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Upstate Vodka – Mixology Session for Fall

Upstate Vodka – Mixology Session for Spring

KAS Spirits – fun mixology with a craft spirit maker

Wednesday, December 18th, 2024

8 Reasons to Join a Small-Group Wine and Food Adventure in Southern Italy

8 Reasons to Join a Small-Group Wine and Food Adventure in Southern Italy For decades, Southern Italy has captured the hearts of travelers with its spectacular coastlines, rich history, and culinary treasures. For anyone in the U.S. seeking a getaway that delivers the “best of Italy”, a Naples, Amalfi Coast & Campania excursion could be - Read More

Sunday, August 4th, 2024

Top 5 Most Expensive Bottles Of Wine Ever Sold

Wine is one of the most challenging drinks to make well, due to the limited ingredients and specific growing conditions for the grapes. The best vintages have sold for high prices over the years, reflecting the care and skill involved in their creation. The winemaking process is delicate and complex, influenced by weather conditions that - Read More

Bad wine

Thursday, August 1st, 2024

What to do With ‘Bad’ Wine

We’ve all forgotten about an open bottle of wine in the fridge door. It might seem unsalvageable, but don’t dump it down the sink just yet! Try out these useful tricks the next time an open bottle of vino is past its prime. How to Know if Wine Has Gone ‘Bad’ You pop open a - Read More

Sunday, August 4th, 2024

Top 5 Most Expensive Bottles Of Wine Ever Sold

Wine is one of the most challenging drinks to make well, due to the limited ingredients and specific growing conditions for the grapes. The best vintages have sold for high prices over the years, reflecting the care and skill involved in their creation. The winemaking process is delicate and complex, influenced by weather conditions that - Read More

Bad wine

Thursday, August 1st, 2024

What to do With ‘Bad’ Wine

We’ve all forgotten about an open bottle of wine in the fridge door. It might seem unsalvageable, but don’t dump it down the sink just yet! Try out these useful tricks the next time an open bottle of vino is past its prime. How to Know if Wine Has Gone ‘Bad’ You pop open a - Read More

Tuesday, July 30th, 2024

It’s Not You, It’s The Dialect!

Picture yourself in Italy, soaking up the sun, enjoying a delicious espresso, and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a conversation that sounds like a mix between a secret code and a musical performance. Welcome to Italy, where even Italians need a translator sometimes! Italy is not just one big, melodious land where - Read More

Wednesday, July 19th, 2023

Exploring The Wines of Portugal

Why should France, Italy, and Spain get all the attention? With many varietals you won’t find anywhere else, Portugal is an exciting and oft-overlooked wine region that deserves more recognition. If you’re looking to shake up your wine rack with high-quality, affordable wines from Europe, then keep reading! About Wine in Portugal Portugal has 14 - Read More

Monday, June 26th, 2023

New York State’s 10 Best Wineries and Vineyards

Move over Napa, because New York has some great wine regions of its own. The Finger Lakes, Hudson River Valley, Niagara, and Long Island all feature competitive wineries that create exceptional products. There’s no longer a need to travel across the country to tour world-class vineyards: they’re in our own backyard. Here’s our list of - Read More

Wednesday, June 21st, 2023

Wine and Food Pairings For Summer

Wine and Food Pairings By The Shore What’s better than kicking back with your toes in the sand, listening to crashing waves with a glass of wine in your hand? Elevate your sun-soaked vacation with delicious wine and food pairings everyone will rave over! We have unexpected yet soon-to-be classic duos that you’ll savor seaside! - Read More

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Wednesday, April 5th, 2023

How to Pair Wine with Food: The Basics

Wine pairing is the art and science of matching wines with food to enhance both flavors. The right pairing can elevate a meal, bringing out the best in the food and the wine. But how do you know which wine to pair with which food? Armed with some background knowledge, experimenting – trial and error - Read More

Friday, March 31st, 2023

What’s A Mocktail?

Initially styled as ‘virgin’ drinks, mixed for women and children, the non-alcoholic cocktail, mocktail, has evolved into a sophisticated beverage for all seasons and occasions. According to Molly Kimball, author of “Craft: The Eat Fit Guide to Zero Proof Cocktails,” an alcoholic beverage is not always appropriate, but that doesn’t mean someone should skimp on - Read More

Thursday, March 16th, 2023

Are you looking for ways to liven up your bar cart? Mezcal is gaining ground among professional bartenders and home mixologists alike, thanks to its signature smoky notes and varied aging requirements. Made of agave, it’s similar to tequila but definitely has a style all its own. Keep reading to find out more about this - Read More

Monday, February 20th, 2023

Chartreuse: History, Taste, Cocktails, and More!

The original Chartreuse recipe is from a mysterious manuscript from 1605 The Carthusian Monks are the Founding Fathers of Chartreuse The Last Word, Naked and Famous, and Trato Hecho are three popular Chartreuse cocktails Chartreuse or “The Elixir of Life” has a unique and extensive history dating back to 1605. This now-popular bitter liqueur has - Read More

Sunday, January 29th, 2023

Sulfites: Controversy or Chemistry?

Tannins and Histamines are more likely causes of headaches Sauvignon Blanc is a great light-bodied wine for sensitivity drinkers “Sulfite” includes a range of materials commonly used as preservatives in the production of foods and beverages So Sulfuric Dioxide is used by most wineries to prevent spoilage and arrest fermentation Having the opportunity to work - Read More

Thursday, January 26th, 2023

Move Over, Cab: California Zinfandel is In It To Win It

It may come as a surprise, but Cabernet Sauvignon is not the original California grape. That distinction belongs to Zinfandel, which reigned supreme through the Golden State until Cab surpassed it in 1998. Grown in most of California’s 58 counties, Zinfandel isn’t content playing second fiddle to Cabernet any longer. With protected pockets of old - Read More

Sunday, January 8th, 2023

Decanters as Art: Combining form and function

Unsurprisingly, the word decant is thought to have originated around the 17th century as an alchemist term meaning – to pour off the clear liquid by tipping the vessel. However, some still argue that it derives from the French – décanter – to pour from the edge of a vessel. Either definition seems appropriate, as - Read More

Monday, December 19th, 2022

Drinks of the Season: 7 Cocktails to Welcome the Holidays

Mulled Wine Mulled Wine traces its roots to Scandinavia. But there are countless versions across Europe. At its most basic, Mulled Wine combines red or a port wine with added spice, specifically clove or cinnamon. Sometimes orange peels are added, and the Swedish version includes sugar, rum, and brandy. And there are numerous variations on - Read More

Wednesday, December 14th, 2022

What Are “Lees” and How Do They Affect Wine?

Lees are utilized in winemaking to impart “yeasty” flavors and textures of nuts, bread, and hay in white wine. Lees produce amino acids, fatty acids, and small amounts of sugar through a process called autolysis. When a winemaker stirs the lees into the wine its called bâtonnage (“bat-on-naj” in French). There are laws in place - Read More

Monday, December 12th, 2022

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Carignan

Bored of Grenache, Sangiovese, and all the other usual suspects? Try Carignan, a medium-bodied red with elevated acidity and an approachable price point. Traditionally used primarily as a blending grape in Southern France and Northern Spain, Carignan is starting to enjoy some single-variatal fame. Keep reading for more on the up-and-coming Carignan, including where it’s - Read More

Tuesday, December 6th, 2022

Chasing 100 – The Mysterious Wine Ratings Explained

Wine ratings were first introduced in the 1980s by Robert Parker and The Wine Advocate to make wine more understandable for the general consumer. While not the only rating method, his 100-point system is considered the gold standard for rating wine. Wine Ratings Explained Logically, a low-scoring wine is a bad bottle, and a - Read More

Thursday, November 24th, 2022

5 Thanksgiving Wines from 5 Countries

Lighter-bodied wines with less oak are great holiday choices Beaujolais Nouveau is released on the third Thursday of November every year Rioja is great with cranberry sauce or any baked pies Thanksgiving usually involves multiple dishes scattered throughout the table to be shared by loved ones on this special day of feasting. So, to make - Read More

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2022

A Day In The Life of a Harvest Intern

Happy harvest season everyone! The job of a harvest intern involves many aspects of wine industry production including the not-so-pretty parts like being covered in grape juice at the end of a shift or getting chased by bees on the crush pad. Coming from a culinary background I’ve always been surrounded by people who’ve dedicated - Read More

Monday, November 14th, 2022

Syrah 101: So Nice They Named it Twice

While it’s called Syrah through most of the world, this native of the Rhône Valley goes by Shiraz in Australia. And though they’re both the same grape, this name distinction is used to indicate the different styles of Syrah (or Shiraz!). Keep reading to explore the dry, full-bodied, and food-friendly Syrah – where it grows, - Read More

Friday, November 11th, 2022

Terroir: How Our Earth Affects Your Favorite Wines

Wine is as much an agricultural good as any other food and beverage we enjoy throughout the year. There are different growing seasons, crop varieties, farming techniques, and many other factors that make a certain grape flourish on the vine and, eventually, in the bottle. Let’s focus more specifically on what this fancy term Terroir - Read More

Tuesday, November 8th, 2022

Hosting a Wine Tasting? Read This

Sure, reading books (or sites like ours) is a great way to learn about wine. But the most fun and effective way to learn about wine is to taste a lot of it. This can become really expensive, really quickly – so what’s a wine student to do? Hosting a wine tasting with friends is - Read More

Thursday, November 3rd, 2022

The Judgment of Paris: A Cultural Shift in New World Wine

Enter scene: Steven Spurrier, an Englishman who owned a struggling wine shop in Paris. Frantically, Spurrier draws up an ambitious idea to, hopefully, spark some life back into his humble Paris storefront. The idea was outlandish but feasible. Travel to California, pick up a few bottles of the best wine he could find and put - Read More

Monday, October 31st, 2022

Robots in the Vineyard: How Technology Influences Winemaking

When we think about wine, we most likely imagine warm summer days and rolling vine-covered hills. But here in the twenty-first century, wine is just as much about microchips and satellite networks as grapes and growing seasons. The wine industry, like many others, is facing numerous challenges, including sustainability in the face of a changing - Read More

Thursday, October 27th, 2022

White Bordeaux: Affordably Delicious

Bordeaux (Bor-do) refers to a wine region on the western coast of France. Today, over 90% of Bordeaux wines are red – Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. But this was not always the case. The Bordeaux region was once home to white wines, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauternes – a sweet white wine. These sweet whites had - Read More

Monday, October 24th, 2022

Natural Wines: The New Frontier of Winemaking

The term “natural wine” has become quite popular in recent years as more and more people become interested in their health and what they consume. While the term has no official or regulated meaning, it is generally used to denote that nothing has been added to the wine, including added sugars, sulfites, or yeasts. It - Read More

Thursday, October 20th, 2022

Unfiltered Wine: What Is It and Why Should You Drink It?

Unfiltered wine is having a moment on wine lists and boutique wine shop shelves. This low-intervention style of wine skips the fining and filtration process that removes yeast and other particles naturally present in wine. As the ‘natural’ wine movement gains more of a foothold, unfiltered and unfined wines are gaining more prevalence. While not - Read More

Monday, October 17th, 2022

Food and Riesling: Pairings You’d Never Expect

Riesling is a wine that is pleasantly versatile when paired with food. Here, we’ll be taking a closer look at some notable Riesling and food marriages like Thai, Chinese, Cajun, and even BBQ favorites like hot dogs. Firstly, there are various levels of sweetness/dryness in Rieslings. From driest to sweetest: Kabinett (dry to off-dry) Spätlese - Read More

Friday, October 14th, 2022

What are Decanter Cleaning Beads, and How do they Work?

Hand-polishing delicate stemware and odd-shaped decanters can be difficult. But red wine and whiskey decanters, especially with modern artistic designs, create a new level of cleaning difficulty. Through repeated use, red wine residue collects on the glass’s bottom and lower sides, depositing a red or rusty appearance. Even with rinsing, it accumulates, and the glass - Read More

Wednesday, October 12th, 2022

The Real Reason Red and White Wine are Different Colors

Everyone knows that red wine is made from red grapes and white wine is made from white grapes, right? It might surprise you to find out that the difference between red and white wine is actually more complex than that. Skin or No Skin: Where Does Wine Color Come From? While most red wines are - Read More

Monday, October 10th, 2022

The Hemingway Daiquiri: History, Recipe, and Variations

American novelist and man’s man Ernest Hemingway was well-known for his drinking prowess. He drank with other famous artists of his time, like James Joyce, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and WB Yeats, but none of them have so many drinks (and drinking stories!) attributed to them as Hemingway. One classic, appropriately and simply named The Hemingway - Read More

Thursday, October 6th, 2022

Wine Regions of New Zealand: The Jewels of the South Pacific

One of the truly glorious aspects of wine education is the perpetual stream of new information that can be discovered every year. There are new vintage wines created from different grapes grown from the ever-changing terroir that surrounds us and it’s our job to capture its vitalizing power with our creative ability. Different climates and - Read More

Tuesday, October 4th, 2022

5 Autumn Wines Perfect for Cooler Weather

Fall is a festive season. And as the temperature drops, our thoughts inevitably turn to thick sweaters, blazing fires, and myriad of foods and spices, plus of course, those autumn wines. In addition to universal favorites that are uniquely food-friendly, like Pinot Noir, we think of the bigger, bolder, more complex wines like the proverbial - Read More

Friday, September 30th, 2022

New World Wine vs. Old World Wine: Global Winemakers are Changing Wine Markets

As the budding wine connoisseur that you are, you may have heard the terms, “Old World,” and “New World” wines. Old World wines refer to wines that come from traditional winemaking countries. These are countries in Europe and parts of the Middle East like France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Germany. New World wines come - Read More

Wednesday, September 28th, 2022

Low Alcohol, High Flavor: Low ABV Beverages You’ll Love to Drink

Whether you’re trying to cut back on your alcohol consumption or you know you have a long night of bar hopping ahead of you, it helps to know what’s available to help keep your alcohol intake low. What’s more, you don’t have to sacrifice flavor to do it! By choosing drinks with low alcohol by - Read More

Monday, September 26th, 2022

Vermouth is Way Cooler Than You Think: The Ageless Spirit

Vermouth is often misunderstood, and dare we say it, underappreciated, in today’s cocktail culture. This carefully curated powerhouse of a beverage has been around since about 8,000 years ago. Its life began when the Chinese developed a method to infuse botanicals in fortified wine as a sort of “cure-all” for sickness. This Chinese beverage wasn’t - Read More

Thursday, September 22nd, 2022

Wine Books Dying To Find a Home On Your Shelves

We are bombarded with mountains of digitalized information in today’s technologically advanced and social media-influenced era, but one thing will never change: books! Literature is a great form of escapism and a powerful tool for independent study, especially when it involves wine. Here are a few great recommendations to steer your educational wine journey in - Read More

Thursday, September 22nd, 2022

Pinot Noir and a Bowl of Cherries — All About Pairing Fruit and Wine

Relaxing on the porch with a bowl of ripe, freshly picked fruit and a freshly poured glass of wine should be on everyone’s calendar for late summer leisure activities. But whether you’re kicking back with friends and family or kicking off a summer dinner party with a fruit course, you may be wondering about best - Read More

Tuesday, September 20th, 2022

Non-Alcoholic Wines: Pros & Cons

Wine production is part of human history – dating back to the Neolithic period, 8000 BC. But within the past decade, several new winemaking trends have come into focus. And terms like low calorie, low sugar, gluten-free, natural, certified organic, responsibly sourced and packaged, and even vegan-friendly now apply to wine. And one trend with - Read More

Friday, September 16th, 2022

Has White Zinfandel Finally Grown Up? Here’s What You Need to Know

Born by accident in the 1970s as the result of a stuck fermentation at Sutter Home Family Vineyards, white Zinfandel was a natural outlier in the wine world. Casually referred to as white Zin,” it comes as no surprise that those who typically didn’t care for wine were enjoying it at every opportunity, and - Read More

Wednesday, September 14th, 2022

All About the Bubbly: How Does Sparkling Wine Get Its Sparkle?

With there being so many different possibilities for fermented grape juice, a quick little revisit to chemistry 101 is inevitable and very helpful to fully grasp what is happening in and outside of the bottle. Sparkling wine has been around since 1662, according to Wine Stalker, but it was not until a French Benedictine Monk - Read More

Monday, September 12th, 2022

Chillable Red Wines: How New Winemakers are Pushing the Boundaries

While white and rosé wines are often considered social wines, there are times when a glass of red is a better fit. Yet to the vast majority, red wines are bold and heavy to be served at room temperature. There is, however, a compromise where certain red wines take center stage. What Makes a Red - Read More

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