David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the column which ran on 9/2/2015: Tuscany’s Chianti Chianti isn’t a grape variety. It is the most famous and confusing wine growing region in Italy. The grape is sangiovese. Sangiovese based wines are generally light-colored, high in acid, moderate in tannin, and full of bright cherry and…
Category: Wine Savvy
WINE SAVVY: Proper Wine Service
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the column which ran on 8/19/2015: Proper Wine Service When you order a bottle of wine at a restaurant most people expect to engage the server in a presentation and tasting of the wine. The process should go something like this: You order the wine. Your server…
WINE SAVVY: South African BBQ Blends
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the column which ran on 8/5/2015: South African BBQ Blends South Africa has a secret wine weapon. It is the only country that is growing, in any meaningful way, a grape called pinotage. Pinotage is a cross between two French varieties, pinot noir and cinsaut. This cross…
WINE SAVVY: How to Spot Faults in Wine
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the column which ran on 7/22/2015: Wine Faults Ordering a bottle of wine in a restaurant includes the moment when the server brings the bottle over to the table and presents a small sample of the wine to the customer. Most people think that this is their…
WINE SAVVY: Ordering wine at a restaurant
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the column which ran on 7/8/2015: Ordering wine at a restaurant I had the pleasure of joining friends for dinner at a restaurant that had a very large wine list. As you can imagine, most people hand the wine list to me and expect I’ll be able…
WINE SAVVY: The difference between tasting and drinking
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the article which ran on 6/24/2015: The difference between tasting and drinking I once heard a Master of Wine say, “The difference between tasting and drinking is thinking.” Besides being a fun rhyme, this is an important and easy concept. Like most things that are simply said,…
WINE SAVVY: Box wines vs. Bottle wines – Blind taste test
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the article which ran on 6/10/2015: Box wines vs. Bottle wines – Blind taste test Recently I taught a wine class to a mixed group of both seasoned and amateur wine aficionados. The theme of the class was wine for camping, specifically box wines. Normally in a…
WINE SAVVY: Learn the Varietal ~ Sauvignon Blanc
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the article which ran on 5/27/2015: Learn the Varietal: Sauvignon Blanc When people first taste sauvignon blanc, the most common reaction is a puckered face, followed by a down turned mouth which quickly leads to an expression of disgust. When I serve this wine in my beginner…
WINE SAVVY: The Components of Wine, Part 5
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the article which ran on 5/13/2015: The Key Components of Wine, Part V: Putting it all together and reading the wine label. Alcohol, acidity, sugar and tannin are the key components in wine. If you’ve been following this column for the last two months you’ll know why these…
WINE SAVVY: The Components of Wine, Part 4
David’s article as prepared for the Duluth News Tribune for the article which ran on 4/29/2015: The Key Components of Wine, Part IV: Tannins All grape juice is white. When I first learned this, very early on in my wine education, I was completely dumb struck. This was counter to everything that I had learned up to…