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Wine Geek Speak Commonly used wine terms and what they mean By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier ACIDITY Tartness. Think of what a lemon does to your mouth. Ok, not THAT much but you get the idea. Typically, wines from colder climates have higher levels of acid. AROMA The smell of the wine. (The smell of the grape is the Bouquet) ANGULAR A wine with notes that hit you in different
Wine Pairings for your Easter/Passover Holiday By Certified Sommelier, Jimmy Quaile Easter WINE Hunt Let’s face it, searching for the right wines to serve throughout your Easter Sunday can make you as crazy as forgetting where you hid that last Easter egg. Whatever your family’s tradition, versatility is the name of the game. Here are a few wines I plan on putting in my basket when I hop through my day. MORNING EASTER EGG
A Quick and Easy Guide to Rosé Wine By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier What is Rosé Wine? Simply stated, Rosé is a pink wine with some of the flavors associated with red wine, but is lighter and fruitier in character. They can be made using any red grape varietal and can be sweet, dry, or sparkling! Who made the first Rosé wine? Although Rosé wines were first made by the ancient Greeks most
Whiskey: To ‘e’ or not to ‘e’ By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier WHAT IS WHISKEY? Whiskey is simply a distilled alcohol obtained from fermented grains. But an even easier explanation could be “Distilled beer minus the hops”. Like beer, malted barley and other grains are the source of the sugars necessary for fermentation. In beer, hops ( a flower) helps balance beer’s sweetness, whereas with whiskey, oak aging balances the whiskey’s flavors. Yeast
The ABCs of AVAs By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier One of the first things you ask when meeting someone new is, “where are you from?” It’s an easy way to begin getting to know the person. Maybe you also know someone from the place and have a mutual friend. It’s also how we define ourselves. Where you were raised had an enormous impact on shaping who you are today. The same can be said about
The Port Wine Guide By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier Port is a wine originating from the Douro river valley in Portugal and is named after the town of Oporto. The wine is a blend of grapes, the most common being Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Touriga Roriz (a.k.a. Spain’s Tempranillo). It is also “fortified”, meaning the neutral spirit Aguardente (sometimes simply referred to as Brandy) is added, which stops the remaining sugar from fermenting and
Prohibition: A Short History of The Noble Experiment By Jimmy Quaille, Certified Sommelier The 18th Amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the sale of alcohol became the law of the land for 13 years starting at 12:01 am on the 17th of January, 1920. Some states refused to appropriate funds to enforce it and other states, like Maryland never enacted the code in the first place…but not for the reasons you may think. Alcoholism certainly was
Sulfites: Headaches & Salad Bars! By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier First, a little background: Sulphur dioxide (aka, Sulfites) is a chemical compound made up of sulfur and oxygen. It occurs naturally but can also be produced in a laboratory. Measured in parts per million (ppm), it has been used for thousands of years as an antioxidant and antimicrobial to preserve foods and beverages. As far back as the 8th Century BC, ancient Greeks who used sulfur
10 Devilish Wines For Halloween By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier The Phantom 2012 $16.98 Grapes: Red Blend Intense, juicy and succulent, this brawny wine screams for a steak or hearty stew. Palermo 2014 $42.98 Grapes: Red Blend Deep aromas of raspberry and ripe cherry with notes of star anise, black tea, Kirsch and blackberry. Ultra smooth! PoiZin 2015 $16.98 Grape: Zinfandel A lush and fruit driven Zin with fresh plum, bing cherry and peppercorn. The
Wine Scores: What’s The Point? By Jimmy Quaile, Certified Sommelier Customer: What score did this wine get? Me: Off the top of my head I don’t know, but I’ve had this wine recently and I would easily give it a 90. Customer: Yeah, but I only buy wines that actually GET a 90. Me: From who? Customer: It doesn’t matter, as long as it gets a 90. There isn’t a day that goes by