January 21st – January 27th
Sommeliers discuss how to find the best value on a restaurant’s wine list.
Steve Heimoff explores the sommelier’s evolving role.
David White explores Zinfandel’s uniquely American personality.
Tom Barras discusses the potential downside of [over-]aerating wines.
Eric Asimov breathes new life into the food & wine pairing universe.
1Wine Dude on four wine traditions that need to die.
Roy Williams has some interesting thoughts on what oak does to our perception of wine.
January 14th – January 20th
Eric Asimov attempts to “free” some oft misused wine words.
The always delightful Gamliel Kronemer chimes in with his best wines for 2012. As usual, non-Israeli wines make up the majority of his list.
For the satirical aspiring wine critics, check out this awesome (and oft hilarious) tasting note generator.
Will Lyons advocates ignoring preconceived notions, and tasting what’s actually IN the bottle.
As quickly as it began, some feel that Orange Wine was a fad, and its over. Jon Bonné concurs. Best (and maybe only) “kosher” version comes from Israel’s Midbar Winery.
Wine Folly introduces delightful Mourvedre and plugs it as a alternative to Cabernet Sauvignon. Israel’s Domaine Netofa is a big fan!
The WSJ’s Lettie Teague makes her case for Pinotage. A tough grape to control, Israel’s Barkan makes the only successful kosher versions and Debra Meiburg has a nice interview with one of Barkan’s winemakers – Irit Boxter-Shank.
January 7th – January 13th
The Wine Diarist comes out of hibernation & takes Parker to task for too many perfect scores.
Dave McIntyre unlocks the secrets of tasting wine.
Wine Spectator’s Matt Kramer explores whether aging wines makes sense any more. Ed McCarthy disagrees.
Wine Blogs take a lot of heat, but “Kill Joys”? 1WineDude muses.
The Hosemaster digs up the Sommelier’s “secret” manual.
After Penfold’s AUD£168,000 ampoules and £1.2m vertical, Andrew Jefford offers some deep thoughts on marketing to pretentious wine collectors.
Eric Asimov discovers a sense of restraint in recent Zinfandel vintages.
Publicly dissing France, the Rothschild family diversifies into Spain’s Rioja.
An associate economics professor from the University of Michigan published a visual and interactive rendering of the American Wine Industry’s lack of diversification. The Wine Economist has some intriguing analysis.
December 31st – January 6th
Talia Baiocchi chats with some top Sommeliers on their influences and how they got into wine.
A personal (and carefully curated) wine reading list from Randall Grahm.
For all the diversity of available wines, the industry is far less fragmented that you might think.
The folks over at Knowledge@Wharton put together a nice discussion the merits of terroir.
Wine Folly has 8 pretty good indicators for whether you are a wine geek.
Bloomberg’s Elin McCoy has the skinny on 2012’s Wackiest Wine Moments.
Despite massive technological improvements, Adam Montefiore outlines how little winemaking has changed over the last 3000 years.
In discussing “intriguing blemishes“, Steve Heimoff touches on the elusive concept of balance in a wine.
Over at Fermentation, Tom Warm lists the top wine stories of 2012.
The Hosemaster sums up his 2012 as only he can.
With New Years Eve on the horizon, meet the “Champagne Cop“.