Our Wine Club is now a Full-Fledged Membership Program
Want to be part of a vibrant wine community? Welcome home. Back in the day, we charged $19/month for our wine club and offered a single monthly event. Over the years, …
sommelier
The Trade Secrets Behind the Wine School
Our Core Wine Course has earned an unparalleled reputation across America. A surprisingly large number of students say the program is a singular, life-changing experience for them.Over the years, many schools …
Cafaggio 2016 Chianti Classico Riserva
The world’s love of Tuscany is all-encompassing, but I think that blinds us to nuance. So while we dive head-first into our love affair, perhaps a more critical eye may be …
Upcoming Wine Tastings Classes
New Zealand & Australia WinesTired of illustrations of Kangaroos and Kiwis? Yeah, me too. Why is it that wine cultures get reduced to their worst moments? The truth is that New …
Gunther Steinmetz 2018 “Unfiltriert” Pinot Noir, Mosel
German Pinot Noirs are having a well-deserved renaissance. Before the Little Ice Age (a time of drastic cooling in 15th Century Europe), Germany grew a lot of Pinot Noir. The Mosel …
Wine Review: Grain de Lune 2020 Sauvignon Gris, Bordeaux Blanc
Sauvignon Gris is a beautifully exotic grape: it is a pink mutation of the ubiquitous Sauvignon Blanc. You see a bit of it in South America but very little in its …
Wine Tasting Classes for Fall
France vs South AmericaPart of the ongoing series of wine tastings devised by the brilliant Alana Zerbe. Take two great wine countries, toss them into a battle royale, and see who …
Wine Tasting 101
Tasting wine fundamentally differs from drinking wine: Wine tasting aims to form an appreciation for the wine and its components. This intrinsically precludes overindulging. If you do, you’ll never remember what …
Clos du Val 2016 Estate Merlot, Napa
A storied winery that helped cement the Napa legend. Since its founding in 1972, it has been required drinking for any sommelier. This bottling of Merlot was sourced from estate vineyards …
Getting Started in Wine
Wine is a great hobby; it’s an even better career. Getting started in wine is the best idea you will ever have. At least, it was for me! The wine trade …
Bad Cheese Pairings
Pulling off the right wine pairing can turn an otherwise mediocre dinner into a killer experience. The real test is when you find yourself laughing the night away; only later do …
What is Terroir?
the complete natural environment in which a particular wine is produced, including factors such as the soil, topography, and climate. Terroir, Oxford DictionaryThe concept of “Terroir” has been embedded within wine …
Cabernet Sauvignon, Explained
Please look at a list of the best-scored wines globally; browse the web for the most expensive reds in the market, or browse the top-shelf section of your local wine store; …
What is Wine?
What is wine? Why do I do this to myself? Why do I ask sommeliers this question? Invariably, I get one of the following three answers. Each time, a tiny part …
Know Your Wine Bottle
Wine bottles are based on centuries of traditions. The wine trade is deeply indebted to those traditions. Even the largest multinational wine corporation (talking to you, Gallo) won’t mess with those …
Wine Glass Guide
Unless you plan to guzzle directly from the bottle, investing in wine glasses is a good idea. Sure, you could use those little water glasses leftover from college, or you could …