoken the first time Dom Pierre Pérignon tasted Champagne were: “Come quickly, I am drinking the stars!”. 17th-century Benedictine monk Dom Pierre Pérignon is often mistakenly credited with inventing Champagne. It is true Pérignon was instrumental in creating new wine making techniques and processes but these techniques and processes were actually meant to prevent rather … Read More

Ever felt overwhelmed by all the labels in the wine section? Don’t worry, you are not the only one. In Australia alone, there are over 10,000 labels and those are just labels from South Australian wineries. 10,000 doesn’t even cover the entire wine making regions of Australia! How is a wine drinker to keep all the options straight? Almost makes … Read More

About 40 minutes outside Adelaide, Australia is McLaren Vale, a beautiful Geographic Indicator within the wider Fleurieu Peninsula appellation. Nestled against rolling hills looking towards the coast, with its eucalyptus trees and warm winds, McLaren is reminiscent of Southern California. With a diversity of soil types including sand, clay and limestone, McLaren is home to a wide variety of wines. … Read More

Have you ever wondered what the hell people are talking about when they wax poetic about the bouquet or aroma of a wine? Most wine labels will give you short tasting notes on the wines bouquet or flowery descriptions of the wines aroma. Yet when you open the bottle and pour yourself a glass, is all you smell, and taste … Read More

Every year the Academy of Wine Business Research (AWBR) hosts a conference in some wine growing region of the world. Ostensibly the conference is a chance for scholars in wine research to get together and share research, network, and learn about new developments in wine knowledge. And while all this does take place, at the end of the day when … Read More

If this sounds like something you have experienced too many times (and one time is too many times) don’t despair, there is hope! Ordering wine at a restaurant can be a daunting task, even the most knowledgeable wine drinker has experienced panic at one point or another. Fortunately there are things we can do to make the whole experience one … Read More