Wine
While wine can be made from many types of fruits and flowers, it is iconically produced from fermented grapes. Wine production dates back at least 8000 years, and today it is produced in quantity in more than 70 countries, with Italy, Spain, France, and the United States the largest producers of wine today. The world of wine is vast and complex, with more than 10,000 grape varietals in existence. This is largely due to experimental cross-breeding and grafting that has taken place for millennia, and such experiments have led to some of today’s most popular grape varieties, including Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The primary styles of wine today include red, white, and rose. While almost all grape juice itself is white, red wine is made by allowing the juice from black (aka red) grapes to ferment in contact with its skins, while white wine is usually (but not always) made from white grapes. Rose wine is made from black grapes with limited skin contact, which provides the pinkish color.
Top Wine Posts:
Understanding the Wines of France
Wine and Beer Touring in California’s Paso Robles, 2017
Touring and Wine Tasting in California’s Anderson Valley
Harvest in Chile’s Casablanca Valley – A Dusty Paradise
Chateau Montelena’s Dream Tasting: A Retrospective of Five Decades of Wine
Exploring Port Wine: Touring Porto and the Douro Valley
Visiting Tuscany’s Tenuta dell’Ornellaia
We receive comments on de Négoce at a steady clip (and feel free to keep them coming). While we aren’t here to play judge and jury over our readers’ uniformly dismal experiences — our original reviews were all based on media samples — I decided to take a spin myself and purchase a few bottles…
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We hold the following truths to be self-evident: that Ron Rubin owns vineyards in Lodi and Clarksburg, that he likes to stay on his wife’s good side, and that neither of the wines reviewed here has spent any duration of time in an oak barrel. All very nice and important things pertaining to this…
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Savant is a blend of cabernet sauvignon (45%) and syrah (55%) from Paso Robles-based Justin, and it’s one of the less commonly seen wines from the brand. Clearly designed for winter weather given its burly varietal composition, let’s see if we what magic the 2020 vintage has to offer. Sweeter than I was expecting, this…
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The 2018 Tenuta Perano Chianti Classico Riserva is made with Sangiovese and Merlot grapes, and spent 24 months in oak barrels. We tried the 2016 vintage last year, and though there was much to recommend it, the wine was a bit austere and felt like it needed additional aging to show its full potential. Today…
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We’ve covered the wines of Bodegas Granbazan at least once before. This Spanish producer has a tight focus on albarino, and today we look at two different wines made from the iconic grape, both from the 2019 vintage — and both luxe bottlings. 2019 Granbazan Limousin Albarino Rias Baixas – A very unique bottle conceals…
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Purchasing and opening a bottle of wine is a big commitment. With 5 or 6 glasses in a bottle that can easily cost hundreds of dollars, it’s easy to understand why the wine world is so intimidating to people. Bet wrong and you’re out a small fortune — and possibly wasting a whole lot of…
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This wine from the Valpolicella region of Verona, Italy benefits from the “appassimento” production method in which the grapes are dried before being pressed. In this case, 50% of the grapes harvested were partially dried for 45-60 days. The result is less water and more intense grape character in the tank. The grapes used are…
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It is the most wonderful time of the year for some, and the least wonderful for others: Hallmark Christmas movie season. This Countdown to Christmas in the Hallmark Cinematic Universe (HCU) features many new faces due to major defections to other networks. However, Hallmark still wears the crown, delivering gentle films featuring weird holiday miracles…
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A few weeks ago, we reviewed a Pizzella Malbec from Laura Catena’s La Posta line, which showcases the versatility of growers and winemakers around Argentina and provides infrastructure for production and distribution on a large scale. This time, we’re pouring the line’s Uco Valley red blend, a composition of 60% Malbec, 25% Bonarda, and…
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Two recent offerings from Oregon radio pioneers-turned-wine-impresarios, the King Family. 2021 King Estate Sauvignon Blanc – Bright notes of melon and lemon are dominant throughout. Light lime and a touch of spice show up on the palate, along with some very light minerality. The acidity on the finish dominates the discussion and mutes the more…
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