A Good Red Wine for Beginners

Red wines are a little intimidating. They come in such a divergent range of profiles and flavors, that it’s no wonder you can stand in front of an isle of 100 different wines and decide it’s better to walk away empty handed.  A good red wine for beginners helps you learn about different grape profiles. […]

Rosé Wine Grapes

I’m always curious to know exactly what’s in my glass, and rosé is a perfect example of a wine where no one bottle seems to be the same. Technically, winemakers can use any red grape to make a rose wine. Some rose wine grapes are more popular for making pink wines thanks to their flavor […]

Best Red Wine for Casual Drinking

Confession. I drink wine. A lot of wine. Most of the wine I drink I’d consider ‘casual’… and also red. The best red wine for casual drinking is one that doesn’t need to be aged or decanted. These red wines need to be easy to find, affordable, and easy to pair. The best red wines […]

Wine Flights: Everything You Need to Know

If you hang around wine people long enough, you’re going to run across the term “wine flight”. A wine flight is not, in fact, an airplane full of wine nerds – though I’d be up for that! A wine flight is a set of different but related servings of wine. Typically a wine flight is […]

How Does Wine Taste Like Chocolate?

If you’ve found this post, I’m willing to bet you’re drinking a red wine that tastes like chocolate. But is it milk chocolate or dark chocolate? The chocolate and mocha flavors common in wine come from oak. There’s no real chocolate in your wine. Winemakers use toasted French or American oak to give your wine […]

Is Malbec the Same as Cabernet Franc? Malbec vs Cabernet Franc

Characteristics Malbec Cabernet Franc Hue Deep purple to black Ruby red to deep purple Color Red to black Red Aromas Blue fruits, plum, cocoa Red berries, violets, peppery Tannins Medium to Medium +, smooth Firm, grippy Acid Moderate Moderate to high Alcohol (%) 13-15% 12-15% Body Medium to full Medium to full Intensity Pronounced Moderate […]

What’s Better? DOCG, DOC, IGT, and VdT Italian Wines

Reading Italian wine labels can feel a little cryptic, especially if you’re standing in the wine aisle of your local store and holding two bottles that look essentially the same.  If you want the highest quality Italian wines, then choose a DOCG Italian wine, sometimes written out as Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita. DOC […]

What Is Medoc Wine?

Shopping for French wines can be a little cryptic. The wine labels often have regions instead of grapes on them, making it hard to figure out what wine style you’re buying. If you have a label with ‘Medoc’ on it, here’s what that means. Medoc wine is a red wine from the Bordeaux region of […]

Buttery Red Wines: What It Means, How It Tastes, Finding Buttery Red Wines

Red wines can be tricky for the average wine drinker because they include not just the qualities of the grape, but also present the unique touch of the winemaker. And if you’ve ever smelled or tasted a buttery red wine, then you’ve definitely detected the hand of your winemaker! Buttery red wines can refer to […]

Malbec Wine: A Comprehensive Guide

Everyone loves the story of an underdog. An endurance trial to come back against all odds, winning favor and acclaim. Malbec (pronounced Mal-beck) is the underdog of wine. Once a widely-planted grape throughout France, this grape suffered catastrophic losses in the mid-20th century due to frost damage and was left by the wayside. But across […]