Let's now explore the differences between wines made from the same grape. While it's easy to tell a pinot noir from a syrah, learning how a single grape like pinot noir can differ gives you an opportunity to find a wine you really like and to find the perfect wine for a specific occasion, food, evening, gathering, person, etc...

When I started drinking wine, I thought that red wine came from red grapes and white wine from white grapes. I was a little surprised when I saw a picture of ripening sauvignon blanc grapes next to some cabernet sauvignon grapes. They're practically identical...

When I started this little endeavor, I wanted to provide a resource for basic, everyday people to find basic, everyday wine. I was having a conversation with the Sweet Partner in Crime the other day, and she made a suggestion: "Why not do wine basics? If people have a base to work from, they'll appreciate it even more." There's a reason she's the smart one in the relationship...

As we close the decade, I figured we'd finish out with the traditional holiday drink. After all, what's a party without a little bubbly… Champagne is the region in France where this celebration-and-headache-inducing wine originated. "Champagne," in common parlance, has come to mean just about any sparkling wine. The only wines...

If you've walked into a wine store anytime since November 16, you've undoubtedly seen a brightly colored display, proclaiming "Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive!" filled with a bunch of fancy bottles, likely from Georges DuBeouf. I'd be shocked if you haven't seen it. A Vine reader asked me if I was going to write about this year's crop of Nouveaux, so let me...

The slide from Thanksgiving to New Year's is not just party season. It's also "DOORBUSTER DEALS SEASON!!!" How much footage have we seen of people lined up outside Best Buy at 4 am to snag a $50 Wii, outside a Hummer dealership for a free year of gasoline with the purchase of an H3, or outside...

Every now and again, having a wine column. Not long ago, out of the clear blue, came an email telling me that "Seven Hills has begun shipping wines to Wisconsin" and would I please review some of these wines? And, by the way, we're happy to send you samples...

Ever since I took an "Advertising and Society" class my senior year at [redacted], I've looked at advertisements with a more critical eye. I also received the worst grade on any paper in my academic career in that class because I focused too tightly on marketing in my research -- or at least that's the explanation the...

I never thought this would be a difficult entry. I estimated it would be easy enough to put together a Hallow'een-themed wine column. I figured there would be any number of selections easily lending themselves to the cause. A quick trip down the beer aisle would keep me in business for weeks...

When I last wrote about Argentina, I mentioned chardonnay as their premier white grape. During a warm, albeit rainy and dreary stretch in January when neither of us really felt like leaving the house, we recently sampled a few bottles of Torrontés, long considered their signature white and now finally arriving in the States...

A journey south of the Equator, to the world's fifth largest wine producer, Argentina. The history of Argentinean wine closely mirrors that of its neighbor, Chile. Spanish missionaries planted the first vines during the mid-16th century. The city of Mendoza was founded in 1561 in the heart of the premiere wine growing region -- it remains the core...

Ah, discovery. Since I try so many different kinds of wines, every once in awhile, I have a "this has been right in front of my face for years—why haven't I been drinking more of this?" moment. Not long ago, I grabbed a bottle of Cabernet Franc on a friend’s recommendation, and I found I really, really liked it. Predictably, research followed...

As a child of the 70's, I can't read "Barbera" without tagging "Hannah" in front of it. Anyone my age who doesn't at least crack a smile at the casual mention of Hannah-Barbera was raised by wolves or the Amish. (This is not to be confused with mentions of various Sid and Marty Krofft productions like H.R. Pufnstuf and Sigmund the...

One of the first wines I every wrote about on the Naked Vine was malbec, not long after having discovered it initially. Since then, I haven't had much of an opportunity to natter on about this until-recently-overlooked varietal. Lovers of French wine know...

Allow me a moment of nostalgia. I was speaking to a group of new freshmen at the institution of higher learning that funds my wine habit. As part of answering a question, I came out, for some reason, with, "You got your peanut butter in my chocolate…" No one batted an eye. They had no...

Maybe Maynard Keenan is just being prescient. Keenan (lead singer of Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer) writes a song in the mid-90's about Los Angeles sliding into the ocean. At around the same time, according to the trailer for the documentary "Blood into Wine," he has a vision about growing grapes and making wine on an Arizona hillside. A continuation of the same dream? Whatever his motive...

I've had a chance to dig into the mailbag and give some well-deserved recognition to some of the readers who have graciously added their suggestions. Without further adieu Cycles Gladiator 2006 Merlot - When a bartender gives an honest recommendation, listen. Jen C. mentioned this merlot and I decided to give it a swing. Cycles Gladiator was...

Ah, summertime. Fresh vegetables and herbs. All the natural yumminess you'd ever want, right there for the taking at your local farmer's market or in your backyard if you're lucky enough to be able to keep things a'growing. I know that I focus a lot on what to eat with grilled food during seasons like this, but I'm just as likely to want something light...

I was recently asked, "So…Wine Guy…what wines do you usually have just sitting around to drink at home?" Aside from the sheepish little grin I still get when someone calls me "Wine Guy," the question got me thinking. Honestly, there hasn't been much of anything resembling a "house wine" around the Vineyard for quite awhile...

One of my favorite sitcoms of all time is Night Court. For some reason, one scene's always stuck in my head. Dan Fielding, the Lothario of all prosecutors (played brilliantly by John Larroquette), finally gets his chance to bed his nemesis, defense attorney Christine Sullivan. Always the…ahem…gentleman, Dan takes Christine out for dinner, orders some bubbly, and the maître d' delivers a classic line...

No…no more talk of mullets and the like, but I was inspired by the Gewurztraminer after I heard of a grape I hadn't experienced: Grüner Veltliner. While this sounds like a German plane, it's a white grape widely grown in Austria. Pronounce it GREW-ner felt-LEE-ner, or just call it, as one wine writer did, "GruVey."

Vine reader Jason M. suggested that I write a column about Vinho Verde, the Portuguese "green wine." What follows is...well, I'm not quite sure -- but I know apologies to Dr. Seuss are in order.

When I talk to new people about wine, I'll usually hear "I don't like dry wines. I like them sweeter," at least once I've found as many men as women out there who prefer sweet wine -- they just don't generally admit it in public. Chances are, many of these folks got smacked in the face with a big-ass cabernet when they first...

One of the founding missions of the Vine was to alleviate "wine anxiety" -- the sinking feeling that comes when presented with either an overwhelming array of wine choices or a "think fast" situation. Not long ago, I was at a conference in Chicago. On successive nights, I found myself out to dinner with groups. Each night, a colleague...

One of the interesting bits about building up an archive of columns is discovering my own little quirks -- whether it's reusing vocabulary, falling back on certain varieties of wine, or just the evolution in tone as I've written more and more entries. For instance, I've likened all sorts...