Have you tried a themed tasting? Just recently, I decided to ask the stores to create "themed" tastings, which is more similar to the MW program in which students are given 12 wines grouped into "themes" and asked what the wines are. So tonight we had one of our first themed tastings of three Pinot Noirs. MORE >>

Further, “The wines will be reviewed in our standard blind-tastings in the company’s New York office.&# The Raneys will consult as well as spend more time in France. The Tour de France is, in many ways, a rolling promotion for France’s regions. Tags: tasting sized pours wine writing SIPPED: new owners. MORE >>

Of course, I did come to the rescue with a Cabernet Franc Rosé just brought home from my recent Keuka Lake Wine Tour and a visit to McGregor Vineyard and Winery. I'm letting mine sit for a few more years, but what I tasted on the visit were just extraordinaire. The watermelon aromas and taste were like those of watermelon life savers. MORE >>

And here in Manhattan, this is a special challenge, because in this jaded city most everyone dabbling in the world of wine has tasted pretty much everything the world has to offer. It can smell and taste like hot buttered popcorn, apple pie a la mode, or like mineral water with a squeeze of lime or lemon. Irrigation is mandatory. MORE >>

I recently tweeted that I’d be leading a tasting of hipster wines. The tasting on Manhattan’s Upper East Side came and went and I didn’t wear a woolen cap, flannel shirt, or use empty 40-ounce cans of PBR as decanters. But we did taste some fine and fun wines, if quirky and hard to find (though not in Brooklyn). MORE >>