Mainline Times: The Wine School of Philadelphia
Originally published in the Mainline Times.“There’s no pressure here,” instructor Michael Alleruzzo said. “We’re just going to sit back and have fun. We’re going to enjoy some great wines…So I’ll be …
sommelier
Villa Cafaggio 2006 Cortaccio
This is not my first rodeo with Villa Cafaggio. When I was the national sommelier for Bacchus Selections, I was a huge fan of their Chianti Classico. It was a great …
A Del Frisco’s Sommelier Smackdown
The Sommelier Smackdown is one of our food & wine pairing classes at the Wine School and one that we gain a lot of attention, even sometimes too much. We brought …
Altadonna 2010 Nero d’Avola
Altadonna is a project by the well-known father & son winemaking team of Stefano and Niccoló Chioccioli. Their portfolio is a line of pan-Italian wines sourced from northern to southern Italy. While such …
Food & Wine Pairing Menu
Chef at the Wine SchoolPart of my job running the Wine School is to create the menus for our food & wine pairing classes. That includes our food and wine pairing …
Trimbach 2009 Muscat Reserve
Alsace is the place where sommeliers and grandmothers meet to share a glass of wine. Everyone else, it seems, doesn’t care. That is too bad because the wines from this German-influenced …
Philadelphia Daily News: Get a taste, and degree, for wine
If you don’t know a pinot gris from a pinot noir, resolve this year to become a wine pro.
With the popularity of movies like “Sideways,” a film about love and marriage set in southern California’s Santa Barbara County wine district, as well as increased interest among young professionals who are starting wine clubs and going to tastings, there’s no better time to sip and learn.
Philadelphia Inquirer: The newlywed cellar
Making those choices would be a challenge for even a well-seasoned wine drinker. So I turned to several Philadelphia wine experts for advice – plus specifics on how they would spend that $500 – and discovered a wide range of strategies, styles, and considerations for tackling such a happy conundrum.
The first question each one asked, though, was probably the least sexy: What is the storage situation?
“If wines are not stored in a reasonably cool, dark environment, they’re not going to hold very well,” says Keith Wallace, founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia. “Even two years out, bottles can be compromised.”
Dealing with wine fridges or a genuine basement wine cellar is a project of its own that can easily devour hundreds of dollars. But it’s a necessary evil if you plan to lay an expensive bottle down for a decade or two.
A Service Dog and Her Winemaker
This article is one of the few articles written about Keith’s life before founding the Wine School. It prominently features Rosie, his dog of many years. Sadly, Rosie passed away in …
Philadelphia Inquirer: Not all are toasting changes uncorked by LCB
It is a case of vintage revenge. Wine merchants in Delaware and South Jersey are now clearing shelf space for their old nemesis: Jonathan Newman, former chairman of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
The “xChairman Selections,” as one shop calls them, are the discounted wines that Newman’s new company will introduce in Pennsylvania border states this month.
Newman had risen to the unlikely status of folk hero among Pennsylvania wine lovers, partly because of his celebrated Chairman’s Selection specials. But one year ago, he resigned in protest after Gov. Rendell’s controversial appointment of Joe Conti as chief executive officer of the LCB.
While Newman’s entry into the private sector is intriguing the sip-and-swirl crowd, it also casts a spotlight back on the LCB. The $1.69 billion-a-year agency has been the subject of skepticism and upheaval since Newman left.
Los Angeles Times: Rasslers ready to stomp on wine snoots
Vince McMahon doesn’t want anyone thinking his wrestling superstars are a bunch of wine-tasting wimps.
McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has told the American Wine Foundation, owner of the Wine School of Philadelphia with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, that it is infringing on its copyright by calling one of its wine classes “Sommelier Smackdown.” As any WWE fan knows, “Smackdown” is the name of one of its most popular franchises.
In a letter to the Wine School of Philadelphia, the WWE told the wine sippers that its use of the word “smackdown” is “likely to create consumer confusion as to WWE’s affiliation, sponsorship and/or approval” of the class. Yes, because we all know how similar wine snobs are to wrestling fanatics.
Wall Street Journal: Wine School is in.
The story was originally published by the Wall Street Journal on January 8, 2010. The article is reprinted solely for educational purposes. It is intended to offer insight into the history of …
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.
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 …