Unfussy Wine Enthusiasts | Wine Reviews & Articles

Teetotalers Since finding out our family was growing by one our wine drinking volume has plummeted...sorry wine industry, we know it is hitting your bottom line right now. :) We have watched with envy at the recent wine and food festivals and tastings that have come and gone without our attendance.  We have lingered in the Liquor Store looking at the wondrous deals in the bargain aisle without making a purchase.  For Shannon the decision was easy not to consume any alcohol while pregnant and the end most definitely justifies the means but that doesn't mean it is easy for her. She has graciously allowed me to have the occasional glass of wine or beer while she patiently sits and watches and enjoys a cup of decaf green tea or non-alcoholic wine.  She is a Saint!  As an FYI to all the pregnant ladies out there, she has found the Ariel Chardonnay made by J. Lohr is actually not too bad.  The Cabernet is passable but the Chardonnay actually has that regula...

This video was linked to an article on WineBusiness.com that originated on the K&L Wine Merchants blog.  So if you can follow all that, we can say that it is an interesting online wine movie.  It has great production value and a calm and quiet soundtrack, but most importantly, it a really interesting eight minute look at what being a winemaker is all about. We especially loved the transition from the fields to the lab where winemaker Ernst Storm of Storm Wines transforms from farmer into chemist (wicked name for the Winery and the winemaker, btw).  Ernst bears more than a passing resemblance to Death Cab for Cutie front-man Ben Gibbard (glasses and all).  Once you get past that, you really see the dedication and work that goes into making wine.  The shots from filmmaker Dan Addleson are really....what's the word?  Graceful.  It is well made and certainly interesting to wine nerds like us. Kudos to Dan and his team. If you check out the K...

In trolling the Internet for our daily inspiration on wine and the wine business we saw an article on a fellow wine blogger's site the Wine Curmudgeon .  The gist of the article was that wineries could be helping themselves if they realized that most wine consumers are under-educated about the product they enjoy and that they need to make the selection decision dead easy for the average consumer and not worry as much about things like appellation and vintage.  At least that is what we got out of the article, and frankly, we can't argue too much about that.  That said, the comments below the article were interesting.  There were some wine folks who took great exception to the fact that anyone would consider 'dumbing down' things like terrior and vintage to promote wine to consumers, many of whom don't even know what those words mean.  Given the fact that some of the comments were so diametrically against this that we just had to submit our own (and we quote): ...

We have seen a definitely up-tick in the number of posts online covering Pinot Noir again. Could it be that the impending bursting of Spring has caused wine folks to shine a light on the lighter red?  Whatever the reason it is great to see.  Whether it be from France, California, Oregon, New Zealand, or Canada Pinot Noir is such a versatile and amazing grape.  When in cooler climates it makes a grassy and green tasting light red whereas when the growing season is warmer and longer it is a luscious and more elegant red (and darker). Seasoned wine writers like Steve Heimoff  are giving it more attention these days.  Plus, there is the everyday news coming out of the regions that grow Pinot Noir themselves like Oregon .  Makes us want to watch Sideways again...gotta check the listings and Netflix. So, in that light and given the fact we cannot wait for Spring, we wanted to highlight a few memorable Pinot Noirs that we have sampled over the last year whic...