Wine Appraiser

I just read an article in Wine Enthusiast that Riesling is one of the fastest-growing wine varieties on the market. According to the article, people are looking for crisp-bright wines; of course, Riesling fits that bill. Our first wine says it pairs well with chicken, fish, and spicy cuisines.

Nero D’Avola is known for its dark fruit-driven flavors, full-bodied, and medium to medium-high tannins. In addition to the dark fruit, may get flavors of licorice, tobacco, and pepper.

Meritage is a wine blended with the Bordeaux grape varieties, typically from outside of Bordeaux. The fi...

Viognier is a full-bodied white wine. Primary flavors of tangerine, peach, mango, honeysuckle, and rose. Cooler climate styles have greater citrus and floral traits with more acid and crispness. These wines are typically aged in stainless steel. Warmer climate Viognier is barrel aged, goes through malolactic fermentation, and therefore has richer tastes such as apricot, rose, and vanilla. These wines have less acidity and more creaminess. Viognier has become more popular in recent years with more plantings in California.

Languedoc in the South of France is located south of the Rhone Valley and stretches to the Mediterranean...

I had never done a ten-year vertical wine-tasting and didn’t know what to expect. A vertical tasting is done with the same wine variety from the same winery and maybe even from the same vineyards, but for different years.

However, if you get the chance, take it. I was very impressed. You can taste how the wine changes over time, and with information regarding the growing conditions for each year, you can also taste how the weather affects the wine.

Stone Hill Winery in Hermann, Missouri, is one of the best in the state. No...

I have never considered these two wines to be similar. However, they have many similarities. Both are full-body, fruit-forward red wines with medium to medium-high acidity and similar alcohol levels. Both have plum and blueberry fruit flavors.

Subtle differences do exist between the two. Malbec has vanilla, sweet tobacco, and cocoa flavors. Syrah has milk chocolate, tobacco, and green peppercorn. Syrah can also have gamy notes.

Tonight, we are comparing:

I had never tried a dessert wine till last year. I must admit they can be delicious and a great alternative to coffee.

Vignoles is a high acid and high sugar white grape. Because of its high sugar content, it can be made into a late-harvest style sweet white, but is also produced into a dry and off-dry white wine. It is moderate in winter hardiness.

Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is a sweet wine, and can be either a white or red wine...

Petite Pearl is a newer red hybrid grape. The grape was developed in Minnesota and has been available for less than twenty years. Regardless, some sources say it is one of the most planted grapes in the central northern states.

According to the limited information available on Petite Pearl, its juice has a similar makeup to the common European varieties.

It makes a dark and heavier body red wine with dark fruit flavors. We are drinking the 2022 Soldier Creek Petite Pearl. We purchased this wine at the winery for $21.00. A virtual wine tasting of this...

Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc are both mutations of Pinot Noir.

First, let's look at Pinot Gris, also called Pinot Grigio in Italy. These two wines come from the same grape. Pinot Gris originated from Burgundy in the Pinot Noir fields. It can be hard to tell the difference between the Pinot Gris plants and Pinot Noir and they were sometimes used in the Pinot Noir to soften tannins and add acid to the wine. It is now mostly grown in the Alsace region in France. Pinot Gris is a soft, perfumed, and higher body wine than...

What is a GSM blend and why is it called a Rhone Blend? The G, S and M stand for Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. The Rhone Valley is the original home of GSM blends and of course the reason why it is sometimes referred to as a Rhone Blend.

The Rhone Valley has two parts: the Northern Rhone Valley is known for its steep-sloping vineyards, where Syrah is produced. The Southern Rhone is a much larger region and lacks the steep slopes of the north. This is where the GSM blends are produced. Probably the most famous...

Fume is a French word meaning a smoke-like vapor or substance. It makes many people think of Pouilly-Fume, the famous Loire Valley wine and region.

Robert Mondovi coined the name Fume Blanc in the 1960s. He decided to differentiate his Sauvignon Blanc by aging it in oak. He believed the toasted oak barrels gave the wine a smokey character, thus the term Fume was used. However, United States wine law does not differentiate Sauvignon Blanc and Fume Blanc. Therefore, you can buy a non-oaked Fume Blanc.

Although the wine's popularity has declined in the United...

Zinfandel has been in America since the early to mid 1800s and was once the most popular wine grape in California. It is known for its old vine wines.

In fact, in the past it was a victim of its own popularity, and became known as a common cheaper wine. A lot of Zinfandel juice kits were sold during prohibition which also hurt its reputation.

However, in the 1980s and 1990s it gained in sales and acreage because of the popularity of White Zinfandel. 

Currently Zinfandel is the third most planted wine grape i...