Drink Eat Love

Who imports the wine you drink?

Are you paying attention to who imports the wine you are buying? Well, it is time to start learning your importers. Why is this important? First, once you find a wine you like or a style of wine you like it will enable you to explore more wines. Most importers have a philosophy of selecting and style of wine that creates a common thread throughout their portfolio. There are always exceptions, just like a band that you enjoy will put out a few albums you dig and one that is not crappy...it does not mean that the band sucks but that you personally don't like that particular album. Same thing goes with importers. Over the next few weeks I will highlight a group of importers that I believe you should know. Due to the morass of wine that graces retail shelves and restaurant lists it is important to know what you and who you like. Here is a short list of importers that bring in some of the most beautiful and well made wines to the United States.

It’s Not All Retsina

To most most Americans Greek wine is relegated into two categories: wines that are drunk while on vacation in Greece or “Ewh, Greece makes Retsina.” Well both can be true but what one drinks while in Greece and Retsina just skim the surface of what wine is in Greece. Though wine was not first made in Greece it can be said that Greece is the home to wine culture. Records show that wine production and consumption was in full swing by the 7^th century B.C. and a fixture in all of Greece. Some archeological finds suggest that wine was a staple of the Minoan diet and other ancient civilizations as early as 3^rd millennium B.C. So to say that Retsina is the “alpha – omega” of Greek wine would be a sad misnomer.

Some Light Reading

All wine labels are not created equal. Domestic (U.S.) labels are easier than most, since they are mostly a) in English, and b) varietally labeled. With most of the New World following suit, at least on the latter point, a wine novice could be forgiven for wondering what a Loire wine is when they first see the listing on a label.

What follows is a non-comprehensive, but hopefully useful, guide for our wine primer readers on how to read a wine label.

Howzit Taste?

Wine primer, part II

Before we talk any more about wine itself, we should spend a few minutes talking about tasting. If you're not tasting, after all, you shouldn't be reading! The point of tasting, as opposed to chugging, slurping or downing, is to engage the wine with all of your senses. This is part of the appeal of wine — it asks that you interact with it, and generally encourages, stimulates and satisfies those who do.

Let's Start From the Beginning...

Once in a while, I come across a true blank slate, someone eager to learn about wine, but without the faintest hint of where to start. I love that. Last week, I was out and about with a winery representative, doing my day job, training folks on his wines. We came across such a person — a new employee at one of the stores we visited. After a few minutes, it became clear that he did not know anything about wine, but in the most open-eyed, wondrous kind of way. I spent a few minutes giving him a quick run-down of what he might need to know, and left feeling all hope was not lost in the world. The next morning, I awoke with a mission: to put down a wine primer in these pages.