Screw the Cork? | Screw the Cap?

Screw the cork? Not so fast!

Both the cork as well as the screw cap have their place in today's wine world.

While some may say - sealing a bottle of wine with a screw cap is inferior to one sealed with a cork, the truth is, unless you plan to age your bottle for decades, the only thing a cork does guarantee, is a one-in-twelve chance of your bottle being, well, "corked."
For the young and spontanious wine drinkers, it also guarantees a 100% chance you'll need a cork screw on hand to open it easily which obviously is very inconvenient if you're unprepared (that wouldn't happen to me as I always have a cork screw near by but that is certainly not the norm :) ).

So, my recommendation is the following:

If you are looking

The Wine Lover's Guide to Coffee

After I read the original article from Paul Gregutt and the fact that I am a huge coffee lover myself, I just had to repost this article.

We are living in the golden age of coffee. And as the caffeinated elixir continues to evolve at a breakneck pace, it’s looking a lot like the wine world—from the sheer number of styles and the importance of terroir to how aromas and flavors are described. Thankfully, you know a lot about wine. Here’s how to apply that knowledge to your daily grind.

Joe-ography

Wine can be divided into Old World and New World. Here are coffee’s three basic regions and a flavor profile for each.

The Americas

• Sweet and mild
• Bright and balanced

Old versus New

I was watching TV the other night and got a bit tired as it was late but the movie was really good, so I hit the record button and finished watching it another time. Back in days, I/you stayed awake and got yourself deeper into the movie to finish it. Nowadays we simply hit the record button and finish watching the movie over breakfast versus popcorn. But does that really have the same effect? Is new technology really always the better approach? And what has all this to do with wine?

I compare it like this - great wine used you have to age for some time and you waited patiently until it was ready and got all excited to open that bottle. Now, most wines are ready to drink - no aging required!

But is that really the same experience? Sure the movie is the same, doesn't matter if I watch it at night with a glass of wine and some snacks on the couch or if I watch it over breakfast with coffee, but he experience

New Year's Eve | Toast into 2014

I hope everybody had a great Christmas or Holidays and is ready for 2014! Certainly hope that you stayed warm with some of the Christmas Wine | Holiday Wine winter cocktail recipes and ideas.
2013 was another fast year in my books, but non or less very exciting. It doesn't happen all the time that you move cross Atlantic twice within 12 month, more or less. But while I toasted last year with some very nice Cava in Spain into 2013, I will certainly have real French Champagne touching my lips again this year. There is just something about closing and starting a chapter in true style, that a Prosecco, Cava, Sekt or other sparkling wines simply can't deliver.
While Champagne often

Christmas Wine | Holiday Wine

I wish you all Happy Holidays!
The great thing about wine is that it doesn't matter what you celebrate or if you don't celebrate at all.
In the cooler (Florida) or cold (most other places) winter season, a nice mulled wine or a hot German Gluehwein, is always a nice touch and usually welcomed by all.
There are of course other and with that, plentyful choices of Hot winter beverages. Below find a couple recipes for them as well as list of "warming" winter beverages. Some with wine and some without:

Hot Apple Cider | Classic
Peppermint Paddy | Hot Chocolate with Creme de Menthe or Peppermint Schnapps
Russian Hot Chocolate | Add Vodka and whipped cream
Hot Toddy | Lemon Juice, Honey and Whiskey - If you like, add a sprinkle of Cinnamon
Irish Coffee | A year around popular drink
Winter Julep | Peppermint Tea, Brown Sugar and of course the mint sprig
Blizzard | Coffee, Whiskey, Hazelnut & Irish Cream (Baileys or similiar) liqour - topped with Whipped Cream and a drizzle of Grand Marnier (Or make it a Grand Marnier Whipped Cream)
Hot Buttered Rum | Butter, Brown Sugar, Powdered Sugar and Heavy Cream

Recipes:
German Gluehwein

Ingredients (serves 2-3 persons)

1 bottle of dry red wine (750 ml)

Which wine should I pair with my turkey for Thanksgiving? Or should I just stick to beer?

That is always an interesting question and in my eyes, people make it way to complicated. Isn't cooking all this food enough work as it is?

If you like a red wine, nowadays, I would look for a California Pinot, such as La Crema or even a bit lighter and more fruit forward, Meomi Pinot Noir.

As for white wine, I would go with a German Riesling (I am German, so that might have an influence :) ) Kabinet or Spaetlese. The have a higher residual sugar content, great acidity and mineralty, which make them good partners for your Thanksgiving turkey feast today. Shall your selection be more limited, go with a nice Riesling from Washington State, such as Chateau St. Michelle.

Other white wines that work well with your turkey dinner are Gewuerztraminer, California Sauvignon Blancand/or Viognier. As alternative red wines, I would suggest a Australian Shiraz and ripe California Zinfandel such as Klinker Brick Zinfandel.

On the beer side, stick with the new era of craft beers. A nice Samuel Adams Boston Lager or a nice IPA from Sierra Nevada or Full Sail. Can't go wrong with that.

Have a great day - Happy Thanksgiving.

Wine Lists | Wines by the glass

I recently went to a nice restaurant that is part of a larger chain. I went to the bar area and ask for wines by the glass list. Once I received that, it had a dead bug on the inside of the menu, despite the bartender opening the menu in front of me. Maybe I really looked that hungry...
Anyways - I was in the mood for a glass of red wine, and given that the restaurant was a steakhouse, I assumed a great selection of reds by the glass. Wrong! My excitment of having a nice glass of wine were quicky diminishing as the selection was mediocre at best. My choices for a good glass of wine were limited to either a glass of Mura Reserve from Spain for $15 or spend $26 on a glass of Silver Oak,

Wine Aficionado