Last week I talked about why it’s a good idea to take wine notes. This week we’ll go through the tasting note for one wine together. To do this properly, you’ll need the following materials:

1 bottle 2003 M. Chapoutier Belleruche Rouge Côtes du Rhône. Its label, like all Chapoutier labels are in […]

If you’re interested in getting better treatment in a restaurant or tasting room, I know of one sure way: take notes. Faster than you can say “expert in the house,” the staff will be falling all over you, indulging your every whim. OK, I’m exaggerating. The real reason to take notes […]

Note: the bulk of this article is an accompanying chart that compares the major scoring systems now used, from 3 stars to 100 point scales (see it online here).
If you watched the movie Mondovino, you may have come away with the impression that the 100 point rating wine rating system is the root of all […]

Congratulations to Tyler Colman, AKA Dr. Vino who has just hit the 100 mark and is now a member of the Wine Century Club. For those of you not familiar with Dr. Colman, he’s a real PhD who teaches wine and politics at NYU and the University of Chicago. He’s also the author […]

It’s a funny coincidence to have a Sauvignon Blanc tasting just when a mainstream wine writer is completely trashing the grape: “For years, this offensively inoffensive grape has escaped criticism while Chardonnay and Merlot have been scorned. The free ride ends here” rants Slate’s Mike Steinberger. It sounds like a joke but he keeps up […]