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Category Archives: Musings
Terroir
When you meet a vintner or a salesperson these days they will immediately start to effuse about their “terroir.” If you have yet to figure this out, the French came to the conclusion around 1800 that the best wines were … Continue reading
The Wine Condom – a perfect solution
Today I found the perfect solution to several problems simultaneously. Best of all, unlike my usual perfect solutions, this one is affordable. Meet the Wine Condom. Cheekily named after its inspiration, it comes in a box of 10 with suitable … Continue reading
How to earn a “Classic” score from the Wine Spectator
Pictured on the right are four acuvin test strips for residual sugar. The top strip is Coudoulet de Beaucastel 2010, a wine of some repute. (15.5 by Jancis Robinson) This particular version is low on Syrah, only 20%, which probably … Continue reading
Bad Ego, Bad Science Bad Wine Ratings
Last June,The Guardian newspaper posted a story about the inaccuracy of wine ratings, specifically the inaccuracy of tasters’ – trained tasters, professionals – ratings. So far, rather to my amusement the article and the research behind it has been greeted … Continue reading
Posted in Musings, Wine
Tagged IVDP, Robert Parker jr., statistics, the guardian, wine tasting
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Screwed, Part 2
The screwtop issue is becoming more pressing every day. In the last month I’ve drunk or reviewed at least a couple of dozen wines with screwtop closures. I’d guess about 25 per cent of them – and maybe higher as … Continue reading
Posted in Musings, Wine
Tagged contaminated wine, cork, screwtop, stelvin, stelvinists, TBA, TCA
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