I am currently in the WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) education process. I intend to discuss some of the topics I study and write about the wines I taste. Comments and feedback are welcomed and appreciated.
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Wine and Spirits Education Trust
It’s rare to find knowledgeable people with this topic, nevertheless, you could be seen as you know what you’re writing about! Thanks
Hi Dennis! I hope this note finds you healthy and happy. This is a great website with some great content. It is very informative and I look forward to learning a lot about different wine and food pairings. My experience with wine has been limited to the Duplin wineries of North Carolina and the Pennsylvania vineyards such as Penn Shores, Arrowhead, Presque Isle vineyards and the Mazza vineyards. I am always open to learning about new information and exploring new and different experiences. You have provided an avenue for that approach. Thank you.
Started writing again. Check out the latest blog. Thanks.
Dennis
I have a new quote. you might have heard this but it made me smile.
“I always cook with wine.Sometimes I even add it to the food.”
W.C. Fields
dave
awesome sight ive learned so much! thankyou.
Guess who had some great wines last night and bought a couple more to try tonight. I’m eager to learn more through Wine Wired. Proud of you!
Hey Dennis. Great site. I was doing some research today through the Monticello Digital Archives and stumbled upon these great wine-related quotes. Enjoy:
Thomas Jefferson’s insights on wine:
Letter to M. de Neuville in 1818:
“I rejoice, as a moralist, at the prospect of a reduction of the duties of wine, by our national legislature….No nation is drunken where wine is cheap; and none sober, where the dearness of wine substitutes ardent spirits as the common beverage…”
Letter to Stephen Cathalan, May 26, 1819:
“I will explain to you the terms by which we characterise different qualities of wines. They are 1. sweet wines, such as Frontignan & Lunel of France, Pacharetti doux of Spain, Calcavallo of Portugal, le vin du Cap &c. 2. Acid wines, such as the Vins de Graves, du Rhin, de Hocheim &c. 3. dry wines, having not the least either of sweetness or of acidity in them, as Madere sec, Pacharetti sec, vin d’Oporto, &c. and the Ledanon which I call a dry wine also. 4,. silky wines, which are in truth a compound in their taste of the dry wine dashed with a little sweetness, barely sensible to the palate: the silky Madeira which we sometimes get here, is made so by putting a small portion of Malmsey into the dry Madeira. There is another quality of wine which we call rough or astringent, and you also, I believe, call it astringent, which is often found in both the dry & silky wines. There is something of this quality for example in the Ledanon, and a great deal of it in the vin d’Oporto, which is not only dry, but astringent approaching almost to bitterness. Our vocabulary of wines being thus explained, I will observe that the wine of Nice sent me by Mr. Spreafico in 1816. was silky and a little astringent and was the most delicious wine I ever tasted, and the most esteemed here generally. That of 1817. was entirely dry, moderately astringent and a very good wine; about on a footing with Ledanon. That of 1818. last received, has it’s usual astringency indeed, but is a little acid, so much so as to destroy it’s usual good flavor. Had it come in the summer I should have suspected it’s having acquired that acidity by fretting in the hold of the ship, or in our hot warehouses on a summer passage, but it was shipped at Marseilles in October, the true time for shipping delicate wines for this country. I will now say why I go into these details with you. In the first place you are not to conclude that I am become a buveur. My measure is a perfectly sober one of 3. or 4. glasses at dinner, & not a drop at any other time. But as to these 3. or 4. glasses Je suis bien friand. I go however into these details because in the art, by mixing genuine wines, of producing any flavor desired, which Mr. Bergasse possesses so perfectly, I think it probable he has prepared wines of this character also; that is to say of a compound flavor of the rough, dry, and sweet, or rather of the rough and silky; or if he has not, I am sure he can. The Ledanon, for example, which is dry and astringent, with a proper proportion of wine which is sweet and astringent, would resemble the wine of Bellet sent me in 1816. by Mr. Spreafico. If he has any wines of this quality, I would thank you to add samples of 2. or 3. bottles of each of those he thinks approaches this description nearest. . . . I have labored long and hard to procure the reduction of duties on the lighter wines, which is now effected to a certain degree. I have labored hard also in persuading others to use those wines. Habit yields with difficulty. Perhaps the late diminution of duties may have a good effect. I have added to my list of wines this year 50. bottles of vin muscat blanc de Lunel. I should much prefer a wine which should be sweet and astringent, but I know of none. If you know of any, not too high priced I would thank you to substitute it instead of the Lunel.”
Mike,
What a great article. I love history and wine. This article melds the two together. I am looking forward to any future historical information you have similar to this. I also look forward to your upcomming book. Do you have a website that I can link to for anyone interested? Thanks again.
Dennis,
I like the content of the site. Almost a little overwhelming, but I am so happy to see more enophiles in the area! I really want to see how you keep developing this site. If you need any help or anything, please contact me.
Cheers!
Hi Dennis. Great site! I just returned from the Central Otago region of New Zealand and must recommend a Pinot Noir I tried there. It’s the Lake Hayes 2008 from Amisfield winery. Absolutely delicious. Before this trip, I hadn’t been a “red wine” person since college. Now I can’t imagine going back to “white”.
Jeff,
Thanks for visiting. There are 3 areas in New Zealand known for Pinot Noir: Otago, Martinborough and Malborough. The first two have a similarity in their rich pinot noir while Malborough has a tendency to have lighter bodied pinot noir. I will gladly look out for some pinot from this area. If you have a particular one that you like, let me know. Thanks again.
Very cool, Dennis. Congratulations & I look forward to learning lots about wine/food pairings! (It’s my interest du jour.)
Orgasmic? Really? HA! Just bustin’ your chops. Well done on the website. Looking forward to some great recommendations. Congrats!
Snazzy!!! Great job on the design & content! See you soon.
NICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hey Dennis, I am so glad you remembered to write down the web address for me and I didn’t have to read it on facebook! Good Luck with it =)
I would appreciate more visual materials, to make your blog more attractive, but your writing style really compensates it. But there is always place for improvement
I appreciate the feedback and I will certainly post some pictures, etc. I am, as you can tell, still adding to the site and hope to be finished in mid April. Please come back and let me know if you have any further ideas for improvement. Thank you again.
Dennis
Hurry up already!