Today on Serious Grape: Wine Survival Strategy for the Holidays

As 12:01 AM today, it is officially that festive time of year known as "the holidays." It is a time of joy, of family celebrations, gift-giving, and--hysteria.

Before you hit the panic button, go out now and get yourself a mixed case of wine so that you've got bottles on hand for emergencies that include: we have nothing in the house for dinner, two people just stopped by with pumpkin bread, and extreme mall fatigue. (photo by dumbledad)

This week on Serious Grape I've got a shopping list for a mixed case of wine that will help you cope with most holiday emergencies. Head over and check it out, and if you have any other holiday entertaining survival strategies, leave them here or over there in the comments section.

Today on Serious Grape: Autumn Whites from Austria

I'm learning about Austrian wines, and this week on Serious Grape I have recommen-
dations for some affordable bottles (and one splurge-worthy one, too) that are just perfect for this time of year.

Austrian wines have an earthiness that makes them a great partner for squash, pumpkin, turkey, sage--so many of the foods and flavors we're all enjoying this time of year.

Autumn doesn't just mean it's time to pop open the red wines--there's still plenty of occasions that call out for a white.

I'll have more posts on Austrian wines next week. I was favorably impressed by what I sipped, and think you will be, too. Have a great weekend, and get out and do some wine exploring. Find yourself an Austrian wine to try. And if you've already found one (or two, or three...) be sure to let us know in the comments below or over on Serious Eats.

This Week on Serious Grape: Decanting Demystified

Do you decant?

In this week's Serious Grape column, my weekly contribution to the fabulous food site Serious Eats, I try to demystify the subject of decanting. Basically there are two reasons to decant: to remove the sediment from old wines and to aerate younger wines. In both cases, decanting makes good wine taste better.

Last night, a friend was pouring some lovely old wines including a 1997 Château Léoville Barton that was just drinking beautifully--but had some sediment in the bottle as a result of its age. Decanting got that sediment out of there, which would have given the wine a bitter, tannin taste as well as negatively impacting the texture.

So don't be intimidated or overwhelmed by decanting. You can do it with a clean mayonnaise jar if you want, and there are some stylish options like the one pictured here, too.

Head over to Serious Grape and check it out.

This Week on Serious Grape: The Farmers' Market Wine

With most farmers' markets full of local produce, many of us are eating our fill of vegetables these days. Tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers, onions, mushrooms, and beets are piled high in my local market. (photo by NatalieMaynor)

One wine stands out to me as a real friend to all these vegetables: Pinot Grigio. This week on Serious Grape, my column on Serious Eats, I share my recommendations for some of the best new Pinot Grigios in the market. They come from all over the world--Italy, France, Calfornia, and Australia--and though each one has a distinct style they share common characteristics like good acidity that make them a perfect partner for vegetables.

Head over and check out my list of Pinot Grigio suggestions and be sure to add your own if you think I've missed one. A colorful tomato salad and a glass of Pinot Grigio is one of September's great treats, so head to your local farmers' market this weekend and then to the wine store.

This Week on Serious Eats: Doggone Good Wine Pairing

If you're planning on having a hot dog this Labor Day weekend, what wine are you planning to have with it? (photo by TheBusyBrain)

This week on Serious Grape, my weeky column on Serious Eats, I suggest a few wines for your consideration. The thing about hot dogs is that they are both sweet and salty--and then a variety of sweet and savory condiments get piled on top.

Head over and check out my hot dog wines and if you have any other suggestions, leave them here or there in the comments section.

Have a good Labor Day!

This Week on Serious Grape: "Grape School"

This week on Serious Grape, my regular column on Serious Eats, I've caught the back to school bug. (photo of the Scotland Street School in Glasgow by alexliivet--and is that a dunce cap in the front of the room?!)

My idea? Grape School. While your kids and neighbors kids are learning reading, writing, and arithmetic, why not learn about some new grapes? Why should kids have all the fun?

I've put together a list of twelve grape varieties that you may not be familiar with to take to your favorite wine store. Have them put together a mixed case so that you can have an interesting wine experience whenever the mood takes you this fall. Regular GWU$20 readers might want to look at the "extra credit" grape pick--it's one of my favorites, and it might become one of yours, as well.

So head over to Serious Eats and check it out. And as ever, if you have particular wines to recommend, please do so in the comments.

Today on Serious Grape: Back to Basics with the Noble Grapes

You all know I'd do almost anything to taste a new grape variety. The quest for the new and the exotic comes at a price, though. Sometimes I forget to pay sufficient attention to the six grape varieties that have earned the distinction of being called "noble grapes." (photo by "T" altered art)

Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Pinot Noir are the key players in grape cultivation and wine production--and they have been for some time. Find out why--and get my recommendations for afordable bottles in the market now--in this week's Serious Grape column over on Serious Eats.

I reviewed my wine cellar and for a woman consumed with new grapes I've got a lot of bottles made from these traditional varieties. Just under 40% of the wine now in my possession is made primarily or exclusively with one of these grapes.

How about you? How largely do the noble grapes figure in your wine drinking habits?

Today on Serious Grape: Does Your Stemware Matter?

If you are planning to drink wine from a plastic cup this weekend, you may want to think twice.

At this year's Hospice du Rhône I attended a seminar on wineglasses led by Georg Riedel. My experiences in that seminar convinced me that the shape of your wineglass really does matter, and that drinking wine out of a plastic cup makes even good wine taste like Welch's grape juice.

Check out my experiences in today's Serious Grape column on Serious Eats. What do you think? Is this all hooey, or does stemware matter to a wine's taste?

Today on Serious Eats: Drink Pink

This weekend it is--by astronomical determination--summer. It's the longest day of the year, and it's the time when I start drinking pink. (photo by Neeta Lind)

That's right, this weekend begins the official start of summer rosé season. Rosé wines are indeed perfect for serving with grilled foods, or drinking chilled on your patio, balcony, or back deck. But they're also great with leftover turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving, or anytime you want to serve a fruity wine that's festive and not pretentious.

So check out my recommendations for some of the best rosés available right now--and put aside a bottle or two for this fall and winter when summer will be an all-too-distant memory. You can find them in this week's Serious Grape column, my column on Serious Eats.

Enjoy the sunshine. And feel free to leave your favorite rosé recommendations in the comments over there, or below.

Today on Serious Eats: Spotlight on Gewürztraminer

Today on Serious Grape, my regular column on Serious Eats, I cast a spotlight on Gewürztraminer, the spicy white wine that's hard to spell but easy to love. (photo by viZZZual.com)

Often overshadowed by Riesling, Gewürztraminers offer wine drinkers food-friendly, aromatic wines that are perfect for seafood, grilled food, and spicy dishes. In short, they're great summer wines.

Head on over to Serious Grape to learn more about the grape and to get three recommendations for Gewürztraminers made in the US, in Chile, and in France's Alsace region. And of course,all the wines featured are under $20.

Today on Serious Grape: Wines for the Holiday Weekend and Beyond

This week on Serious Grape, my Friday column on Serious Eats, I've got my wine picks for this weekend's picnics, cookouts, and barbecues. And these suggestions should get you through the rest of the summer, too.

I've organized my suggestions around a handy, easy-to-remember acronym (ZEST) and made sure to select wines that taste great and have suggested retail prices of under $20. (snazzy graffic courtesy of my friends at Serious Eats)

Have a happy and healthy Memorial Day and see you next week.

This Week on Serious Grape: A Mixed Case to Welcome Spring

Spring has sprung. Why not head out to the wine store and pick yourself up a mixed case of affordable treats that will see you through all the season's culinary adventures? (photo by jesiehart)

I've got a shopping list for you over on Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats. There are whites and reds just perfect for sipping in the garden, firing up the grill, warming yourself up when it rains, and more.

And if I've left your favorite spring wine off my list, leave a comment here or in the comments over there.

Today on Serious Grape: Women and Wine

The results of a new study on women and wine are out.

Guess what?

Women buy wine because they like the way it tastes and because it goes well with food. (photo by rolands.lakis)

For these and other shocking revelations, check out this week's post on Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats.

When will the wine business get it? Women aren't a niche market. We're buying 80% of the wine.

If that's a niche, what do we call the other 20% of the people buying wine? The majority?

Today on Serious Grape: What Wine Goes with Fish?

How many have you have heard the old phrase "white wine goes with fish"? How many of you still pay attention to it? (photo by jlastras)

This week on Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats, I tackle the issue of what wine goes with fish. My particular object of inquiry is salmon. I can't get enough salmon in the spring, and I'm guessing it's showing up on your table, too.

Click on over to find a great salmon recipe from fellow-blogger Rick Bakas of the Back to Bakas blog, and a side-by-side tasting comparison of how the dish fared with two wines--one red, one white.

What do you have with salmon? And after reading the article, are you inclined to give something new a try?

Friday on Serious Grape: Visiting with the Family Winemakers

Sorry for the delay in posting, but on Friday my weekly column on Serious Eats focused on the recent Family Winemakers of California tasting I attended.

This is a tasting I look forward to each year. If you don't know what a Family Winemaker is, head over to Serious Grape and check out what the association stands for, and what it promotes. You'll also get a lead on a great $20 bottle of wine made by a young winemaker you'll be glad to know about.

Today On Serious Grape: Embracing Corkage

Today on Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats, I take up the controversial subject of restaurant corkage fees. (photo by neeta_lind).

Some grumble that $15-$20 is too much to pay for someone to open your wine and occasionally pour from the bottle. Others never buy off the wine list, and prefer to bring their own wine.

I'm a novice at this, but my recent experiences taking wine into restaurants lead me to think that corkage fees are a small price to pay for drinking good wine without going bankrupt.

Click over to the post and see what you think. And leave your comments--here or there--about your experiences with corkage. Do you accept it? Hate it? And are you taking wine to restaurants more now that wallets are tightening?

Today on Serious Grape: California Cabernet for Every Budget

Today on Serious Grape I take on California Cabernets --from a budget perspective. (picture from hahnfamilywines)

I love Cabernet from my home state, but they can be prohibitively expensive, hard to find, or both. What I can find in the wine stores and supermarkets is often blah and boring.

Recently I tasted through a wide variety of Cabernet Sauvignons. Click over to Serious Grape, my weekly column on Serious Eats, to see what I thought were the best in the $10 and under category, the $10-$15 category, the $15-$20 category, and the $20-$25 category.

No matter what your budgetary ceiling, if you love Cabernet from California I've got a recommendation for you.

Today on Serious Grape: Open That Bottle Night

Tomorrow--Saturday, February 28--is the 10th annual Open That Bottle Night.

Each year, Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher of The Wall Street Journal give us permission to open up those bottles that hang around our houses with all kinds of sentimental strings attached. Often, we hold on to them so long they're no longer drinkable.

Today on Serious Grape, I talk about the event, my experiences with holding on too long to a special wine, talk a bit more about the philosophy behind the event, and give links to public and online OTBN celebrations you may want to participate in.

What bottle do you have that you're afraid/unwilling to open? Tomorrow night's your chance! I'll have my OTBN tasting report up on Monday night, so check back here if you want to know what I opened up.

Today on Serious Eats: The Gift of a Wine Book

I got a present in the mail from my godmother last month: a wine book that she kept between 1970 and 1980 while living in Germany.

What a treat! I loved reading over the labels and her notes. My favorite: "Lancers is always good."

You can read about my experiences with my aunt's wine scrapbook in this week's Serious Grape column on Serious Eats.

Are you preserving your wine memories for future years? If so, how?

Today on Serious Grape: The Red Wine for Coffee Lovers

Do you love coffee?

Do you love red wine?

Ever had Pinotage?

If not, you should give it a try. I think of it as the red wine for coffee lovers, as I explain in this week's Serious Grape column over on Serious Eats. (photo by Rob Qld)

Its a bit berry, a bit cherry, a bit mocha, a bit cocoa, a bit espresso--and a bit of an acquired taste. But I've never found a coffee lover who didn't also like this full-bodied, strongly flavored wine.

I used to have a t-shirt that proclaimed "Coffee and Chocolate--Nature's Only Perfect Marriage." Needless to say, I love Pinotage. Click on over to the story and leave your thoughts about this grape. And if you've never had it, but can't get enough of the bitter, caffeinated brew in the morning you might enjoy switching to this wine in the evening.