A century ago, many of the finest French red wines were known to improve after they had been aged for a decade or more in a cool cellar. The main reason was that the wines were basically undrinkable when they were young. Winemaking back then was fairly rudimentary and the astringency that developed in such…

The Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) has issued a recall for a brand of red wine because it may contain glass. The recalled wine is Louis Latour Pinot Noir sold in a 375 millilitre bottle, according to the Crown Corporation in a Feb. 18 news release. The LCBO said it was recalling “specific lots”…

As the weather begins to turn colder and our thoughts turn to heartier foods including beef stew, steaks and other red meats, we begin to think more of red wine as our dinnertime companion. Not that red wine doesn’t play a major role for most people year-round, but in the hottest days of spring and…

I believe far too much is made of the “proper” wine and food pairings. I realize that many people have made their life’s work all about telling others which wines go best with which foods, but there are rarely perfect answers here, and even though certain basic guidelines are applicable, even the most authoritative experts…

In early June, I will be a speaker at an industry technical conference in Geneva, New York, on a grape variety that, chances are, you have never heard of before, though it’s one that makes extremely nice red wines. Bryan Ulbrich, winemaker at his excellent winery Left Foot Charley, and I will explore the grape…

The old saying, “The more things change the more they stay the same,” may apply in many areas of our 2022 daily lives, but I realized recently by walking through my wine cellar how it didn’t really apply to wine. The saying may have been prophetic a while back for things like political or economic…

If you can lower your blood pressure and improve your heart health with red wine, why not drink up over the holidays, right? Red wine’s effects on circulation, vein and artery health, and overall heart health can be overblown. And why wouldn’t they be? It essentially serves as an excuse to do something a lot…