general
If you know of Mateus, Lancers and White Zinfandel, you probably know that these rosé wines are sweet. That’s how I stereotyped all rosé until a few years ago. I was in the Russian River Valley in search of great Pinot Noir (and it’s not hard to fi...
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behind the cork
Charles Smith The Velvet Devil Merlot ($12)  Looking for an attainable, affordable wine? You’ve come to the right place. Each week I feature just such a wine on the Behind the Cork™ Wine...
Read more →Cork is the traditional closure for a wine bottle. Yet one of its drawbacks is that it can actually cause a wine fault. And, have you ever had a bottle of wine that “had turned to vinegar?” Well both of these wine faults can ruin a bottle of wine. ...
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behind the cork
Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Cantina Del Grifone 1967 Red Blend ($6)  Looking for an attainable, affordable wine? You’ve come to the right place. Each week I feature just such a wine on t...
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general
Now that we’ve explored the natural cork, the technical cork and the synthetic cork, it’s time to address the twist-off cap. And don’t you think ‘twist-off’ sounds so much better than ‘screw cap?’ The twist-off wine seal has been around for at lea...
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behind the cork
In recent posts we learned that cork comes from the bark of the Cork Oak and that the foil capsule covering the cork was originally put into place to protect the cork from insects and rodents. So you might wonder is all this necessary today? Aren’t...
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behind the cork
Last time we looked at where cork comes from and learned that it’s actually the bark of the Cork Oak tree. It is bark that can take 25 to 50 years to get to the point where it is usable for wine bottles and each tree can only be harvested every nine ...
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behind the cork
During a visit to the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma California, I stopped at the beautiful Ferrari-Carano winery. After tasting their wonderful wines, my server stated that walking their gardens was not to be missed. And while in the gardens, he said to...
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behind the cork
It is said that most American’s drink their white wines too cold and their red wines too warm. And I’ve certainly observed this myself. Wine flavors can be amazing, but serving a wine too cold or too warm can significantly affect a wine’s flavors. W...
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behind the cork
It’s always fun to find and try new and different wines. And, when it comes to exploring “Old World Wines” it can be even more of an adventure. That’s what happened to me when studying the shelves of Italian wines. I came across a completely unknown ...
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