”Champagne is just wine,” physicist Roberto Zenit said. “What makes it special is the carbonation.” It’s true: We love our bubbles. In 2017, the world guzzled 544 million bottles ($913 million) of Prosecco, 307 million bottles ($5.6 billion) of Champagne, and approximately 550 billion bottles ($661 billion) of beer. Although fermentation naturally imparts some carbonation […]
New York magazine’s Grub Street recently released its list of The Absolute Best Wine Shops in New York, with Chambers Street Wines deservedly at the top. It’s not easy to be the best wine store in New York. The city has some of the best wine stores in the world. So how does Chambers Street […]
A lot has been written about the impact altitude has on taste. How being inside a noisy metal tube with lots of other people, at a lower air pressure and humidity than normal, greatly affects the ways we experience food and drink. In truth, most of this is based on guesswork and personal anecdote.
With his long hair, Matt Goddard looks a bit like a bass player from a progressive rock band. But he’s a scientist, and his field of interest is microbial ecology. Goddard’s particular interest of late is wine yeasts. He uses modern genetic techniques to answer one of the long-standing controversies in the wine world: Can […]
If a goblet filled with seven fingers of Merlot is sloshed your way across an assumedly sticky bar, it might seem like the bartender has taken a liking to you. That may be true (you’re so great!), but, sadly, one thing is certain: The person pouring the wine doesn’t care about what’s in the glass.
It’s one of the most divisive areas in winemaking. Fermentation, by either wild or industrial yeasts, has become synonymous with the battle between all that is natural, and the convenience and consistency of man-made machination. If natural wine risks becoming a runaway train, then wild fermentation is a flag you wave as it passes by. […]
Ever pick up your glass of white wine, give it a big swirl, and realize that it smells exactly like a freshly cut front lawn? The good news is, you’re not crazy. Grassy aromas in wine are actually quite common. But contrary to what your first instinct might be, winemakers don’t actually put fresh grass or leaves […]
There’s a lot of understandable indignation about the lack of women in the wine industry. Whether it’s the wine glass ceiling or just the sexism women in the wine industry regularly field, women still – in 2017 – have roadblocks to making wine their profession. But this isn’t just infuriating – it’s actually ironic. Because […]
Close your eyes and think of the last gorgeous bottle of wine you opened. Remember what it sounded like as the cork popped out. Remember what it smelled like as you poured it, and then as you swilled it. Now remember what it tasted like. Here’s the thing: How did you know it was good? […]
