It’s tempting to think that, as we enter the holiday season, winemakers get to take it easy. After all, the harvest is over, fermentation is likely finished and, for the time being, it’s mostly a matter of waiting for wines to settle and mature, a process that...
This coming Sunday is Cabernet Franc Day, according to whomever the people are who make such determinations. Regardless of the origins of this “holiday,” it affords us the chance to celebrate a grape which seems to be particularly well suited to the Pacific...
I’ve faced a number of challenges as a wine professional, but few have compared to being tasked in pairing local dessert wines with classic Halloween candy. While the endeavor was an unnatural one, it was also an opportunity to convene with a few friends and...
Sometimes I think we do not quite appreciate just how nerve-wracking it must be to grow grapes and make wine. The litany of things that can go wrong - that are beyond human control - staggers the imagination and unpredictable weather is a source of nightmares for...
You can only truly appreciate the madness that is harvest time at a winery when you witness it first-hand. The logistical piece itself is mind-boggling: figuring out where to stash tons of grapes in just about every state from recently picked to fully crushed, all...
By the time you read this, I will have already embarked upon a rather fantastic voyage, joining over 50 sommeliers and wine buyers on a road trip across Washington. For those visiting from other parts of the country, it's a chance to learn more about a region that...
I’ve often wondered why virtually every winery I’ve been to asserts that their wines are made to age. I mean, in a cynical way I know why: it’s the kind of claim that sounds good to the person doing the buying, even if in most situations we know they’re more likely...
The heat was inescapable at Thursday's Auction of Washington Wine picnic and barrel auction. I'm not just talking about the 90+ degree temperatures on the lawn, though those were oppressive. I'm talking about the blinking red light in the cockpit of Northwest wine,...
What makes a wine list good? How about great? It’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer and one that I’ve been discussing with my colleagues a great deal lately. However, we've not yet considered looking at the Top Natural wine trends in the world right now,...
Sitting in a room with a hundred or so fellow wine experts and Riesling fanatics for the fifth annual Riesling Rendezvous last week, something occurred to me: The Old World/New World distinction we talk about is pretty much worthless at this point. It had some...
