Cougar Crest 2006 Reserve Syrah, Walla Walla
The origin of this winery was 50 acres and a booth at the local airport. No, it wasn’t a grand or impressive start. What it did have, and continues to possess, …
WSoP Support
Chateau Carignan 2005 “Prima” Cotes de Bordeaux
When I took a group of my students to Bordeaux, we stayed just a few miles from this Chateau. I did not expect much of this wine when I first tasted …
Old Philly Bitters
That is a Classic Bitters Advertisement One of the best results of the Pre-Prohibition cocktail trend was the re-discovery of bitters. It’s great to see some of the classic bitters being …
Philadelphia Inquirer: The Wine School vs. WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment is going to the mat against the Wine School of Philadelphia. WWE, which trademarked the term Smackdown years ago, is fighting the Wine School’s attempt to register Sommelier Smackdown for its grape-centric competitions.
Last month, WWE law firm K&L Gates sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Fairmount business, which started Sommelier Smackdowns in 2007.”I feel kind of special,” said Keith Wallace. “I am being picked on by Vince McMahon. I better start working out.” In a note to friends, he wrote that he was calling out McMahon and wrestlerChris Jericho to a wine-tasting double-team cage match.
Keith Wallace featured on the 10 Show, again!
Corked & Forked with Keith Wallace on NBC’s the 10! Show.
Decibel Wines
A Philly boy goes to wine school, moves to New Zealand, and becomes a winemaker.Philly’s own Danny Brennan started as a Philly bartender and ended up as a bad-ass winemaker in …
Domaine Philippe Portier 2010 “Cuvee Victoires” Quincy
I believe this obscure wine region is worth a fresh look, especially after tasting this example. Located close to the famous Sancerre, Quincy produces classic Sauvignon Blanc. Aromas of tarragon, pear, …
NPR Interview featuring Keith Wallace
Katie Britton of WAMC/NPR interviews Keith Wallace. The interview revolves around Keith’s cookbook, Corked & Forked. It’s a awesome interview and quite long. It was originally supposed to be edited down …
Vinos Sin-Ley 2009 “Puerta Bonita” (G5), Vino de Madrid
One of the more confusingly named wines, the G5 is an awesome example of quality and value. An enveloping bottle of fruity goodness with a tooth-staining quality that will draw quite …
Jet Wine Bar
When I met Jill Weber, she was an archaeologist with a taste for wines from impossible places. Her palate followed her work: into the ancient vineyards of Syria and Turkey, through the ancient …
The European tradition of mulled wine started in ancient Greece.
My friends in Great Britain insist no holiday can be merry without mulled wine. But why should the Brits have all the fun?
The European tradition of mulling wine started in ancient Greece where heat and spices were used to salvage old wine once the summer’s harvest went bad. In the Middle Ages, mulled wine was credited with medicinal and aphrodisiac powers (what serf wouldn’t love to snuggle up with a hot toddy), and in Victorian England a spot of tea was added to a glass of mulled wine and dubbed “Christmas tea.”
In the United States, nearly everyone cites eggnog as our most typical holiday libation. Historically this creamy holiday tradition has beat out mulled wine due to the availability of milk and eggs from our plentiful farms, as well as the rum that’s been an affordable U.S. import from the Caribbean.
Direct sales invigorate wine-lovers
Local wine aficionados love to grouse, often with good reason, about how state regulations can sometimes stand between them and that coveted vintage.
But they are divided over whether a favorable decision in a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court would do much to make more varieties available, or cheaper, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The court is being asked to decide whether states can limit direct, winery-to-wine-lover sales.
Keith Wallace, president of the Wine School in Philadelphia, had 53 phone messages the day after the Supreme Court heard arguments, and knows that oenophiles are watching the case.
Wallace spends $30,000 a year on wine. He said that recent innovations by the Liquor Control Board mean that “you have an enormous selection available.
“The problem is that the price point is often 10 to 30 percent higher than anywhere else,” he said.
The best-case scenario, he said, would be a Supreme Court decision that dealt a mortal blow to the state-store system.
But the odds are that Pennsylvania’s unique system, criticized for decades but politically resilient, will survive relatively unchanged.