I remember driving along the autoroute between Alsace and the Southern Rhone about a dozen years ago.  Just south of Chambery, I viewed an immense stone mass to my right, part of which seemed blasted into a crescent shape.  Before me, the rugged, snow-capped Alps, standing majestically against the beautiful cobalt sky, receded toward the distant horizon.  To my left I saw vineyards stretching up the steep and barren mountainside…

"Put simply, the Seattle sommelier scene in 2012 is as dynamic as any in the world. Local favoritism aside, when compared with the great gastronomic cities of New York or Paris or Tokyo or San Francisco (et al.), this sleepy Pacific Northwest “Big Town/Small City” features (on an entirely different scale, mind you) as fine a combination of wine service, beverage scene, food stuff access, chef talent and consumer base…

This is the first of an in-depth examination of the Loire's four main regions.

The Central Loire Vineyards: An Overview

The 5394 hectares that make up the Central Loire vineyards are not only in the centre of the Loire Valley but also are in the heart of France. The bridge over the river at Pouilly-sur-Loire marks the halfway point of the river’s long journey to the sea – 1000 kilometres (600 miles), while the small…

Part I: Using Visual Constructs to Calibrate the Structure of Wine

In Master Sommelier classes and tasting examinations we ask students to assess the structural components of wine, specifically the levels of residual sugar, alcohol, acidity and tannin as well as the length and quality of the finish.  Further, we ask them to use a scale which ranges from low on one end to high on the other with increments in between.  The…

The Germans are known to be anything but lazy. When dealing with wines from the Mosel region this “laziness doesn’t pay” develops different meanings. First of all, looking at the steep slopes and observing people climbing the vineyards to tip some shoots makes you realise that this area provides growers with only hard-earned bread. On the other hand, the tremendous diversity of styles and taste profiles of Mosel Riesling…

For over 20 years I have staged what I call The Last Supper to mark the end of vintage at Coldstream Hills, the Yarra Valley winery I founded in 1985. The wines have always come from my personal cellar, thus it has survived the changes in ownership of Coldstream Hills over that time. Since 1996 Coldstream Hills has been part of what has become Treasury Wine Estates, but that has in no way changed my attitude to Coldstream…

Spring and early summer in the vineyards is when the wine is truly made. Springtime for a viticulturist is like fighting a war, or like surfing a huge wave, depending on whether you’re a man-against-nature type or you tend to eat mushrooms and marvel at its magnificence. Either way there is no question that it is the most intense time in the vineyards. Mother Nature deals her hand in the spring, and how the cards are…

It has often been said that we taste with our eyes. How a wine appears in the glass matters a great deal, because ‘taste’ itself is a multimodal perceptive event involving a number of senses, including vision alongside touch, taste and smell. Even the information we have about a wine influences the actual perception of the wine: brain-scanning studies have shown that experienced sommeliers process the taste of wine in…

Many students and fellow Master Sommeliers (including me) consider the tasting exam to be by far the most challenging of the three segments of the overall examination.  With that I’ve coached an untold number of students taking the tasting exams at both the Advanced and Master’s level over the years.  Here’s a summary of advice and suggestions I’ve commonly given to those preparing for the exams.…

What cities across the U.S. have the most vibrant, up-and-coming wine scenes?  This time around, the Guild takes a look at the emerging scene in Atlanta through the eyes of five of the city's top sommeliers.  

Why Atlanta?  In the words of Eric Crane, one of the city's (tireless) advocates: "Few cities in the country offer the same diversity of dining and drinking choices as Atlanta does.  While Atlanta is …