If you’ve geeked out at a wine tasting room, wine bar, or local wine shop, you may have come across the term hectare in conversation about the land the grapes were grown on, but what exactly is a hectare? A hectare is a unit of measurement used by…
What is a Hectare?
What is Terroir?
Terroir leaves no single word in the english language that can be translated. So what exactly is terroir? Terroir is a beautiful word to describe essentially the essence of a particular piece of land. More than just the piece of land itself, but also its climate and how…
Cabernet Franc
Happy Cabernet Franc Day! And it couldn’t be at a better time of the year. Nothing sounds better than cozying up by the fireplace with a delicious glass of Cab Franc to help keep you warm. Cabernet Franc in the new world has an association with big heavy…
Whole Cluster Fermentation
Whole cluster (or bunch) fermentation is the process by which everything goes into the fermentation process. Skins, seeds, stems, you name it. The invention of the de-stemmer revolutionized wine, but could you imagine Burgundian winemakers in the 1800s hand picking each berry to get all the stems off? …
Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day!
The third Thursday in November is a big day in the Beaujolais region south of the Burgundy in France. On this day there is a mad dash for the first, freshest bottles of the new vintage of Beaujolais that has been sent into the markets to arrive on…
What is Carbonic Maceration?
Carbonic maceration is a process by which grapes are fermented in their skins in a carbon dioxide rich environment. The weight of all the grapes crushes the juice from the lower areas of the tank that holds the grapes and gas, and undergoes a somewhat more conventional fermentation…
Global Champagne Day
We are absolutely certain that anyone can do a simple interwebs search on Champagne or Sparkling Wine and find all sorts of useful information in regards to Champagne: the history, the processes, notable houses, etc. In fact, at a later date, we will continue to further geek-out on…
All About Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir (literally: Black Pine, due to the grapes color and cluster looking like a black pine cone), is one of the most globally popular grapes, has a long growing history pre-dating the Roman Empire, and could be upwards of 1,000 years older than the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. …
International Rosé Day!!!
This past June we did a small info piece on What is Rosé that looked at the 3 methods in which rosé wines are created (contact, saignée, and blending). Rosé sales and importing into the US are at an all time high, and continue to keep growing. In…
