Selecting the Right Wine Storage Unit

What’s in a wine fridge? Well, wine, naturally. But how does one make a decision on whether to buy a standalone cooler or shell out big bucks on a tricked-out, built-in wine storage system? There are a lot of things to consider about size, scale and quality – not to mention price – when it comes to properly storing your precious vino. Here is some great information to guide your decision.

Napa Valley: 10 Fascinating Facts Every Wine Lover Should Know

Enjoy these little fun facts about our beloved Napa Valley next time you are wine tasting, at a dinner party or playing Trivial Pursuit. 1) Napa Valley hosts an annual Mustard Festival from January to March, celebrating the " food, wine, art and rich, unique agricultural bounty of the Napa Valley". For some great tips on pairing wine with mustard, check out this article – Courtney gives some great advice.

Cheap Wine: Seattle's Fremont Wine Warehouse Delivers Bargain Wine for Recession Burdened Wine Enthusiasts

Cheap Wine is Au Courant With all our economic woes, it is nice to know you can cut back on wine, without having to “cut back on wine,” if you know what I mean. Bargains are everywhere these days, with many premium wines actually lowering their prices to retail outlets. But you can also find excellent quality wines and hidden gems in the under $25 range. And my philosophy is that price does not always dictate quality when it comes to good wine.

Top Tips for Wine Festivals

We recently drank our way through Woodinville Passport 2008, in the ever-burgeoning Woodinville wine region just outside of Seattle, Washington. Here, we experienced wine tasting in warehouse office parks – and never was a more true and honest passion for wine represented without all the fancy mahogany tasting bars, and retail swag you find in other wineries. With a little help from some Woodinville winemakers, I share with you my top tips for how to attack a wine tasting festival.

Sweet Sauternes

Ordering a dessert wine AS your dessert is always such a sweet, decadent treat. I have to admit I feel a little less guilty ordering a glass of an indulgent elixir instead of a chocolate torte – although I’m sure the caloric difference is negligible. One of my favorite choices is often a honey-sweet Sauternes.

Anatomy of a Well-Rounded Dessert Wine Menu

A perfectly-balanced dessert wine menu does not just happen: much thoughtfulness and love goes into it before its vibrant siren song emerges at your table, beckoning you to sample a naughty sip. I had the good fortune to sit down with Andrew Bresnik, Wine Director of Bricco della Regina Anna and learn how a well-rounded dessert wine menu is born and how you can work your way through it. Bricco is a delightful neighborhood wine bar and bistro tucked

Port and Chocolate Pairing Bliss

Holiday season lurks on the horizon, so what better time to dig into pairing chocolate with Port? Both evoke images of light snow falling, family get-togethers, and a slow warmth that slides down your throat, pools into your toes, and meanders back up again to give you a heady delight. To best equip you to ooze into that proverbial puddle in the yummiest way possible, here is some sage advice from Anton Hicks, my new best friend and Managing Partner of Nectar Wine Lounge , a gem of a spot in San Francisco’s Marina district.

Decadent Dessert Wines: The Language of Labels

As we roll into fall and winter, thoughts of roaring fires, cashmere sweaters, and elegant dinner parties are filling my head. And with this in mind, “Red on Reds” is taking a slight detour into the sumptuous world of dessert wines: What are they, what do they pair well with, and how sweet is sweet?

Putting Wine Tasting Notes to the Test

Tasting notes are a great way to get a sense of a wine’s personality before investing in a bottle you’ve never before tried. But how meaningful are they to the Average Joe? On a recent trip to Napa, we decided to put tasting notes to the test by comparing them with our own impressions.

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