October 26, 2016 10:03 am
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Wine clubs and competitive wine tasting Not everyone realizes that wine tasting is actually a competitive sport. This year, the world was surprised when a Chinese team achieved a perfect score, identifying twelve French wines by taste alone. The team described wine tasting as “fifty percent knowledge and fifty percent luck.” If you’d like to become an expert in the art of wine tasting, one way is to join a wine club and go to wine tastings. Learn to recognize the different notes in the aromas of Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and how they differ from other wines.... View Article
October 25, 2016 9:41 am
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A quality grape that grows anywhere Cabernet Sauvignon, a crossbreed of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon blanc grapes, is one of the world’s most successful varieties of wine grape. Cab grapes are small and thick-skinned, which means the tannins and other flavors that come from grapeskin are found abundantly in this wine. They also help give the grape its famous resiliency and adaptability, which is the great secret of Cab success worldwide — they’re as hardy as Mission grapes and produce a much higher quality of wine. No matter what the climate or soil, Cab grapes can be relied on for... View Article
October 19, 2016 11:32 am
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Touring best Napa wineries The first step in planning a trip to Napa Valley is to find a place in the area where you can stay. There are lots of little bed-and-breakfasts in Napa Valley, most of which started out as vintage homes. At most of the nearest airports, you can rent a car for transportation. The San Francisco and Oakland airports also have shuttle bus service. Then it’s time to plan the wine tastings and the visits to best Napa wineries. There are many vacation packages that will let you tour the Napa wineries alone, as a couple or... View Article
October 18, 2016 11:19 am
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Look for a wine club that offers cave tours If you’re trying to decide which wine club to join, pick one that offers a cave tour. Caves are the perfect places to store and age barrels of wine. Well out of the sun, they maintain an even temperature year round, which is nice and low but not freezing. As air from the outside enters the cave and cools, its relative humidity increases. This reduces the loss of wine through evaporation that would otherwise happen when storing a non-airtight barrel for years at a time. The humidity of a wine cave... View Article
October 12, 2016 1:43 pm
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Wine clubs of St. Helena St. Helena, “Napa Valley’s main street,” has been known for its St. Helena wineries since its founding, and today is one of the centers of the world wine industry. Whole winery tours are devoted to this town, and a number of wine clubs are centered here that are well worth trying. Sixteen different American Viticulture Areas are recognized within Napa Valley. The St. Helena AVA is at the northern end of the valley floor, where it gets less cool air and ocean fog than the southern parts of the valley. Its soil includes gravel-clay soils... View Article
