1WineDude An insider\\\'s view of the strange and wonderful world of wine, told accessibly from an outsider\\\'s viewpoint.

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In the Blogosphere: How Wine Sulfite Regulations Impact Winemakers
2008-01-20 18:51:00
The wine sulfites battle rages on.Some of you will recall that the Dude has been commenting on the topics of sulfites in wine, as well as biodynamic and organic wines.Jason Haas over at Tablas Creek Vineyard has posted a great article on how the widely misunderstood fear of wine sulfite allergies (& "wine headaches") has combined with overly-cautious (and poorly-constructed) U.S. wine regulations to cause winemakers unnecessary grief...What U.S. Sulfite / Organic Regulations Mean for WinemakersIn a nutshell, it seems that the U.S. regulations regarding sulfite use for wines that are to be labeled 'organic' have a big negative impact on potential quality of the wine. That's because some use of sulfites in higher quality wines is inevitable - otherwise the finished wine could be too unstable.According to the Guidelines for Labeling: Wine with Organic References from the U.S. Dept. of Treasury - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms:SULFITE STATEMENT“100% Organic” products can ...
Blogosphere  Wine 

In The News: US Wine Consumption on the Rise - *Again*
2008-01-19 00:37:00
There's a great little article by Janice Jones in today's Sierra Sun about the rising tide of wine consumption in the U.S.According to the article, the U.S. has surpassed Italy and is now on the heels of France to claim the title of the world's largest consumers of wine by volume (at 2.77 gallons per wine drinker per year). Though I think Luxembourg still holds the title in terms of wine consumption per capita.What is most interesting about the article is the picture it paints of just how vast our wine choices are here in the U.S. - 7,000 different brands (with the $20 and under category making up most of the market).That's just... HUGE!How's a wine consumer supposed to navigate that kind of territory?...Janice offers some sound advice on this: keep track of what you're drinking, so you can build up your 'Wine IQ' and form the vocabulary to accurately describe what tastes you like - and don't like - in your wine. Preferably by using a notebook and writing down your wine experiences. ...
News  Wine 

WBW #41 - Talkin' Tocai
2008-01-16 00:35:00
Wine Blogging Wednesday #41 (hosted this month over at Fork & Bottle) has us pondering the mountainous Northeast corner of Italy, as the wine blogging community explores the white wines of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. Too bad we're not exploring their reds too, since this region grows some totally kick-ass Cabernet blends, having almost completely re-worked its approach to quality winemaking and viticulture since its vineyards were wiped out in the 19th Century by that nasty pet phylloxera (more history available in the excellent Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia).The wine I chose for WBW (see inset pic from my kitchen counter) was Conte Brandolini D'ADDA Tocai Friulano 2005, from the Grave DOC in Fruili. Surprisingly, I found a decent selection of Friuli whites at the local wine shop here in the Communist-wealth of Pennsylvania. And I got it for $14 (sah-weeeeet! - Wire Chicken NOT included, of course).But before I review this wine, I need to give you a quick bit of insight into why I can ...

Does This Wine Make Me Look Fat?: How To Drink Wine While You're on a Diet
2008-01-10 02:11:00
Dieting - how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... OK, DONE!No one really enjoys dieting, and while we may be of the epicurean mindset, even us wine lovers need to count the calories once in a while. To get our New Year's resolutions off to the right start, I've put together some information for wine lovers who might be wondering how wine factors into their their dieting plans...All alcoholic beverages have calories. This includes wine. Most wines contain a very small amount of sugars - a few grams - even wines that are totally "dry." Very sweet dessert wines contain a bit more, but overall this will still be less than 10 grams on average. You may even find a small amount of Sodium (about 1% the recommended daily amount) and even carbs (around 5 grams, or about 2% DV). But those all contribute a very small amount of calories to the overall wine experience.A Wine's calories are largely a factor of alcohol content. Alcohol content accounts for 80% or more of the calories in ...
Diet  Drink  Fat  Wine 

The 1WineWine Dude eBook: How to Taste Like a Wine Geek - Now Available!
2008-01-04 23:10:00
I'm happy to announce that my first eBook, How to Taste Like a Wine Geek: The 1WineDude Wine Tasting Guide is now available!The eBook details the same practical tasting approach that I used to increase my own knowledge about - and enjoyment of - wine (the greatest beverage in the world). Some of the highlights from the eBook:A step-by-step guide to tasting wine like the pros (only without the spitting or the snobbishness!).The story of how I overcame my own personal fear of wine, and was able to go from total WineDunce to the 1WineDude (and how that journey helped to form my tasting approach).A practical example of the tasting approach in action.Printable Forms for capturing your own wine tasting experiences.Links to lots of helpful resources, wine accessories, & more (for further wine learning).The eBook is an expansion of the wine tasting advice that I touched on in one of my previous blog posts. I received such strong positive reactions to the post that I decided it would be f ...
Ebook  Geek  Wine 

CSW Exam Don'ts
2008-01-03 15:40:00
Happy New Year and greetings from my "snowbird" vacation to southern FL!I was recently contacted by Kathleen Lisson, a fellow Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW) and Wine Century Club member. Kathleen has started a blog post about tips and approaches for studying for the challenging CSW exam, and asked me to participate by adding my studying tips.I've written about the CSW and other wine certifications before, but had not really detailed my CSW experience. I nearly botched the approach to the CSW exam completely, so I thought I'd write a post in response to Kathleen's request, so that any readers out there who are contemplating sitting the CSW exam have an idea of what not to do to pass it...First, a bit of background: I put off the CSW exam for nearly a year. I had intended to sit the exam in Philadelphia in April, and life "got in the way" as they say. Because the Society of Wine Educators (who oversee the exam and certification) administer the exams throughout the U.S., I needed ...

Update: More on Low-Sulfite Wines (Holiday Edition)
2007-12-26 17:23:00
Happy Holidays to all, and greetings from sunny FL!A (very) quick update on my last post regarding low-sulfite wines, just to prove I'm not totally biased against all organic / biodynamic wines!I've come across a few other quality wines (featured in body + soul magazine, to which my wife subscribes) that I've recently learned are either organically or biodynamically made (or both), and that I've found to be of good quality...Thought I'd take a brief moment during my holiday respite to share these wine finds with you. Hope that anyone looking for low-sulfite wines (that don't also totally suck!) will find this helpful:Bonterra Vineyards - Most of their wines are organic, and they make at least one decent wine that's also biodynamic.Fetzer - All organic, with a big focus on recycling during production and distribution.Frey - Both organic & biodynamic, and vegan to boot!Quintessa - Fully biodynamic since 2005; probably the most fabulous biodynamic wine you'll find out there, but you' ...
Holiday 

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus - But there's No Sulfite-Free Wine
2007-12-21 19:02:00
My sister (a chemist) recently sent me an e-mail requesting some wine advice:"I've got a friend at work who has been looking for a sulfite-free wine. Do you know of any that are any good?"My answer: "Nope."Not that a sulfite-free wine might not be any good, it's just that right now, sulfite-free wines are like governments that don't tax - they don't exist!Why this is has a lot to do with chemistry (lucky for me my sis is a chemist!). Which is one of the many splendid things when it comes to learning about wine - wine exposes you not just to the sensory pleasures of drinking it, but to the art/magic of constructing a good one along with the chemistry, agriculture, geography, and geology that go into making good wine. Lucky for you Dude has already done his homework in these areas (otherwise he'd have failed all those pesky wine certification exams...), so you don't have to!...But before we delve into the chemistry, let's examine a bit of background on the whole wine / sulfite thang:My ...
Virginia  Wine 

In The News: Can Europe Be Saved?
2007-12-19 01:10:00
You may not guess it from the sky-high prices of the top Bordeaux chateaus (some fetching in excess of $1000 USD per bottle - and presumably on allocation to those who can afford their own islands), but the European wine market has been in trouble for a few years.With labels that many international consumers find confusing, and laws that restrict varietals, winemaking conditions, grape production, and dictate what techniques can be used by winemakers, EU (aka "Old World") producers have been searching for the magic formula that will allow them to better compete with their "New World" counterparts...While many producers in the EU have strong 'brands' (mostly linked to the most famous of their chateaus), countries like the United States, Australia, Chile, and Canada have stronger marketing, cheaper land, and encourage more innovative vineyard and winemaking practices by having far fewer restrictions on their production. Which is why, in the cheaper wine department, these countries are t ...
Europe  News 

How To Become a Wine Geek Part II: "Taste Like a Banshee"
2007-12-16 17:32:00
This post is the second in a multi-part series where Dude will give you a 'wine insider's' take on how to seriously up your 'wine geek' knowledge (and hone your overall wine-tasting skills along with your "impress your party goers" wine profile).Some of you may recall my recent post on the first step to wine geekdom - reading about wine. If you're new to this blog, it might be a good idea to review that post first. This post will explore the second (and most important) thing you need to do in order to up your wine IQ - Taste.To know wine, you need to taste wine. There are no shortcuts, and it's pretty much impossible to overstate the importance of building up your tasting vocabulary and knowledge via the simple act of tasting a glass of wine. Don't just take my word for it - to underscore the importance of this, I asked Eric Miller, owner and winemaker of one of the largest and most successful PA wineries (Chaddsford), for his views on how wannabe wine geeks can best increase their ...
Geek  Wine 

Calling All Wine Bloggers!
2007-12-13 18:13:00
Calling All Wine Bloggers! As some of you may know, I'm currently in the midst of a multi-part blog post detailing my experiences and recommendations of how wine consumers can 'up their Wine IQ'. The first of these posts focused on Reading About Wine, and listed books and references that I have found the most helpful through the years in increasing my own knowledge about wine. Subsequent posts will tackle experience-building through Tasting, and finally I will interview a local winemaker about How the Boldest of wine lovers can work their way into the wine industry.I'd like to extend this series to include input from YOU, the wine blogging community, on your own experiences and advice for others wishing to increase their wine knowledge....I am pretty sure that the wine blogging world, and wine blog readers everywhere, would appreciate having the thoughts of experienced tasters, distributors, buyers, sellers, winemakers, critics, and passionate wine lovers on the joys and trials of li ...
Bloggers  Wine 

WBW #40 - PS I (Sort Of) Love You
2007-12-11 13:47:00
I don't normally review wines on this blog (at least, not so far), but I recently became intrigued by the excellent Wine Blogging Wednesday Community, who post themed monthly reviews of wines.This month's theme is being hosted at the Wannabe Wino Blog, and features an 'underdog' of a wine - Petite Syrah, also known as Durif.I live and operate near Philadelphia, which is the ultimate underdog / bum rap city. It was once described as "the city for people too scared to live in New York, and too dumb to live in Boston."So I (understandably) have a soft spot for underdogs who get a bum rap. And Petite Syrah often gets a bum rap. As an example, Jancis Robinson described it in her reference book Vines Grapes & Wines as "Rigorous though unsubtle." Not exactly high praise...Often blended with Zinfandel to provide structure to its more blowsy tendencies, PS has arguably achieved its apex in California, where it has been planted since the late 1800s. You'd imagine that some of the PS vi ...
Love