A Free Wine Encyclopedia!I have had many inquiries lately as to the availability of cellaring equipment and or building one. Building one is not as hard as it might seem, and you just might have the equipment required at your home. I found a room in the house (closet, pantry etc.) that I could spare (a friend cut… read more »
Your first introduction to a wine is through the sense of sight. The appearance and color of a wine tells you, or warns you, about what’s coming. The first question we ask: “Is it clear?” Cloudy wines are undesirable. These wines could have several different problems; leftover sugar combining with yeast for a secondary fermentation,… read more »
“Paul, In the newsletters it says things like, Will complex over the next two years.’ How can I tell when a wine will be at its best? M.N., North Hollywood, CA As many factors are involved, this is a complex issue (no pun intended). Unfortunately, the main factor, is experience, and that you must gain… read more »
“Paul, I noticed that you often mention ‘tannins’ in your newsletter. Are tannins what makes a wine taste dry?” E.N., Portland, OR This is a good question and although the answer is yes, there’s much more here than meets the eye (or the palate, in our case). In looking at a wine’s overall quality profile,… read more »
“Paul, I have heard that the jostling of wine during transportation can damage it. Is this so and, if so, will it help if I let my bottles rest after I have received them from you?” S.R., Emeryville, CA People often ask me this when I tell them that I will be shipping wines to… read more »
Dear Paul, I heard something not too long ago about lead getting into wine. Then I recently noticed that the ‘foil” which covers the cork on a lot of wine bottles is different than what it used to be. Am I correct in assuming that there is some relationship between the two? — K.N. Huntington… read more »
Paul, I recently saw on the news that Temecula suffered considerable flood damage during the heavy rains. Were the vineyards affected? What other natural foes threaten the vine? – L.L., Woodland Hills Luckily, for the wineries, the damage was confined mostly to “Old Town” Temecula and a few roads which were washed out. The… read more »
For some reason, the chore of uncorking a bottle of sparkling wine intimidates some people. They sort of quietly pass on the responsibility to another in the group! (and thus never learn how to do it well). Then… there are those who tackle it head on, and sort of think that popping it is the… read more »
Wine labels are an interesting phenomenon. There are two forces governing them. First, there’s the marketing arm of the winery which, hopefully, is in tune with what the consumer wants and gives it to them. Secondly, there is the government, better known as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF). These two are frequently… read more »
“I have been with the Wine of the Month Club for three years…in the past year I have noticed more ‘table wines’…I belong to the club to try new wines and wineries. Not table wines that I have little control of their contents and would be unable to compare vintages”. F.C., Santee This is an… read more »