May 3, 2019

The Exciting “Taste of Oakville”

The Taste of Oakville is one of the biggest tasting events of the year in Napa Valley. Many of Napa’s most prestigious and sought-after wines (from Screaming Eagle to Opus One) are made in this one small viticultural area. Listen as Karen MacNeil interviews some of Oakville’s top vintners about what makes the wines so special.

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

Which grape variety was traditionally used to make vermouth?

A. Muscat

B. Arneis

C. Dolcetto

D. Sauvignon Blanc

Vermouth originated in Piedmont, Italy, in the 18^th century. Historically, muscat grapes were used as the base wine. The moscato that is typically grown in Piedmont is known as moscato Canelli, or white muscat, and is the same as muscat blanc à petit grains in France. Because muscat is a white grape, most vermouth was originally white. Today, for most inexpensive commercial versions, cheap red or white bulk wine from the south of Italy is often used as the base. The wine is then infused with a secret blend of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of aromatic spices, barks, bitter herbs, and flavorings.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that umlauts scare away American wine lovers. For whatever reason, bottles with labels bearing those diacritical points, floating above terms like spätlese or grapes called spätburgunder or müller-thurgau or places named Würzburg or Württemberg, are a turnoff for so many English-speaking consumers. Let it be said, then, that I am somewhat out of step with my fellow Americans. Though I speak almost no German, I love wines with umlauts. And I go to significant lengths to seek them out.”

–Jason Wilson, How German Wine Found Its Sweet Spot, The Washington Post, September 5, 2019