Balance

A harmonic equilibrium among the components of a wine (ACID, ALCOHOL, FRUIT, TANNIN, and so on) such that no one characteristic stands out like a sore thumb. Great wines have balance.

Which wines in the world were the first to collectively be stoppered with screw caps?

A. Australian rieslings from the Clare Valley

B. New Zealand sauvignon blancs from Marlborough

C. Chilean chardonnays from Santiago

D. Italian pinot grigios from the Veneto

As of the 2000 vintage, virtually every riesling in Australia’s Clare Valley was stoppered with a screw cap (technically known as a Stelvin Cap) instead of a cork. While countless upscale wines around the world are now stoppered with screw caps, these were the first to shrug off tradition and forsake cork.

Binge-ing in Italy?

A friend once told me that when an Italian drinks too much, they don’t say he’s drunk too much; they say he hasn’t eaten enough food yet. By that standard, the residents of Alto Adige must be… Continue reading

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