For example, winemakers now generally kill off natural yeasts with sulphur and replace them with designer strains that can add flavours of, say, strawberry, cocoa or banana.The yeasts are often fed urea when they get tired, to keep fermentation humming at ever-higher sugar and alcohol levels, thereby creating bigger bodied wines for todays tastes. MORE >>

Wine can be enjoyed by just about anyone - it tastes and feels good. It's why I write this blog, anyway - it helps me practice and get even more pleasure from wine. understand that cheese helps to tame tannins in wine, like milk in black tea. Tags: Touraine Cheverny Loire Valley Cheese Overcompensating probably. MORE >>

Many people consider these to be the finest Chenin Blancs from the Loire Valley and in the world. 2007 was not an easy year in most of the Loire Valley, and Vouvray was not spared the rainy cool summer that dampened prospects for many growers all over the region. And happily, I can afford to buy and drink them. MORE >>

So buckle up and get ready to hear his thoughts on what’s wrong with Riesling from Austria and Australia, screwcaps and their problems, the Loire, California cab then and now, indigenous yeasts, roto-fermenters, small oak barrels, wines over 14% alcohol and why he uses scores! The Loire. German Riesling. just don’t get it. MORE >>

But now, my long overdue summary of the wines I was able to try at the Polaner tasting. Maybe given my "neophyte" status, I try to taste as many wines as possible and miss the point. This could help to make events of this size more manageable. Of the 75 tables and several hundred wines I managed to taste 117 wines. MORE >>