Who invented wine’s 100-point scale?
We quite often talk about the 100-point scale and its impact on wine, but is it correct to say that Robert Parker “invented” it? He certainly popularized the approach and it has come to be large part of his legacy as other magazines shifted to the numerical system. In “The Emperor of Wine,” Elin McCoy...
The Internet has “shrouded [wine] in ignorance”
“The Internet has changed the way we think about wine. Once shrouded in mystery, it’s now shrouded in ignorance.” That’s in the latest post from Hosemaster of Wine. Needless to say, I think it has been a huge net (pun intended) positive, since increasingly knowledgable consumers posting online is one of the most exciting things...
Vintry Wines – a swanky addition to a winey part of NYC
So if a sleek wine shop opened in the arcade under the new Goldman Sachs building, you’d expect it to have oversized bottles of first growths and Napa cabs, right? Well, Vintry Wine and Spirits has plenty of trophy bottles, but it also has some reasonably priced and very drinkable ones. Nestled among the magnums...
DRC auction, guilty, Messi wine, scouting, charity – sipped & spit
SPIT: bottles of DRC SIPPED: the power of the internet; credit card return policies? Don Cornwell, a collector and attorney, posted an impressively detailed assessment of lots that went under the hammer at a London auction last night. Spectrum and Vanquish, the auctioneers, did withdraw some lots but continued to sell others despite statements from...
Where are the thirst-quenching domestic reds?
The French have a wine term that doesn’t translate. No, it’s not terroir. It’s vin de soif. A wine that’s thirst-quenching is a fun drink that accompanies food or a moment but doesn’t dominate them. It’s lowish in alcohol and in price. While the concept translates, the category comes up frustratingly empty when looking for...
Iceberg wedge: impossible-food wine pairing?!?
Over the weekend I was out to dinner at a nice restaurant and encountered something I hadn’t seen for a while: the iceberg wedge slathered in blue cheese and bits of bacon. I told my cousin sitting next to me that I was surprised to see this retro dish on the menu, remarking that the...
The state of the wine market, 2012
When asked the last time he had mistaken Burgundy for Bordeaux, Harry Waugh famously replied, “not since lunch.” Frequent drinkers today aged 26 – 34 have more confidence than Waugh since 78% of them think they can tell the difference between merlot and cabernet sauvignon, even more similar than Burgundy and Bordeaux! (Hmm, not the...
30 Rock wine: the best tasting note Robert Parker never wrote
Okay, only about five years late on this. But, thanks to site reader Quizicat drawing a parallel to our recent discussion of moscato, I’ve learned that I missed an episode of “30 Rock” where wine featured prominently. Jack Donaghy is delighted to have his name on his own sparkling wine from Long Island and he...
Where in the wine world are we? Retail edition
Here’s a wine store that looks just like any other high-end wine store…right? So where in the world is this particular store? Include the store name for full credit. (Image credit to follow.)
Moscato di Nasty?
Many of us wine writers praise the trend to lower-alcohol wines. But there’s one low alcohol wine that has taken off yet generated little coverage: Moscato. Sales of the $6 sweet, fizzy white that ranges between 5 – 9 percent alcohol have almost doubled each of the past two years, albeit off a small base....
Bordeaux battle of the business schools — to the victors go the nobly rotten
The business school students sniffed, swirled and spit the three glasses of Sauternes in front of them. They had come from places like Columbia, Northwestern, Stanford, and Harvard to sit under the tableaux and tapestries at the French Consulate on Fifth Avenue, try wines and answer questions, competing to win the big prize: making it...
Is this what they teach about “rare vintage claret” in business school?
A parody from the BBC show “Mitchell and Webb.” Merger!
