The Languedoc-Roussillon region of France is a strange crossroads of wine blends, ancient politics, and relatively inexpensive wine for the high quality shopper on a budget. It is even said that the sparkling wines of this region actually predate Champagne (not to mention they are a fraction of…
Understanding AOC: Languedoc-Roussillon
Understanding AOC: Loire Valley
And without further ado, Loire Valley. Ok, no lie, we were holding off on writing about the Loire for as long as possible. What direction should we go? How should we present the information? What is the best way to simplify such diversity? This is not an easy…
Understanding AOC: Provence
Provence AOC (or Provençal wine) comes to us from the southeastern area of France along the Mediterranean Sea – an area with a winegrowing history dating back to the Greeks some 2,600 years ago. While the region is known the world over for Rosé wines, whites and reds…
Understanding AOC: Burgundy
Ok, it’s officially the theme for this series. You’ve heard of Burgundy, so we will skip over that part. But as with all facets of the Understanding AOC writings, what is in the bottle!? If it is a red wine, it is Pinot Noir. If it is a…
Happy π Day!
3.14159265359… For those of us who have been out of math class for a while, as a refresher, π (pi – pronounced “pie”) is the mathematical constant that defines the ratio of of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Wait… What does this have to do with wine? Well,…
Understanding AOC: Champagne
We feel like there might be a theme building here with the Understanding AOC series, but we will skip over the introductions to Champagne as the most widely recognized sparkling wine in the world. At one point in time the wine was in danger of losing its signature…
Understanding AOC: Bordeaux
We’re going to go out on a limb here and assume you have heard of Bordeaux before and skip the whole “one of the most recognizable wine regions in the world” speil and get down to the real reason we are talking about it – what is in…
New York Wine
March begins what is essentially New York Wine Month, known as NY drinks NY, culminating in a Grand Tasting in New York City later this month. New York has a rich history of growing and production stretching back to the 17th century when the Dutch began planting and…
Understanding AVA: Regions, Appellations and Sub-Appellations
It is easy to say European wine labels are confusing for Americans, but just how easy are our labels? Not completely easy to be honest. We all respect Napa (even if it isn’t our favorite to drink), but with the respect of the Napa namesake, are we talking…
