An uncommon style of French wine is in the midst of an international renaissance. Cooly refreshing white Pinot Noir is made from red wine grapes, much like Blanc de Noirs Champagne. Unlike those sparklers, however, white Pinot Noir is a still wine and is now being made using different methods in regions across the globe.
Send questions to: advice@vinepair.com Should beers at a brewery be cheaper than they are at bars? Perchance to dream, my friend, perchance to dream. It would be logical for a beer to be cheaper at the brewery than at the bar, because the brewery doesn’t have the added distribution costs; unfortunately, that is not the […]
After Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio is the second most popular white wine variety in the U.S. When it was first introduced in 1979, its simple, refreshing style succeeded as an uncomplicated alternative to full-bodied, buttery whites — the type that coined the infamous acronym “ABC,” or “Anything but Chardonnay.” Pinot Grigio is the better-recognized Italian name […]
There’s an interesting dichotomy when it comes to German Riesling. In the 1980s, the once-fashionable wine fell out of favor with international consumers after well-known producers started over-cultivating vineyards and over-seasoning wines with residual sugar. It wasn’t long before the off-dry style became synonymous with poor-quality plonk. Yet it is exactly this residual sugar that […]
From backyard picnics to tapas bars to your local Outback Steakhouse, sangria is a summertime staple. The Spanish wine cocktail is one with a muddled history, tracing back to an early Greek and Roman drink called “hippocras” (wine, sugar, spices, and varied ingredients). A similar drink showed up in Spain around 1100 B.C., eventually spreading to […]
Usually, I’m all about complexity in wines — the various layers that make wine interesting and take it beyond just alcoholic fruit juice. How does oak aging factor in? Can you detect minerals that reflect a wine’s terroir? How about spice or floral notes? Saline or earth? The list goes on. Students of wine live […]
On warm days or evenings (yes, they are returning at last here in the eastern part of the country), who doesn’t enjoy nursing an ice-cold glass of white wine on the patio or deck? While the experience is refreshing, you may be getting only part of the enjoyment of the wine. Did you know that really […]
Cider is a broad category. By definition, sour cider is “cider fermented with non-traditional yeast and bacteria, typically lactic and acetic acid, and wild-fermented,” Peter Clausen, production manager of 101 Cider House in Los Angeles, says. Clausen quite literally defined the category, assisting the United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM) in creating the definition […]
For many, Argentina is synonymous with Malbec; but it has a signature white grape that, unlike Malbec, is actually native to the country. Torrontés, of which there are actually three different varieties, is a very aromatic grape, likely because it is genetically related to the perfumed Muscat of Alexandria.
