Pear drop is a term often used by wine writers to describe the flavor of Beaujolais Nouveau. These writers would all be British since pear drops are virtually unknown in North America. They’re a traditional type of candy that the British call boiled sweets and Americans call hard candy.

They get their flavor from isoamyl acetate, an artificial flavoring commonly called banana oil. Yes, pear drops taste mainly like bananas but also like ripe pears as well. Beaujolais Nouveau gets its pear drop/ banana candy flavor from carbonic maceration, a process where whole bunches of grapes are fermented without crushing. The process produces isoamyl acetate, the pear drop flavor compound.

The Wine Century Club - now 590 members strong - celebrated its 4th birthday last Thursday. To mark the occasion, members worldwide tasted 159 different grape varieties. The list included serious obsurities such as Himbertscha, Incrocio Manzoni and Bukettraube.
The club has also started a new level of recognition: Doppel Members, for [...]

pu⋅ri⋅ty [pyoor-i-tee]
1. the condition or quality of being pure; freedom from anything that debases, contaminates, pollutes, etc.: the purity of drinking water.
2. freedom from any admixture or modifying addition.
3. ceremonial or ritual cleanness.
4. freedom from guilt or evil; innocence.
5. physical chastity; virginity.
6. freedom from foreign or inappropriate elements; careful correctness: purity of expression.
7. Optics. [...]

Brettanomyces ‘Brett’ is a yeast with many strains that imparts a wide range of flavors. Fairly common, especially in red wines. Considered by some to add desired character to wines when at low levels.
Telltale aromas: earthy, horsey, barnyard, sweaty-saddle, manure, leather, smoked bacon, cheese, band-aid, antiseptic (from De Long’s Wine Tasting Guides)

I came across [...]

If you’ve noticed your 5 year old swirling and sniffing his/her juice glass, you may want to pay attention to this story.
Playmobil Wine Bar, one of Playmobil’s best sellers since it was introduced last fall, has hit a nerve with parents and trade groups nationwide. The Zirndorf, Germany-based company has previously courted controversy with Bank [...]

We will sell no wine map before its time.
I’m pretty sure that Paul Masson did not say that over a century ago, but the words do apply here. After many production delays our Wine Map of California is finally available. Thank you for your patience!
In the spirit of shameless marketing and selling more [...]

On behalf of our crack map team, I apologize for the delay in releasing our California Wine Map. It will now be available March 24th. The saddest part is that the map’s been 99% done for the past month and a half . It’s as if we’re trapped in Zeno’s paradox. Or [...]

Menu for Hope is a charity fundraiser supported by food and wine bloggers worldwide. It was started by Pim Techamuanvivit who blogs at Chez Pim and is now in its 5th year. Last year Menu for Hope raised over $90,000 for a school lunch program in Lesotho. Find out more about the Menu [...]

How the mighty have fallen. Last year we were riding high with extreme wine accessories. This year we’re going back to basics for our holiday gift giving. Wines, glasses and books. Period.

Wine
Sweet wines are the perfect wine gift. Practically everybody loves them but either can’t admit it or won’t buy them [...]

Breaking News: The Wine Tasting Notebook Hardbound Version is now available for purchase.

An expanded hardbound version of our Wine Tasting Notebook will be in stock this coming Tuesday, December 9th. It has 160 pages with the Wine Tasting Terms as a pullout in the back of the book and will retail for $14.95. [...]