Sommelier service / pavel danilyuk / Pexel
Op Ed: Wine Consumer Preferences Are a Reflection of the Industry
Consumers are not stupid. There, that’s the crux of this entire op-ed. Although I do have something to add: If consumers are stupid, it’s only because We assume that about them. We treat them...
Restaurant Open jennifer bonauer_unsplash
As Restaurants Reopen, Sommeliers Re-Envision Wine Lists
What producers need to know to get their wines into the hospitality sector. —Melanie Young Restaurants closed throughout much of 2020 when the novel coronavirus caused a series of lockdowns. To cover the...
Kimmeridgean soils contain fossilized oyster shells / Courtesy Vins de Bourgogne
Opinion: Minerality in Terms of Terroir
Terroir as like a tree falling in a forest. Just because you don’t hear it, it doesn’t mean it didn’t fall. —Randy Caparoso I think that the one aspect of terroir-related qualities that we...
A Zinfandel cluster in Stampede Vineyard (Clements Hills), a vineyard now prized by contempory style producers for the high acidity in its high-skin-to-juice ratio grapes.
Op Ed: Dear Sommeliers, It's OK to Like Zinfandel
This op is written from a sommelier’s perspective. I know a lot of them because I was a sommelier who worked in restaurants for over 28 years, and am currently affiliated SOMM Journal. —Randy Caparoso This...
Kimmeridgean soils contain fossilized oyster shells / Courtesy Vins de Bourgogne
In Defense of Terroir
—Randy Caparoso Does wine-related terroir exist anymore? This is a valid question, even if a silly one. Of course, terroir exists. If it doesn’t, entire belief systems built upon the premise that terroir...
Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir flight / Randy Caparoso photography
Redefining the Definition of Balanced Wine
And eliminating high-alcohol cancel culture —Randy Caparoso Talking about “balanced wine” used to be perfectly acceptable—until about ten years ago, when the term suddenly became politicized. People started...
An interesting chart of umami-rich foods copped from the book, “Umami: Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste,” by Ole Mouritsen and Klavs Stybaek, published 2015
Effects of Umami in Wines and Foods
What is umami and why should wine lovers care? Haven’t foods and wines become complicated enough without having to understand one more odd sounding concept? The simple answer is this: When you think...
TEXSOM
Christina Walther of Jeffrey’s of Austin Named Best Sommelier at 15th Annual Texsom
Three Austin Sommeliers win the 2019 TEXSOM Best Sommelier Competition Irving, Texas (August 21, 2019) – TEXSOM co-founders and Master Sommeliers Drew Hendricks and James Tidwell today announced at...
March 6
Afternoon Brief, March 6
How Wine Businesses Are Using Emerging Technologies: Technology plays a vital role in all aspects of our lives, but with the speed of new developments, the choice of what tech to use and how to use it...
Nov 29
Afternoon Brief, November 29
Is Copper Safe for Wine? : It's a top tool of organic grapegrowers. But is copper sulfate truly safe for vineyards...