All posts in December 2018

The few weeks sandwiched between yuletide and the onset of Lent in February may well have been the only time a medieval European could be reasonably sure of enjoying a glass of fresh, sound wine. Wine merchants raced to get the current vintage safely in barrel and on the water to their various markets while…

It was in shabby but comfy French cafés that I learned that common folk typically took their wine in tumblers – and decided that, since I was common folk myself, I should henceforth do the same. Over the years my wife and I have collected some nicer glassware, only some of it on purpose. Not…

Oak barrels have been important in winemaking for a very long time, and the spice and vanilla flavors they impart are by now familiar. The drama added by aging in new oak became so associated with prestige California Chardonnay that even wines without price points capable of supporting the cost of fresh casks each vintage…