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Weekly Wine Intel from Karen MacNeil

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January 21, 2021
WineSpeed - by the WineBible Team
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The Wine Clip
November 20, 2020

Wine—It Does a Body Good

February 14, 2020

What Makes Wine Sexy?

August 30, 2019

Anti-white Bias?

August 16, 2019

The Most Important Component in Wine

August 2, 2019

Wonderful Weird Wine Pairings

July 26, 2019

Conegeliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco Superiore

June 28, 2019

Canned Wine

May 17, 2019

Biodynamics—Old Techniques for a New Era

May 3, 2019

The Exciting “Taste of Oakville”

April 5, 2019

5 Tips on How to Navigate a Restaurant Wine List

March 15, 2019

Charbono: The Next Cult Wine in Napa Valley

March 8, 2019

Pairing Wine & Cheese—Karen’s 5 Easy Tips

Wine Clip Presenters

Karen MacNeil

Karen MacNeil

Karen is one of the foremost experts on wine in the United States and is the author of The Wine Bible — the best-selling wine book in the U.S.


Amanda McCrossin

Amanda McCrossin

Amanda McCrossin is a sommelier & YouTube vlogger in Napa Valley, CA.

Wine Quiz

Name a process during winemaking that gives white wine a more creamy mouthfeel.

A. Sur Lie Aging

B. Extended Maceration

C. Diacetyl

D. Barrel Fermentation

A.

Sur lie is French for “on the lees,” and refers to the practice of leaving wine in contact with yeast lees (decomposed yeast cells). The broken-down yeast cells release proteins and other compounds that then interact with the wine. In particular, proteins will bind with tannins in the wine—a good thing since tannin can make white wine feel coarse. By aging a white wine sur lie, the impression of creaminess is heightened. Flavor compounds are also released by the lees, and wines aged for a long time sur lie can take on nut, bread, and yeasty flavors. Because they are heavier than the wine around them, yeast lees will slowly settle to the bottom of the barrel. Left packed together and undisturbed for a long time, they may form foul-smelling sulphur compounds. To prevent this, the lees are often stirred back up into solution—a process called bâtonnage in French. A wine may be left sur lie for weeks or months; it’s up to the winemaker.

20

Amount of savings (in billions of U.S.$) that Bespoken Spirits says its new maturation technology promises the spirits industry by “aging” spirits in days not years. The abbreviated method preserves the so-called “angel’s share” of… Continue reading

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Saint Helena, Napa Valley, 94574
WineSpeed by Karen MacNeil
  • #TasteWithKaren
  • Wines
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