How the major wine rating systems work, what the numbers mean, and why a score is a starting point, not a verdict.
Category: Wine
Pouring wine without removing the cork
This afternoon, I was at the Brooklyn Winery in Red Hook and saw the staff using an incredibly fancy gas injection system to pour their wine. Needless to say, I was intrigued. I’ve seen so many different systems to take the corks out of bottles, but never anything that is designed to leave the cork […]
Does wine need to breathe?
Letting the wine breathe, or aerate, is all about releasing the aromas and softening the flavors by exposing it to oxygen. The idea is that the wine has been sealed in a bottle with limited exposure to oxygen.
How to avoid a headache when choosing wine
Learn how to select the most appropriate wine to go with food or choose for a particular social occasion.
How to remove the broken cork from wine
As terrifyingly frightening as it is to get cork in your wine, it happens—usually with those expensive bottles of wine that you’ve been holding onto for that special occasion. So, why does this happen? Broken corks are, more often than not, caused by clumsy wine opening. Maybe your aim is bad, or it’s your first […]
John drinks wine, also
Starting to explore wine alongside cheese: a pairing chart, a rack named Alexander, and plenty of bottles to work through.




