Touriga Nacional: Quick Guide

Pronounced: tore-ee-gah naw-see-oh-nahl If you’re holding a bottle of Touriga Nacional right now, please invite me over. Seriously.  Touriga Nacional is a black wine grape native to Northern Portugal. Winemakers use Touriga Nacional as a main blending grape in age-worthy sweet fortified Port wines, as well as fine dry red table wines. Touriga Nacional wines […]

Exploring Priorat Red Wines

Tucked away in the northeast corner of Spain, Priorat boasts an ancient wine-growing culture rooted in Catalunya’s history.  Priorat red wine blends use Garnacha Tinta and Samsó (Cariñena), producing high alcohol, deep, rich red wines with red fruit, black fruit, and spice. Priorat employs the “Els Noms de la Terra” classification system, featuring five wine […]

5 Fun Chardonnay Facts

Chardonnay holds a prized place in Burgundy. But what other secrets does it hold? Here are five fun Chardonnay facts for your next trivia night.

What Is Phylloxera And Why Is It Important?

At some point in everyone’s wine journey, they run into cryptic references of phylloxera. What is it and why is it such a big deal? Phylloxera is an aphid-like insect (a louse) that feeds on grapevine roots, killing the grapevine. The insect traveled from Eastern North America to Europe, devastating vineyards in the late 1800s. […]

14 Study Strategies for the Spanish Wine Scholar Exam

Close your eyes and conjure images of Spain. What do you envision? Plazas. Palaces. Windmills. Wine. And the Spanish Wine Scholar exam. The Spanish Wine Scholar (SWS) program, through the Wine Scholar Guild, is the perfect opportunity for wine students to get an in-depth look at the exciting wines emerging from Spain today. Here are 14 strategies […]