Archive: Jan 2013

  1. A Sommelier an Outsider Living on the Inside

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    Sommelier looking in

    Growing up, I never in a million years thought that I would be a sommelier.  I don’t know if there are any 10 or 11-year-old boys or girls that dream about being a sommelier.  In fact I don’t know if there are any kids that know that the job even exists.  So how did I ever get here?  To me, wine always seemed as something for the rich and élite.  Now here I am, writing about wine, teaching and recommending wines to people with a higher income than myself.  What I am going to state is merely a personal observation of myself and some other sommeliers I know.  In no way do I want to generalize and assume that all sommliers feel the same way. (more…)

  2. How to Drink Wine by a 6-year old

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    All I ever needed to know about how to drink wine I learned in kindergarten.  As many of you know, I try to make wine fun and easy to understand.  Wine is super complex and wrapping your head around it is frustrating.  As adults we have a knack of making things more difficult.  I am not sure what is the psychological reasoning behind this statement, but I know it is true.  My children are in preschool and first grade.  Each and every day I learn something new.  Sometimes I learn something I already knew but in a new way.

    I am not sure if I inspire them or if they just copy Sponge Bob.  For sometime now, they have played restaurant.  Each of them have their own restaurants.  My daughter played along with my son’s ideas and created her own restaurant, Cold-y.  Of course they serve cold spaghetti and cold soups.  My son, the instigator, started his restaurant long before.  He called his restaurant the Hot Pumpkin.  As one would guess, he serves pumpkins, right?  Nope.  At  the Hot Pumpkin he serves Hot Dogs.  It only makes sense. (more…)

  3. WhINE to the MUSIC: Bob Marley and Malbec

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    whine to the music copy“Whine to the music” is the art of pairing grooves, such as Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” with Malbec.  We have been drinking wine with music since the dawn of wine.  I don’t think music would have evolved without wine.  Most people tend to turn up the music when they drink wine.  Whine to the Music is not just sitting back, drinking wine and getting teary eyed.  It is a concept like ART and Wine Pairing, where we dissect the structures of the wine and the work to its basic elements.  The structural elements eventually create an emotion in us.  Whine to the Music is the art of pairing wine with music based on the emotion they evoke in us. (more…)

  4. Perfect Pairings: Wine and Oysters

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    oysters and wineThere is nothing better than sitting in a restaurant with a tray of oysters and a glass of white wine.  White wine and oysters is a classic pairing, unfortunately, so many people are turned off by oysters.  I just don’t get it.  Maybe because I love wine so  much, it makes sense that I love oysters too.  If you remember seeing my posts of top kid friendly restaurants, they all served oysters.

    An oyster is just like a grape.  An oyster is harvested in appellations, with the right growing conditions and over time produces sugars which give it body.  An oyster’s flavor is influenced by its “terroir” or body of water.  Like wine, depending on the species of oyster, where it grows, how long it grows and when harvested will affect its flavor and texture. (more…)

  5. The Wine-Phabet in it’s entirety.

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    After 8 months of coming up with a new wine concept every week, I am finally finished.  It is a sad feeling knowing that the work is done.  Will I start it over again?  No way Jose!  There is only 1 Wine-Phabet and it cannot be re-done.   I hope that you have all enjoyed reading it.  Please share with your friends.  You can now see the entire Wine-Phabet on my home page.  The Whimsical Wine Glossary.

    THE WINE-PHABET: A WHIMSICAL WINE GLOSSARY