 Check out Wine On The Road to explore the world’s most renowned wine regions with behind-the-scenes access to top winemakers and their incomparable wines. With Wine on the Road tours, professional wine writer and Chief Wine Sherpa Ben Weinberg has created the ultimate in wine-focused, behind-the-scenes wine country experiences, combining award-winning wines and exquisite dining and lodging with uniquely local flair and flavor. Our wine-focused, luxurious, behind-the-scenes itineraries are now available online. Go to Wine On The Road for more details.
Ben is the author of Weinberg's Wine Tech in Sommelier Journal and regularly contributes features, as well. Take a look at Sommelier Journal’s website for more information on this excellent behind-the-scenes wine magazine.
He is the Rocky Mountain Editor for Tasting Panel Magazine. Check out Tasting Panel’s website for more information on this wine industry powerhouse. Ben will continue to craft feature stories fpr Tasting Panel but will also be providing monthly briefs on Colorado restaurants for national publication. If you wish your restaurant to be considered for these articles please email him at:
benweinberg@
unfilteredunfined.com
Ben also pens "Politics Uncorked with Ben Weinberg" on a bi-monthly basis for the Colorado Statesman. Check out the Colorado Statesman’s website to learn what's going on in Colorado politics and wine.
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A hint of chill in the air reminds me that fall is here and winter isn’t far away. The end of November is just around the corner and many of you will be purchasing wines for your Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday tables. We could spend time talking turkey, but generally such food-and-wine pairings rely more on understanding the impact of flavorful sauces and side dishes than of the main course’s relatively neutral protein. [...]
After the conclusion of the inaugural edition of Wine On The Road’s Piedmont Unfiltered tour I immediately headed off to Champagne, France to site-check wineries, lodgings and other necessaries for a trip now scheduled for fall 2012 (see the Wine On The Road website for information on other tours). I was accompanied by Brian Freedman, Philadelphia-based wine writer, educator and consultant, who will help lead Champagne Unfiltered next year. [...]
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to have recently spent time in Champagne, France, the spiritual home of bubbly wines. I always knew I liked Champagne, but this experience has led me to plan a return to the region after this week’s Wine On The Road tour of Piedmont, Italy, a white truffle-infused, wine-soaked adventure. My goal is to plan a tour of Champagne for my clients in the fall of 2012. [...]
As I mentioned in last week’s column, I spent a recent week in Champagne, France, the spiritual home of bubbly wines, as the guest of the Center for Wine Origins (CWO, www.wineorigins.com). Last week’s column detailed the first part of that week; this column relates my experiences during the remainder. I realize many of these bottles are not inexpensive, but Champagne comes in at all price points and I wanted to show a representative sampling. [...]
While my recent trips to northern California have been fun and rewarding there’s nothing like being in Europe, the cradle of wine civilization. I was able to spend last week in Champagne, France, the spiritual home of bubbly wines, as the guest of the Center for Wine Origins. Their mission is to protect and promote unique wines from unique locations, and all I can say is “wow.” [...]
It’s no mystery that white wines pair perfectly with hot-weather foods. Heavier reds are just too, well, heavy. Rosés, while also great in the summertime, are harder to find at the top end of the quality scale (many are cheap, bland mélanges or mash-ups of a winery’s existing red and white portfolios). So when the mercury rises and the air starts shimmering, there’s nothing quite like a thirst quenching white to banish the dog-days-of-summer blues. [...]
I love to pour juice that evokes the rhythm of the seasons, especially bottles that pair perfectly with hot-weather food. While it is true that summer’s swelter limits the use of heavier reds, there are plenty of great wine values that do seem to match summer’s fare pretty well. [...]
For those who consider fermented grape juice their main alcoholic beverage, corks are often pulled in harmony with the seasons. I’ve long waxed rhapsodic about how good it feels to open perfectly aged bottles that complement well-matched food. It’s just as fun to pour wines that evoke fall’s celebrations, winter’s soul searching and even spring’s hope. But summer squeezings are not as easy to pinhole. Not only is the heat quotient often oppressive (which limits the range of heavier reds) but foods are lighter, requiring a deft touch when pairing with wine. [...]
While corned beef and cabbage is a very beer- and whiskey-friendly dish, in terms of wine it’s not that great. With a lot of spice and actually quite a sour flavor, the meat tends to make other acidic foodstuffs (like wine) taste metallic. But the day for wearing the green has come and gone, and with spring’s promise perfuming the air it’s time to focus on winning wines that pair well with other foods of the season. [...]
I’m able to fit most of the bottles I like into various themes. But there are some that I’ve been unable to shoehorn into tidy cubbyholes. Many are tasted too soon after a column about similar wines. Others require a delay to allow importation into the U.S. of the current vintage. A few even occupy the niche of true oddball without compare…What follows are notes on some of my favorite sample bottles, not easily categorized, that I’ve tasted over the past several months. I focus on the wine’s ability to match with spring’s seasonal foods. All of these recommendations hail from European vineyards, many of which may be unfamiliar to the American consumer. [...]
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In reference to any wine prices I publish in my writings, they are based on the lowest generally available prices I find in the U.S. at the time of publication. I use commercially available wine searching software such as Winesearcher Pro and Global Wine Stocks in my analyses, and as such, these prices may not be available to consumers in all markets.
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