For many people there is no better way to ring in the new year then to pop open a bottle of sparkling wine.  For most of us when we think or sparkling wine we think “Champagne” just like we think “xeroxing” when mean we want to make a copy and we reach for a “Band-Aid” when we mean we want a bandage. The only place that they make “Champagne” is in the Champagne region of France.  There are sparkling wines that are called “champagne” (please note the C is not capitalized) from other parts of the world like California, but they are not the real thing.  If you want an excellent chance of getting an excellent sparkling wine by all means buy a bottle of real Champagne.  You will also most likely pay a premium for that excellence as  it will cost you upwards of $40.00 a bottle.  That is appropriate if you are celebrating your anniversary, a promotion, or are an enthusiast.  But on New Years Eve most people are just looking to suck something down ...

It was December 1998. My father had recently passed away and my mother was having a hard time dealing with his loss.    She was one of the most charismatic happy people on earth who always had a glow about her, and it was difficult seeing her in such a funk.  She was in her early 80’s  was feeling her age and let me know that in addition to the loss of her husband she was having a hard time dealing with the fact that she would never see her brothers/sister nieces/nephews again.  We could not bring my dad back but we could do something about having her see her family.  Along with my wife and two sons, who had never met their Sicilian family, my mother and I traveled to Sicily the for Easter 1999.   When they heard about our visit our 60 or so aunts/uncles/cousins could not agree on who would host us for Easter dinner (they all WANTED to host us not the other way around).  Their solution was that they would rent out a banquet room at a l...

You have been obsessing all week on how you were going to get her to say yes.     You decided you were going to go into classic mode and impress her with a great dinner a fine bottle of wine and then pop the question.   You take her to her favorite french restaurant.  The waiter comes over and asks if you would like some wine.  You ask to see the wine list and let him know that you would like a bottle of wine but are going to wait until you know what you are going to eat before ordering.  She glances at you with that “ooh this guy knows what he’s doing” look in her eye.  A great start.  You think a 2009 Chateau La Ponte Pomerol is the perfect choice for the braised beef she is ordering so you order a bottle. The waiter arrives with the bottle and shows you the label before opening the wine  It is a Chateau La Ponte alright, but a 2011.  This has happened to you before where a restaurant will by mistake or by design will...

You are one of those “I hate red wine, I only drink white” kind of people? It’s fine.  This is America you are free to be who you want to be.  But that doesn’t mean you are right.    I would bet that the reason you don’t like red wine is because you probably have gone about it all wrong.   You are probably used to drinking fruit wine, sweet wines (click here to find out if it is wrong to drink sweet wine) , or even chardonnay.  Someone once probably served you a two year old red Napa Cabernet Sauvignon and your face puckered up like an old guy who forgot to put in his dentures, and you probably e spit it out thinking to yourself “who the heck can drink this crap”.  Starting out with a young Cabernet Sauvignon is like learning to ski on an Olympic downhill course instead of the bunny hill.  You simply started with the wrong red wine.  You went too fast too soon.   The reason your mouth puckered up and you did not enjoy th...

Amare Stoudemire takes baths in red wine to help him with his rehab and rejuvenate his body.   Click here to read the ESPN article and to see the video.   I wonder if a fine Bordeaux has more healing power then two buck chuck?

Drop what you are doing and immediately go to Costco and by as many bottles of Acrobat 2012 Oregon Pinot Noir $9.99.  It compares f avorably to wines costing $30.00 or more.  Don’t know if your Costco carry’s it but if it does you should buy as much as possible before they run out.  I got some at the Costco on Hayden in Scottsdale. It is spicy, smooth, has a wonderful floral aroma, and has the right balance between earthiness and fruit.  Unless you are having major surgery or giving birth you have no excuse for not taking my advice and buying some.  Go now, try some and let me know what you think.    Quit reading this and go already.  What are you still doing reading this?  Go!!!

Joe Cillo of Cleveland Ohio asks “what is the difference between a horizontal and a vertical wine tasting?”.  W ell Joe I know that for someone like you a horizontal tasting is the portion of a tasting after you have had too much to taste. But for others a horizontal tasting compares wines from the same year but from multiple producers. For example at a horizontal tasting you may taste nothing but 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Bogle, Kunde, BV, Grgich Hills, and Joel Gott.   That way, in comparing the wines, you get a better understanding of the wine style of that particular producer, and you can then decide which producers match your taste.    A vertical tasting involves wine from the same producer but from different years.  For example a vertical tasting may consist Ravenswood Zinfandel from 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.  That way you get a better understanding of the each vintage in order to better understand the vintage that best fits your t...