Wine Wired

    With a huge WSET (Wine and Spirits Education Trust) all-day wine exam coming up in June, my New Year resolution is to taste my way through every major wine region. Granted, it’s an ambitious task but necessary for my studies — all in the name of education. Presented with seemingly endless topics for […]

  The holiday season always allows me to take pleasure in the epicurean opportunities that present themselves. In particular, I get the excuse to pair and consume what I believe may be one of the sexiest drinks in the world, sparkling wine. Not all sparkling wine is the same…. (CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST […]

Melissa Rollins from Florence Morning News did a piece on the new classes at Florence Darlington Technical College. Check it out…. (link to article)

School has started, and it’s back to the hustle and bustle of life. Before we realize, the holidays will be upon us. We need time to ourselves; time to slow down and relax. With all the stresses in life, one must have an outlet for the purpose of keeping our sanity. My elixir of sanity […]

Motivation and ideas for writing come from a variety of avenues. Sometimes it’s what I am drinking at that moment or through a conversation with a friend. It can also be, as in this case, stimulated from assisting with a private wine dinner. Recently, I had the pleasure of selecting wines and speaking for, what […]

      I write mostly about wine and spirits but, on a rare occasion, I am moved to write about other subjects. This is one of those rare moments and the inspiration was a restaurant located in Pittsburgh, PA called Bridge Ten Brasserie. I use the term ‘restaurant’ loosely because this term does not […]

People often ask me,“ What is your favorite wine?” The standard answer is, yes. I think as you branch out and try different wines you will see that comparing them is sometimes like comparing apples and oranges, not to sound cliché. I think a lot depends on mood, time of day, temperature, food, barometric pressure…. […]

My tastes seem to wax and wane with the different seasons. Winter’s cold and rain have me craving port-style wine in the evenings. With Spring right around the corner, however, I find myself trading these heavier wines for a lighter, fresher beverage. What a great opportunity to discuss one of my favorite categories, sparkling wines. […]

Bottle Talk: An escape from the red zone and into Malbec Land As I said in my first column last month, I love to get people to move outside their “wine comfort zone.” There are thousands of wines made in so many interesting ways that we can only hope to one day try them all. […]

    It is human nature to avoid or limit our exposure to things that we do not feel comfortable with. In my opinion, this is why most people either avoid wine completely or limit what they drink to one or two varietals. People have a tendency to stay within their ‘beverage comfort zone’, so […]