Posts tagged MW
Orange Wine Exploration

Briefly, for the uninitiated: “orange” wines are made from white grape varieties. Rather than discard the skins once the juice is pressed from the grapes, the skins and juice remain together during the fermentation and aging processes. This contributes the orange color to the wines, along with tannins and denser texture, the latter two characteristics more akin to red rather than white wine.

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Wine Discoveries as an MW

Over the last year, I tracked every single glass of wine I sipped. I did not include the wines I simply tasted. I can’t even fathom that. I’m at 85 pages of sipping wines - without tasting notes. Needless to say, there have been mind-blowing, once-in-a-lifetime wines; good wines; acceptable wines; and wines I couldn’t bring myself to swallow a second time. Reminiscing through the list tonight, I’m not surprised at how few delightful wines - wines with energy, wines that made me joyous with their flavor and balance – I found.

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Full Circle with Villa Maria Wine Estates

To meet Sir George was a great honor. This Kiwi legend comes across as a genuinely inquisitive, down-to-earth gentleman. Sir George’s venture into wine began more as a hobby than a career. He started in 1961 by leasing an acre of land from his father. Begun as a family venture, it remains so – in spite of the fact that Villa Maria is one of New Zealand’s three largest wineries and exports to over fifty countries!

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In Search of Pinot…Usually Noir

Given my affection for Pinot Noir and Burgundy, and given the fact I’ve spent an incredible number of hours evaluating the quality of wines in order to pass the Master of Wine exam, I take quality references very seriously. However, within quality designations, there’s wiggle room. Last night provided a perfect example.

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Jeannie Explores German Wines & Asian Flavors

This Wednesday I attended an engaging, exploratory lunch hosted by Wines of Germany and led by my friend Jeannie Cho Lee MW. Here are some of the take-aways I found most fascinating: whereas Westerners tend to measure how much acidity is apparent in a wine, Asians tend to focus on how acidity feels on the palate; the progression of food and wine in a Chinese meal is quite different from that at a Western table….

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What Do You Drink with a Master of Wine?

Given the spirit of the holiday season leads to many shared meals and festive moments with friends, I’ve not surprisingly encountered plenty of pals hesitant to offer me a glass of wine. I can see it in their eyes and hear it in their pre-calculated verbal presentations. They seem to be pleading with Dionysus that I will want one of their small batch beers. Each time, I guess that they feel more confident on their beer choices than their wine choices.

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