The Big Money Wine Myth

Is expensive wine a waste of money? Several studies have been released recently that calls into question a basic premise of wine buying. Most wine …

Just Say No

This St. Patrick’s Day, just say no to Guinness. And Smithwick’s. And Harp. Yeah, yeah, but it’s St. Patty’s Day – I get it. I …

Bad Science

A bevy of news outlets are reporting that only wine professionals can taste complexity in wine: Ever wondered why you can’t quite detect those hints …

“The market for wine-bottle closures is a $4 billion battlefield where an epic confrontation is now taking place.” – George Taber, from To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle

The much-needed discussion about wine closures is upon us and none other than George M. Taber is taking the podium. Former reporter and editor of Time Magazine, Taber is no stranger to wine. His earlier book Judgement in Paris captured the moment when California bested the great wines of Bordeaux, and it quickly became the definitive text on the subject. With his new book, Taber has once again brought clarity to a major controversy in the wine world.

The Current Top 10 Wines Under $15

The Current Top 10 Wines Under $15 (September 2007) There are plenty of well made wines priced under $15, and these are a sampling of …

A Career in Wine

If you jumped back in time to 1998, you’d find me pounding back espressos in my glass-enclosed office at a National Public Radio station. If it was 6am in the morning, I’d already be shoulder-deep in the morning’s newspapers while the AP wire streamed across on a monitor. On the wall across from my desk, a bank of televisions would be tuned to all the major news shows; to my left a circle of desks would be filling up with my young and sleepy-eyed staff. In less than seven minutes, we would be live and on the air.

If you were to suddenly pop in and say “Hi”, I’d have growled and given you a “what the &%*$ are you doing here?” look. If that didn’t deter you, and you managed to tell me that in just about three years that I would be starting the Wine School of Philadelphia, I would have laughed…. and then have you escorted out of the building.

New Year’s Resolution: Buy Wider, Buy Smarter

This is typically the time of year when we all engage in a bit of reflection: What we did right over the course of the …

What would Joe do?

The Phillies or the debate? It was a tough question, and one in which I decided to ponder while pouring generous and often for myself …

A Good Wine Makes for a Better Read

Fall is finally here – that time of year to get cozy on the sofa under a nice burning lamp, a lovely bottle of wine, and a terrific read. For those of you following Frank Cipparone’s Italian Picks, a great novel to dive into while drinking the Ornello Molon Raboso 2003; the Cristina Ascheri Langhe Arneis, 2006; or the Casa Librandi Ciro “Duca di San Felice” Riserva 2003; is Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Highsmith’s protagonist is the very sordid yet very likeable Tom Ripley, and as Highsmith takes her reader on a journey through his twisted mind, she also takes them through the heart and twisted countryside of Italy.

A Month of Riesling

One of our Advanced students just spent a month drinking nothing but Riesling. I thought that was really cool, so I asked him to write …

Hot Hot Hot

I preach this to the Wine Schoolâ€™s students every chance I get, but since there are readers of the Schoolâ€™s blog who I havenâ€™t yet had the chance to meet, it bears repeating: Few things ruin a wine-drinking experience like the wrong serving temperature.

Now, we all know that serving temp is a very personal thing. I, for example, like my whites a bit warmer than average and my reds a bit cooler. But there is a finite range of temperatures at which wine can best strut its stuff. And these days, even some of the cityâ€™s best restaurants arenâ€™t doing it right. So itâ€™s time for a primer.

Corte Agnello

Corte Agnello 2004 Corvina, Veronese IGT You’ve probably had Corvina, the Veneto’s “little crow”, somewhere along the way even though you may not have realized …

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