Hello again! Last week, we talked about the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition in terms of its magnitude (7162 entries) and seamless organization (thanks to Directors Bob and Scott Fraser and their entire team). Today, let’s take a look at how the competition functions. My wine mentor Bill Stevens taught…
Hello, Hello, Hello! WOW!!! I’m hardly ever short on words, but right now I’m struggling to find any that can convey what an awesomely incredible time Kathy and I had last week in Sonoma. I had the professional experience of a lifetime judging the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competiion, but…
Here’s to wishing everyone a very healthy, happy, and prosperous 2016. We’re all familiar New Years traditions such as broken resolutions, black-eyed peas, Champagne, and fireworks. Today, however, I realized I knew very little, if anything, about the origins of the holiday. So, here we go… Celebrating the new year…
Today is Muscat day; hey, hey, hey! With a history stretching back millennia, the Muscat family of grapes is most likely the progenitor of all wine grapes. It has hundreds of clones, and the Roman scholar Pliny the Elder called it “uva apiana” (grape of the bees) due to its honey-like aromas. These hundreds of varieties range in color from white to almost black, and produce wines ranging in style from white to red, dry to very sweet, and are often fortified. The best variety for producing great wine is “Muscat Blanc a Petit Grains” (White Muscat with little berries). We know this grape as Muscat Canelli.