What is a Sommelier?
Becoming a sommelier is a goal for many wine lovers, prodded on by the many “SOMM” movies and TV shows. It is now a career imbued with glamor and intrigue. Is …
Wine Trade
Wine & Health through the Ages
Wine must be a magical elixir. Otherwise, how can we explain why a restaurant wine list often turns a CEO into a pouting child? I have seen powerful doctors in bespoke …
Pennsylvania Wine Law Primer
Over the past few years, how alcohol is bought and sold in Pennsylvania has changed dramatically. It is not just about semi-privatization and consumer choice—that is not half of it. The …
Copain Winery Sold!
This article was originally published in 2016. There have been some dramatic acquisitions in the wine business over the past several months. Jackson Family Wines purchased Copain winery, a highly regarded …
Growing Grapes without Irrigation
In 2015, California’s Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order that included a mandatory 25% water reduction. Not surprisingly, the news went national; this was a first in America. Future of …
Sonic Decanter: The New Wine Gadget Demystified
Sonic Youth Decanted, or how we ended up in the Washington PostOn December 10th, we were featured in a Washington Post Online article disputing the claims made about the Sonic Decanter. The article …
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 …
The Tasting Room that Died
How to Make a Million Dollars in Wine Many million-dollar ideas end up costing $10 Million to achieve. That’s typical logic for you in the wine trade. After years of hard work… you …
Winery Tour and Tourism
Similar to what the video did to the radio star in the ’80s, tourism has had a massive effect on wine tasting in Napa over the last 10+ years. It’s not …