In these episodes of IntoWineTV, host Lisa Kolenda and wine experts Bartholomew Broadbent and Loren Sonkin convene among the vines at Crushpad in Napa Valley to taste and discuss the cult wine brands of Crushpad:...

Syrah has long been the king of the Rhone Valley, in South East France. Historically, Syrah has been a ‘secret’ blending component in red Bordeaux and Burgundy wines. Today, Syrah is grown all over the world. In Sicily and South Africa, Australia and the United States, Syrah’s potential is well known as a single variety and as a component in blends. For the micro-winery, Syrah can be an indispensable part of your wine program.

Though Spain is better known for the red wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, the Rueda, located north east of Madrid, is home to arguably Spain’s best white wine, Verdejo. Similar in style and characteristics to Pinot Gris, Verdejo fully expresses itself in the high altitude of Rueda where it showcases lemon and citrus, minerality and above all, a sharp acidity which makes it compelling with the tapas so that are so ubiquitous around the region. It’s also inexpensive, with bottles exported to the U.S. usually less than $15. Verdejo has been planted in this area for over a thousand years, and it’s believed it was brought to Spain by the Moors. Some producing vines date as far back 130 years. However it has been only in the last few decades that Verdejo has proved to be the best fit for the cooler Rueda region.

Your wine collection is growing, and you've finally decided to take the plunge and purchase a wine cooler. These free-standing units, also called wine refrigerators, come in many shapes and sizes, not to mention price levels. As you browse websites and look through catalogs, you begin to realize just how many wine coolers are out there. How will you ever choose?

IntoWine recently sat down with Lionheart Wines Founder Leon Glover to discuss his foray into winemaking, his focus on food friendly wines, and his nascent wine brand, Lionheart Wines. A wine collector for 21 years, he completed the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Diploma certification in 2008 (AIWS) with plans to enter the Master of Wine program in the next couple of years in an effort to further his wine knowledge and help train his palate for winemaking. He has been a judge at several wine competitions such as the Pinot Noir Shootout, Cabernet Sauvignon Shootout and looks for more wine judging opportunities in the future. Merging his professional career in high tech and entrepreneurship, his current technology project is a new search engine focused on wine and wine & food pairing recommendations. In 2006, Leon and his wife, Jennifer, started Lionheart Wines with the idea of producing premium quality yet affordable food-friendly wines to be shared with friends and family.

Profile of Riedel Glas Austria One of the most influential companies in the world of wine has never produced wine at all. In fact, Riedel Glas Austria got its start several centuries ago, refining glassware and making window panes. Today, Riedel is widely considered to have forever changed the way the world tastes wine.

Wine and food festivals are pretty much a dime a dozen, which is not to say they aren’t a great way to discover new wines and food purveyors, run into friends and make a great day of it. But we’ve been there and have done that and there tends to be little variation on that theme. The Earth Day Food...

At some point in your wine collecting "career," you will probably begin to dream of owning a true wine cellar, a walk-in area of your home where your entire collection rests on matching racks, waiting for you to step inside and choose a bottle. Inspired by the gorgeous photographs of celebrity wine cellars, you might wonder if you should talk with a wine cellar expert about designing a cellar in your own home.

Once you have started collecting wine, you need to find a place to store all those bottles. For some collectors, a wine cooler or wine refrigerator is a good solution. For many wine enthusiasts, however, the collection quickly outgrows the wine cooler unit. Purchasing wine racks and creating a wine cellar or wine storage area is the logical next step.

There comes a point in almost every wine lover's life at which wine enjoyment turns into wine collecting. It might happen when you're at a wine festival or winery tour and discover a wine so wonderful that you take the plunge and bring home a case. Or, perhaps a friend who is moving out of town brings you several bottles of wine, saying, "I can't take these with me, so I want you to enjoy them." Either way, your collecting days have begun.