My first reaction to the recently-published study/synopsis on “Wine O’Clock” issued by the new firm Enolytics:

Well… yeah… no sh*t!

My second reaction to the recently-published study/synopsis on “Wine O’Clock” issued by the new firm Enolytics:

Wait… holy crap! This is actually important (and I am an idiot)!

At first blush, you might have the same misguided reaction to the report that I did (following the link above, you can read the free version; the full report will set you back $399). Essentially, the study suggests that wine consumers are most willing to engage in content and purchase research about wine during the time that you would most likely guess that they’re drinking the stuff. To wit, here’s a screen-print from the free version of the report:

image: enolytics.com

There you go; we ramp up on such activity from about 4-5PM to 9PM, local time. I don’t know about you, but if you asked me when Wine O’Clock was, I’d have guessed those exact times with an accuracy of about 30 minutes on either side. The report goes on to state:

“Wine consumer engagement increases sharply beginning at 4pm and declines sharply after 9pm (local time).”

So… we start engaging about wine when we imagine drinking the stuff right before dinner, and stop when we are either too drunk to care, need to put the kids to bed, or fall into a stupor of self-loathing and cry ourselves to sleep, etc.

Now, before you succumb to the temptation to declare “no shit!” and pour yourself a glass (assuming it’s around 4PM local time), there’s more to this story that you need to see. Take a quick peek under the kimono of the Wine O’Clock report, and (assuming it’s closer to 4PM local time for you than 9PM, and you’re still sober enough), you’ll see why it’s actually pretty important info. for the wine world…

Read the rest of this stuff »

So, like, what is this stuff, anyway?
I taste a bunch-o-wine (technical term for more than most people). So each week, I share some of my wine reviews (mostly from samples) and tasting notes with you via twitter (limited to 140 characters). They are meant to be quirky, fun, and easily-digestible reviews of currently available wines. Below is a wrap-up of those twitter wine reviews from the past week (click here for the skinny on how to read them), along with links to help you find these wines, so that you can try them for yourself. Cheers!

• 01 Barbeito Single Cask Colheita Malvasia (Madeira): Nutty, nutty, nutty; fruity, fruity, fruity; focused, focused, focused! $65 A- >>find this wine<<
• 02 Blandy's Colheita Bual (Madeira): Figs, served with tea, and plenty of it; as freshly rejuvenating as a day at the spa, too. $65 A- >>find this wine<<
• 12 Donum Estate Grown Carneros Pinot Noir (Carneros): Delivering fully on all of those Carneros promises that lots of others break. $72 A >>find this wine<<
• 13 Donum Estate Grown Carneros Chardonnay (Carneros): This one comes in bold, luxuriant waves, each as relaxing as a warm bath. $50 A- >>find this wine<<
• 13 Grgich Hills Estate Fume Blanc (Napa Valley): Proving both that this SB style is relevant, & that Mexican food has a wine match. $30 B+ >>find this wine<<
• NV Mas Fi Cava Brut (Cava): Green apples, white flowers, & an almost unbearable – but ultimately very bearable – cheery disposition. $11 B >>find this wine<<
• 14 Joseph Drouhin Domaine des Hospices de Belleville Fleurie (Beaujolais): Deceptively age-worthy, not deceptively lively & stunning. $26 A- >>find this wine<<
• 14 M Chapoutier Bila-Haut Occultum Lapidem (Cotes du Roussillon Villages Latour de France): The mystery? Why it's not more expensive. $30 A- >>find this wine<<
• 15 S. Pratsch Rose (Niederosterreich): Strawberries, roses, & irresistibility; really, that's all you need to know, so get drinkin'! $13 B >>find this wine<<
• 12 Selbach-Oster Zeltinger Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett Halbtrocken (Mosel): This delight, & a bath, will cure 90% of your problems. $20 B+ >>find this wine<<

Duh? Who doesn’t?!??

I was recently a guest on the We Like Drinking podcast (episode 66), hosted by wine blogger Jeff Eckles and beer brewer Jim Myers. Which, in a few moments, will have me talking about expensive Cabernet, Michael Fassbender, and new American Viticultural Areas. Just maybe not in that order.

Anyway…

You can listen to the NSFW proceedings here, during which you will quickly learn why the podcast is so aptly-titled. I had a great time rapping with the guys and sharing opinions on wine, politics, the Synek Kickstarter campaign, and the shocking news that Cuba is apparently running out of beer.

As so often happens  on the occasions when people ask me questions, we went way over our allotted time, but I’m not going to say that it wasn’t entertaining!

I feel compelled to give at least a quick mention to very interesting (and very expensive) wine that I chose from the sample pool to drink during my podcast appearance, in the off-chance that you find yourself in a situation in which it’s being offered (the short take is that you probably won’t want to turn it down)…

Read the rest of this stuff »

image: thrillist.com

My latest for Thrillist.com is now available, titled How to Level Up Food and Wine Pairings.

Is there anything new regarding food and wine matching offered in this piece? Probably not; just about everything that need be said about pairing up food and wine has pretty much been said.

Having said that, the article is chock-full of the tips and tricks that I myself have actually employed over the years when trying to elevate my own food+wine game, so I’m confident that it will be useful to the Thrillist readership (hell, even if casual wine drinkers remember only the very first tip on the list, they’ll have walked away from a hopefully entertaining read with a culinary rule-of-thumb that’ll improve almost any future wine-pairing attempt that they might make).

Anyway, feel free to stop by at heckle me!

Cheers!