Wine Blog

For those of you who know and watch Wine Library TV - you might be interested in learning that the host of the show - Gary Vaynerchuk - was in Cleveland last week. I understand that he did a book signing at the Learned Owl and then a reception at Vue restaurant, both in Hudson. But the real reason Gary was in town is because our Tasting Consultant Carolyn Spengler won a tasting with Gary and friends during an on-line [...]

While Charlie Palmer's Four Diamond culinary gem at Mandalay Bay is almost 10 years old, Aureole has not lost its luster. In fact, the restaurant is a treat for anyone interested in a great food and wine experience. This is the restuarant that boasts "wine angels" aka beautiful young girls dressed in black who find the wine you ordered by flying up and down the glass enclosed wine vault on circus wires. The stark looking wine vault is very modern and perfectly positioned [...]

Next up, Picasso in the Bellagio Hotel in the heart of the Las Vegas strip. Located just across the street from the Paris themed hotel, the Bellagio is the one with the cool fountain that was featured in the Oceans movie - so let's start there. The fountain is cool when the music is cool i.e. Elvis singing Viva Las Vegas and not so cool when lame music like Proud to be an American is playing. That said, we were [...]

I am currently in Las Vegas to speak about Schott Zwiesel wine glasses during a Sur La Table conference and am taking the opportunity to sample the culinary scene and check out the wine lists around town. INow, I have not been in Las Vegas in almost 10 years - and (in the event you have not heard) one thing I can tell you is that the dining scene on the strip has changed. Gone are the all-you-can-eat steakhouses and breakfast buffet lines. In [...]

This Fourth of July weekend I found myself happily sipping wine in my hometown of Fairborn, Ohio with a few of my high school friends. While many wine offerings were up for grabs, the hit of the night was a blended wine from California called Crossfire from JanKris winery. A red blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, my former classmates found the wine to be smooth on the palate and easy to enjoy. What a great decription for a [...]

When the days start heating up - I head for my favorite Japanese restaurant. Why? 'Cause its sake season. Honestly, nothing beats the heat better than chilly sushi and a glass of ice cold sake (ok maybe a perfectly chilled glass of rose) . For me, that means a trip to Shaker Square. Simple and chic, the stark white tables at Sasa Izakaya & Asian Bistro puts the focus on food and drink - and rightfully so. Boasting a stellar list of sakes made from [...]

When we hear the words "wine cocktail," most of us pull up memories of sipping sweet wine spritzers with our mothers or (better yet) cracking open wine coolers sometime in the early 80s with our college friends. Yet today's wine-based cocktails are anything but dated. Trendy blends,punches and wine cocktails are being mixed up using interesting recipes that include Sake, Champagne, Prosecco, Vermouth, Sherry a variety of juices and yes - club soda. And with good reason. Making red, white or rose wine into [...]

Here we are again - 90 degrees, on a deck in Lincoln Park and we are looking for something that is sip-worthy. In a word, rose. Come on. Its pink, it's light in body and it hits the spot when wine consumption takes the role of quenching thirst! So what's in our glasses? A spicy rose crafted from a native Greek variety called St. George...the label reads Zoe. Other grapes would make good rose choices as well - take Grenache [...]

Having just spent 9 days in the Napa Valley, I can tell you about two topics that filled the valley air; the drastic change in weather from killer frost to searing heat, and the passing of an America Icon. Just before I arrived, the winemakers and grape growers were consumed with chatter about the wide-spread frost that devistated vines in the region. In a matter of days, the chatter began to heat up - literally. By mid-week the temperatures hit [...]

Boston Wine Expo, South Beach Food & Wine Festival, Apsen Food & Wine - all perfect opportunities to sip, sample and learn about wine. Trouble is - many wine lovers have a difficult time trying out more than a handful of wines before they suffer from palate fatigue or (worse yet) a major wine buzz. So how do professionals taste 50-100 wines in a day? Real professionals spit when sampling wine. The same holds true for professional training. I always require WSET [...]