Taste the Stars


Tiny bubbles, in the wine . . .

There is nothing more refined and delightful than Champagne. It marks our celebrations, our turning points and our passing years, and there's no other way to cheer in a fresh, new year. It's the 31st today and I've got to drop in and pick up a few last-minute things for tonight: lobsters, caviar and a bit of buttermilk for the blini. Nom!

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More On the Numbers Game

Tip o' the Porkpie to Jason and Larry Mac, our secret correspondents

Several readers have commented on my last article on numerical scoring for wine ratings. One, a noted physicist/mathematician and part-time Mad Scientist wrote,

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Pointing Out the Obvious


Choices, choices . . .

I've given a lot of thought to wine scoring systems. The one I use most frequently as a professional tool is a modified version of the UC Davis 20-point scale. It's not necessarily the best way to evaluate wine, but it does give some very good guidelines for interpreting the appearance, flavour and aroma of wine, in a concrete way, and with practice you can compare scores you've given to different wines and see patterns in which bottles are performing well, and which ones are less satisfactory.

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Compliments of the Season

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

'Tis the season to be jolly! After all the running around is done, the visiting past and the shopping finished (I hope!) it's time to sit down and spend quality holiday time at home, communing with those closest to you--I mean, of course, the contents of your cellar.

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Sweet Nothings In Beaujolais

One lump, or two tonnes?

Adulteration, contrary to expectations, is not the journey from callow youth to experienced middle-age, but process by which something is made impure by the addition of extraneous, improper, or inferior ingredients. Food labeling and consumer protection laws forbid the adulteration of consumable products, but sometimes the law gets broken in the trample for profitability.

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Water, Water


Water, water, everywhere,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, everywhere,
Nor any drop to drink.

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Plastic Fantastic

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.
Benjamin: Just how do you mean that, sir?

I was reading Decanter news today, and came across a fascinating piece: Bordeaux wine producer Castel mulls use of plastic bottles. Due to consolidations in the industry, glass supply is tight and deliveries have become uncertain:

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The Worst of All Possible Worlds


Looks like heaven, tastes yucky

In this year's Limited Edition presentations I startled a number of people by stating that I generally hate wine and cheese as a food pairing. Cheese is generally salty, often with an earthy character, sometimes a hint of ammonia, and so much butterfat that it gets entangled in the tannins in red wine, rendering them harsher rather than mellower. Even whites, unless they have a darn good bracing of acidity wind up getting their punts handed to them by a decent cheese.

By far the worst culprit is cheddar. Nothing goes with 90% of the North American Cheddar I've tasted, and even the good, crumbly English (and to a lesser extent, Irish) Cheddars don't enhance red wines and only play in the most desultory sense with a brilliantly good white--and it's not usually an enhancement for either of them.

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Eventually, It's About the Cats

Original Lolcats, by Adam Korford

This blog keeps surprising me with the amount of mail it generates. Folks have questions about winemaking, specific wines, food pairings and all kinds of stuff about fermenting and drinking. Some people have inquiries about the company, or my speaking schedule, and once in a while a fan letter (no, really. It was just my mom, but that counts)

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In the Spirit(s) of the Season

Happy Holidays!

I love this time of year: not only is Limited Edition presentation season finished for me (which means no more airports for a while!) it's the time of year when nearly everybody celebrates mid-winter by their traditions and customs. Some cynics say that the need for a reminder to be kind, generous and thankful once a year shouldn't be necessary, but I like the idea of institutionalising it, so there's a mark in the year to look forward to, and a time to celebrate just being nicer and enjoying it.

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Beer, Wine, and Learning

Prost! Wine is a playground, not a prison--as our guest blogger learned.

Guest blogger Andy Fargnoli, our representative in Ontario, tells his tale of learning to enjoy wine.

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Limited Edition Wrap-Up

Kansas City, Missouri

Ahh, I love this time of year: I finally get to sit at my desk (and sleep in my own bed) for the first time in months.

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