These are big-game bottles. Drink one and you become a character in a Hemingway story. We hunted for the bottle under the hot sun. We brought it down. The bottle was big. Drinking it felt good. We drank until the bottle was empty, and then we fell asleep. Known in the trade as large formats, big wine bottles are larger animals than the standard 750 ml. They range in size from the magnum, which equals two standard bottles (1.5 litres), to the nebuchadnezzar (neb-kd-NE-zr), which equals 20 standard bottles and weighs in at a table-warping 15 litres. According to a […]
How to Wine
How to Get the Most from Your Winery Visit: 20 Tasting Room Tips
1. Plan your visits Visit wineries clustered together, such as the ones in Niagara-on-the-Lake area. Visit no more than three to five a day: two in the morning, one for lunch and one or two in the afternoon. That leaves you time to taste and talk. (I know, I crammed in more visits, but a drink writer in wine country is like those stunt drivers in car commercials—you’re not really supposed to do those tricks in real life.) Go to both small and large places to get a sense of the range of wines produced. 2. Designate a driver […]
How to Cellar Wine: Temperature, Humidity, Light Conditions
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist understand the basics of wine storage: temperature, humidity and light conditions for wine cellars. Temperature The proper storage temperature of 10 to 15oC enables wine to age slowly to its full complexity. Excess heat cooks off its finer characteristics, while too much chill retards its maturation. Humidity Humidity should also be stable, at about 70 percent, so that corks don’t dry out. When dry, corks shrink slightly, allowing air into the bottles that oxidizes the wine. This is also why bottles are stored on their sides: the wine keeps the cork wet, […]
10 Tips to Make The Best out of any Wine Fest
By Tania Thomas Have you ever found yourself standing in the middle of the tasting floor at a wine show or festival and felt confused and overwhelmed, wanting to taste as many wines as possible but did not know where to begin? Attending a wine event of any kind can certainly be a confusing and overwhelming experience that leaves you bouncing from table to table without a direction, other than circular. On the other hand, attending a wine festival is an excellent opportunity to learn, taste new varietals and have fun with just a little bit of preparation. Apart from […]
How to Pick a House Wine: 5 Tips + Why You Need One
You’ve just finished your yoga class with your friend and the two of you agree it would be great to have a glass of wine together. Do you invite her back to your place? If so, which wine to serve? The mother of your child’s playmate arrives to pick up her child. Do you invite her in for some vino? Which one? (Of course, the answer is no if she’s driving … non-alcoholic cider is a great alternative.) The holidays are right around the corner, when unexpected guests will be the norm. Are you ready with your house wine? If […]
Is it You or the Wine? How to Identify Wine Faults
Eyes closed, you breathe deeply, searching for the exotic aromas of pinot noir in your glass. Instead, an acrid smell jabs its way up your nose. This is not the essence of fleshy cherries rolling across on a bed of violets you were expecting. It’s more like burnt matches. Is it you or the wine? It’s probably the wine, but how can you be sure, especially when you’re debating whether or not to send the bottle back in a restaurant? Just as wine can absorb and exude exotic aromas, it can also pick up and give off pungent odours. The […]
Wine Aroma Wheel: 5 Wine Tasting Secrets They Reveal
The best-known wine aroma wheel above was developed by Dr. Ann Noble, while she was a professor with the renowned oenology program at the University of California at Davis. It categorized aromas broadly, splintering off into more specific sub-aromas. It was ground-breaking in that it took the obscure and confusing adjectives often used to describe wine and categorized them coherently. Here are the top 5 wine tasting secrets that Dr. Noble’s aroma wheel, and the other wheels below can tell us: 1. Describing wine doesn’t have to be vague and off-putting. Using concrete, everyday adjectives from categories of fruit, flowers […]
Sommelier Courses: French Language + Fresh Focus Video
In the video chat, Tom Vigeant, Coordinator of the Sommelier Certificate Program at La Cité Collégiale in Ottawa, talks about the courses offered in this French wine program. You can also watch our other video chat on the 5 worst questions to ask a sommelier. What makes La Cité collégiale Sommelier Program different from the George Brown or Algonquin College Sommelier Program? From the Wine and Spirits Education Trust or WSET courses? Is your sommelier program aimed at the wine enthusiast who wants to learn more about wine but not necessarily work in the industry or is it for industry […]
