An Interview with Karen MacNeil
We recently caught up with Karen MacNeil, author of the best -selling book The Wine Bible in anticipation of her visit Saturday, May 4th, where she’ll teach her hugely popular class What Makes Grea...
Insider Interviews with David Furer - Presenting Dr. José Vouillamoz
Dr. José Vouillamoz is one of the world’s few, and leading, authorities on the origin and parentage of grape varieties through DNA profiling. The Swiss grape geneticist trained with Prof. Carole Me...
Insider Interviews by David Furer - Presenting Jean-Nicolas Méo and Jay Boberg
The latest entry into the expanding number of French - especially Burgundian - vignerons into Oregon is that of Jean-Nicolas Méo of Méo-Camuzet and music entrepreneur Jay Boberg with their Yamhill-...
The word “sommelier”, or wine waiter, may have stemmed from the old French words “sommerier”, “somier”, and “bête de somme”. In this old French language, a “bête de somme” was a “beast of burden” a...
SF Wine School Gives Bloggers a Deep Dive Into Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County is one of California’s best and most diverse wine-growing regions. Among its five AVAs are climates ranging from cool “Region I” to St. Helena-like “Region III,” soils from dee...
Travel Log – FWS Alsace Immersion Trip
Greetings from Alsace, where the wines are as fascinating as the region. I was one of 15 wine professionals experiencing the French Wine Society’s first immersion trip here this week and the incred...
The Gift of Service “Service not Servitude.” – Charlie Trotter. These are words that resonate with me to this day. They describe the act of truly wanting to take care of people – on all levels.
Somm Essentials is a 2-week intensive program developed by Master Sommelier David Glancy to provide broad knowledge across multiple beverage categories for students starting out in the food & b...
Have you tasted that amazing 98-point Cabernet from NextNewWinery? It was featured in Wine Speculator and Bob Park’s Wine No-Advertising.
Wine Service Exams vs. the Real World
Wine Service Exams vs. the Real World I am constantly being asked for tips to prepare for the Court of Master Sommeliers’ exams. Everyone is terrified by the blind tasting exams, and the studying ...