Grapevine

Some of us celebrate hard; some hardly celebrate. Some of us wake up in the morning in an alcohol-induced fog; some of us wake up in our normal mental fog. As a public service, I’ve researched hangover remedies around the

In previous columns, I’ve focused on the evolution of the American wine industry, notably California and the Napa Valley. From its rocky beginnings in the 17th century to the early European immigrants seeking their fortunes during the Gold Rush era

Many of us have favorite wines produced from our favorite grapes. It may have been a long road of experimentation, but we’re in a happy place, a go-to wine that requires little forethought but assures us of enjoyment in each

In a recent column, I expounded on a time-honored and well-worn axiom in the wine industry: 90 percent of a wine is made in the vineyard. This implies that the characteristics of a wine are primarily under the influence of

Here we are in the third decade of the new century. My how time flies. It seems just a short time ago that we were celebrating the dawn of the new millennium. Much has transpired in our lifetimes, in the

I’ve referred to the term “terroir” multiple times in past columns. The French word roughly translates as a sense of place, invoking the uniqueness of a plot of land that serves as a vineyard for influencing the production of grapes.

In last week’s column, I explored the history and evolution of grapevines, having discovered a genome study of 2,448 vines across wine-growing regions. The scientists determined that grapevines were first domesticated over 11,000 years ago. At that time a glacial

We live in unprecedented times. Modern science has advanced humankind and our planet more in the last 50 years than in the entire history of civilization. These unprecedented times are a portent of even greater progress as science embraces ever-growing

The influence of ancient Roman and Greek explorations and settlements on winemaking is well-known. But it was with great surprise that I read a headline last week that dates the planting of grapevines well before our understanding of wine production

“Oh my! This glass of 2016 southern Rhone Valley wine smells like I’m walking in a forest in the fall, the pungent essence of decomposing leaves, the ethereal fragrance of a carpet of earthy mushrooms.” “Oh my! This glass of