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Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Random Vine Happenings and more
First Meritage Time of the 2013!
Let’s start with the answer for the wine quiz #42, Common Traits. In that quiz, you were supposed to identify what can be common between five different wines and/or wineries. I’m happy to report that we have two winners – both vinoinlove and thedrunkencyclist correctly pointed out to the fact that all of those wines use Merlot either as the only or very major component. I also have to note that I’m very impressed with the excellent in-depth analysis conducted by VinoinLove (you can see it in the comments section of the quiz post). As usual, both winners get unlimited bragging rights as their prize.
And now, to the news! Looks like that Natalie MacLean scandal (stealing of the wine reviews etc.) keeps reverberating throughout the blogosphere – here are two recent blog posts on the subject – one from Joe Roberts (a.k.a. 1WineDude), and another one is from Chris Kassel of Intoxicology Report. Both posts are great and if you didn’t read them yet, you really should.
Next, I want to bring to your attention an event coming up in about two weeks in New York. Stefano from Flora’s Table blog posted about Vinitaly International and Slow Wine 2013 taking place in New York city on January 28th. Please check Stefano’s blog post for more information about those events.
Last but not least I want to mention an interesting post by Mike Veseth from Wine Economist blog. This blog post is talking about choice of wine available to today’s wine consumer, who makes those wines and where the wines are coming from. The post is a bit technical, so you will need to pay attention while reading it. That blog post also features a “wine universe” picture you can play with (zoom in, zoom out) – definitely very interesting to see.
That’s all I have for you for today, folks. The glass is empty. Until the next time – Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #42: Common Traits
Did you miss these posts? Whether you did or did not – the holidays are over, and it is time to resume our traditional Saturday wine quizzes.
I wanted to come up with a nice series, as I had it with the wine reviews (#29, #30, #31 and #32), but nothing interesting came to my mind so far, so this quiz will be completely random.
Many times before I asked you to find what is different, or which item doesn’t belong to the list. This time, it is the other way around. Below is the list of different wines and/or producers from all over the world, who share something in common. Can you please tell me what it is?
- La Mondotte
- Chateau Le Pin
- Tua Rita Redigaffe
- Amuse Bouche
- Quilceda Creek
As usual, please provide the answer in the comments below.
Have fun and good luck! Happy first weekend of 2013! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Self-directed Rant, Ouch and more
Meritage time!
As usual, let’s start from the answer to the weekly wine quiz #41, Which one doesn’t belong. I would estimate the complexity of the quiz as medium, as you had to figure out what the question was all about, and then think about what item doesn’t belong to the list (and even explain why). I’m glad to report that we have a winner, who is being quite persistent at winning lately – thedrunkencyclist. He properly identified that Corton, which is a Grand Cru Appellation from Côte de Beaune, doesn’t belong to the list of Grand Cru appellations from Côte de Nuits. Well done, Jeff – and a double amount of unlimited bragging rights is all yours, as you were able to answer the question without the use of Google.
Before we get to the interesting stuff, I need to let some cringe out of the system – so we are getting to my self-directed rant. Let me just scream it out loud – I HAVE SO MANY BLOG POSTS IN MY HEAD AND I CAN’T GET THEM OUT! There, I said it. I don’t think this is a writer’s block, and if it is, it is some very sophisticated masochistic form. I have posts which should’ve been written during summer when I visited wineries in New York Hudson region. Then there were great wine tastings I had all the intentions to write about. We had an amazing time in October at Paumanok winery – and this blog post still sits in the drafts section. The list can go on and on. I still can’t figure it out how this stuff works, and it is upsetting. But – now, that I let it out of the system, I will make sure truly hope all those belated posts will follow. Okay, this is the end of my rant.
Now, there are few interesting things I want to share with you. First is what I called an “ouch” – it appears that Natalie MacLean, a well known wine writer, who has eponymous web site and iPad/Android App, had being borrowing stealing wine reviews from the other wine writers, including the reviews located on “subscription-only” web sites, such as Jancis Robinson, without any acknowledgement to the actual authors. Palate Press put out a big article on the subject, which is worth reading, including the comments section. The story of course reverberated on multiple blogs. Hopefully her readership will adjust accordingly (but I guess we will never know).
Folks behind Wine Folly published a very interesting infographic chart for the different types of wine. As a mind mapping junkie, I can only applaud any efforts to classify an extremely diverse subject, such as wine world, in a compact and comprehensible fashion. Take a look at the link above and let me know what you think (hint: this chart might be a good present for the wine geek in your life).
That’s all I have for you, folks. The glass is empty, but it will be definitely refilled soon. Happy Wine (and Whisky) Wednesday. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #41: Which One Doesn’t Belong?
As life happens, I had no chance to post the traditional Saturday quiz. But – at least it is still a weekend.
I’m going somewhat back to the basics of the wine world with this quiz, and I will probably stay with this basic theme for a while. The idea is simple – I will present you with the list of objects, which can be grapes, wines, appellations, etc. – you will need to figure out what the list is all about and then find an incongruity, an object which should not be on that list. Here we go.
Which one doesn’t belong and why?
A. Chambertin
B. Corton
C. La Grande Rue
D. Musigny
E. Ruchottes-Chambertin
If you can solve it without Google, you can double your unlimited bragging rights which come here as a prize.
Have fun and good luck. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, and Some Local Updates
Meritage Time!
Let’s start with the answer for the Wine Quiz #40, Wine Basics 101 – Tannins. In this quiz you were supposed to explain what tannins are, how do they get into the wine and also provide an example of some other foods which also cause an effect similar to tannins. I’m glad to say that we have two winners – both thedrunkencyclist and stefano provided very detailed answers, so they both get that coveted prize consisting of unlimited bragging rights. Yes, tannins are the polyphenolic compounds which naturally occur mostly in red wines due to the prolonged contact of the juice with seeds, stems and oak barrels. Tannins cause the tactile sensation of drying up of your mouth – this is why big tannic wines often work very well with fatty foods, such as steak, as grease of the steak help to alleviate that astringent feeling. And outside of wine, tannins can be found in many other foods – black tea, walnuts, persimmons are just some of the examples of such foods.
Now, let’s talk about interesting stuff, which might not be of such a wide importance, as today it will all relate just to this blog which you are reading right now. First, I have to say “THANK YOU!” to all of you, my readers. About a month ago, there was a wine blogging contest about wines of Tuscany at the To-Tuscany travel site – and with your help, I was actually able to win it! Here is the link to the contest page – and thank you again to all who voted for my blog.
I made some updates in my blogroll section, mainly adding a few new blogs and web sites which I now follow – the additions are Flora’s Table, Vino in Love and American Winery Guide – if you are not following them, check them out. I also added two links for the wine buying service which I recently used and was happy with – Last Bottle Wines and Bin End’s Wines – again, might well worth your attention.
I finally updated the Wine Ratings page in this blog – this table lists wines which I rated as 8- or above, which means that they are all recommended, and now it is current as of November 2012.
And the last update for today – I plan to start reviewing wine gadgets here – I think it should be fun exercise (suggestions and questions will be gladly accepted).
That’s all I have for today, folks – the glass is empty. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #40: Wine Basics 101 – Tannins
It is Saturday, therefore it is time for the next wine quiz. And I have to honestly admit, my mind couldn’t settle on anything particular – “how about this? Nah… and what about that? Nope.. but then… Nope again”.
After not being able to resolve that in any reasonable amount of time, I have to proceed with something very plain and simple.
Today’s quiz relates to one of the basic characteristics of wine, tannins, and it consists of three questions:
Q1: What is tannins?
Q2: What are the sources of tannins in wine?
Q3: Name at least two other food items which cause effect similar to tannins in wine.
Have fun and good luck! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Wine Quiz Answer, Wine Blogger Quits, Krug No More?, and more…
Meritage time!
In the last wine quiz #39 – Let’s decant some wines, you were supposed to identify an essential element of wine decanting, mostly used in the fine restaurants. I’m glad to say that we have a winner – Stefano was right on the mark with the detailed description of the decanting process. While wine cradle is important in some cases, candle is an essential element of decanting, adding a nice romantic touch, but most importantly, allowing to see when sediment is about to go into the decanter. thedrunkensyclist also suggested that any light source can be used, and not just the candle, so the prize (unlimited bragging rights) should be shared between both of them.
Let’s move on to the interesting stuff. I don’t know how that happen, but I just realized that most of the “finds” I want to share with you are rather sad – however, I think they are still interesting to read, so let’s proceed.
First, here is the post from Steve Heimoff talking about blogger who stopped blogging – Paul Gregutt, who was writing about wines of Northwest, announced that he will stop blogging, at least for a while. I know that some of you already read Steve’s post ( there was a comment from thedrunkencyclist there), but for those of you who didn’t read it yet, I think it is a worthwhile read. This is an interesting question which probably every blogger comes across every once in a while – as for the most of us, blogging is a labor of love, it takes not insignificant amount of effort, so I’m sure many of us have this question deep inside coming up from time to time – “so, may be hell with it”? Oh well…
Now, this one goes close to the heart. You know, you have a treasure, which you keep for yourself, and you know it is always there for you, and then one day you discover that whatever it was, it is all crumbled and fell apart, and you get very sad? This is the wine blog, right – so you don’t expect me to talk about some memorabilia which I was not taking the right care of? Yeah, we are talking about wine. My treasure – Krug Champagne. I really experienced it once (both Vintage and non-vintage), and it was enough to still roll my eyes every time I think or talk about it. According to the blog post from Alice Feiring, this is Krug no more – of course it is still produced, but looks like starting with 2003 vintage, it become complacent and indistinguishable, it lost all its royal traits which warranted almost religious following… If you have an opinion – please comment (I hope at least one person will).
Here is the post from Alfonso Cevola blog, talking about latest trends in the restaurants in US, which can’t be found in Italy – if anything, the pictures are cool, and his descriptions are fun to read.
Last but not least – a note of thanks. I was nominated for Very Inspiring Blogger Award by Stefano from Flora’s Table blog – I’m very grateful for the nomination and all the kind words. Stefano has a wealth of wine knowledge, I love the recipes in Flora’s Table blog, but the most amazing part for me are the pictures – some of the very best food pictures I saw anywhere on the net… If you are not following Flora’s Table yet – you should!
That’s all I have for today, folks – the glass is empty. Have a great #WineWednesday or #WhiskyWednesday – whatever your heart desires. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #39 – Let’s Decant Some Wines
Decanting is an interesting subject in the wine world. The question is often asked – do we need to decant the wines? Why? When? How can we decide what wines to decant? Then there is a group which says that you never need to decant the wines – but we will leave this discussion for some later time.
During the process of decanting, the wine is poured out from the bottle into a large glass vessel, which can have various shapes (duck, sphere, a toll vase, a short vase and so on).
There are two main reasons to decant the wines. First, the decanting is done with the older wines, to avoid the sediment from going into the glass. Second, the decanting is done for the younger wines and the wines of the certain types, such as Barolo, to let them breathe, to aerate, soften up and then show the fruit. For instance, it is generally recommended to decant Barolo for at least 3 hours before it will be served, just to let the wine “open up”. It is not enough just open a bottle in advance, as very little amount of wine goes in direct contact with air – in decanter, the wine gets in the contact with air over much larger surface compare to the bottle or even the glass, thus the process of breathing becomes a lot more effective.
There are lots of articles about decanting available all over the place (here is one link in case you want to read more) , so let’s get to our question (this is the quiz, remember?).
To decant the bottle of wine you need to have a bottle of wine and a decanter, of course. Then, in the “classic” decanting, often performed in the higher end restaurants, there is one more element, one more piece used in the process of decanting, when the bottle is poured into the decanter. Can you name that element and explain why is it used?
Have fun and good luck! Have a great weekend! Cheers!
Wednesday’s Meritage – Just The Wine Quiz Answer
Meritage time!
Today’s Meritage will be only about the wine quiz. I had very limited time to find sharing-worthy news – and I failed.
In the last wine quiz #38, you were supposed to play a game of “find the differences” between two labels of the wine. I’m happy to report that we have a winner, vinoinlove – he correctly identified 3 differences between labels – the name of the wine (Tiare Imperiale versus Le Fiarre), ABV listed on the labels ( 14% and 14.5%) and even size of the labels ( there is a small difference in the size). Congratulations!
Quite honestly, I have to admit that I wanted someone to take the comparison a little further. When I saw the two bottles, the similarity between the front labels was almost shocking and it took me a few moments to realize that there are some differences there (okay, call me slow). When I tried to compare the wines, my expectations were that they will taste indistinguishably the same – and they were not! Tiare Imperiale was a lot more round and polished, were Le Fiarre was not bad, but rather rough on edges. Turning the bottles over and looking at the back labels clearly pointed to the fact that these are two different wines – Tiare Imperiale is made out of all 13 grapes allowed in Chateauneuf-du-Pape appellation, and Le Fiarre is made out of 4:
So in my cryptic comments, I was hoping that someone will say that most likely the wines tasted differently and were made from the different grapes – but apparently I didn’t succeed. Just an additional interesting fact – Le Fiarre wine came from from Trader Joe’s ( at $19.99), and Tiare Imperiale was acquired through Wine Till Sold Out, and purchase price was something like $25 with $55 listed as a retail. I would not recommend Le Fiarre (while $19.99 is a bargain, there are other much better wines in that price category) – but Tieare Imperiale is a good wine in the $25 range – I wouldn’t take it for $55 though. Another interesting fact is that both wines seems to be private labeled for Skalli and have virtually no additional information available on Internet.
That’s all I have for you today, folks. Cheers!
Weekly Wine Quiz #38 – Children’s Game With Wine Labels
It was clearly too much turkey, my friends – I couldn’t come up with anything super-creative for this wine quiz, so I decided to go with children’s game of “find the differences”.
When we arrived to the friend’s house on Wednesday, I spotted two bottles of Chateauneuf-du-Pape which looked absolutely identical at the first sight:
Little by little, I was able to realize many differences between these two wines – I wonder how many differences can you think of? Just to give you a few hints, don’t pay attention to the colors of the labels (color difference is just an effect of lighting, they really look absolutely identical in real life), and think about the wine as a whole when you will be answering this question.
Have fun and enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend. Cheers!
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