What do you want to do today?

Thoughts of Burgundy continue to swirl through my head, inspired by the mega-tasting I experienced during the week-long Grands Jours de Bourgogne wine trade event. One recurring theme is: expectations versus reality in terms of tasting terroir .   Burgundy is arguably the benchmark for terroir— with vineyard differentiation going back to Medieval times, and dozens (if not hundreds) of books by renowned authors praising site distinctions certainly supporting that. As a high-le

I started wondering if the success of “Chablis” is maybe its downfall? In the U.S., most wine drinkers are familiar with the name. Even if they don’t know much about where it is from or how it is made. Or even, what the grape variety is. (If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard, “I don’t like Chardonnay. But I love Chablis!” I’d buy a house in France and you all could visit. But I digress.)

Blind tasting is an exercise that causes wine students to sweat but can actually be very informative for consumers. Especially if you create a “semi-blind” comparison, meaning you know something about the wines, but not which is in which glass. Some of my favorites side-by-sides are:   ·      Same grape variety, two different countries ·      “Grand vin” and second label from the same producer ·      Same country or region, two different single grape varieties ·      Same var