The Vine Guy

Americans have a sweet tooth. We crave donuts, candy bars and nearly every conceivable flavor of ice cream. So it’s surprising that many wine consumers have ignored dessert wines.

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For those of you who have wondered, “Does he really smell and taste all of that stuff in the wine?” Well, some of you recently had a chance to find out.

A couple of weeks ago, I led a wine tasting at a local market in Potomac, MD, where I was sampling four wines. I thought it would be fun to taste the wines alongside enthusiastic consumers and then share my reviews along with some of their comments with listeners.

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My wife and I both come from families where Thanksgiving is a big deal. Preparation begins almost a week ahead and yet the rush to get everything on the table in time for dinner always reaches a chaotic crescendo just as everyone is sitting down. But we love it because it is an opportunity to gather with family and friends, and celebrate with fabulous food and an assortment of wonderful wines.

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For those of you who have wondered, “Does he really smell and taste all of that stuff in the wine?” Well, now is your chance to find out.

Tomorrow, from 3:00 – 5:30 pm at the River Falls Market in Potomac, MD, I will be sampling the following wines. Please come and taste the wines with me and see if I am right. You can even write your own critique of the wines – and I may even share some participant’s “reviews” with listeners in a future Wine of the Week segment.

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Georgia is one of the oldest wine producing regions in the world. There is even a popular theory that the word wine itself comes from the Georgian word “gvino” which the Romans shorten to vino and the French shortened it further to vin.” Furthermore, there is evidence that Roman invaders learned certain wine making techniques from the Georgians and took those methods back to Italy.

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Even though my own children are now off at college and no longer roaming the neighborhood asking neighborhood friends for candy, it appears that our home is still a popular stop among neighborhood parents. And since Halloween falls on Saturday night this year, I suspect that more than a few adult “trick-or-treaters” will be knocking on our door, plastic wine glasses out-stretched, looking for a bottled “treat” of the red or white varietal.

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I will never understand why so many wine enthusiasts resist popping the corks on bottles of sparkling wines or Champagne unless they are celebrating a special occasion or New Year’s Eve. It’s a shame, really, since these wines are incredibly versatile and pair well with a variety of. Famed author and bon vivant, F. Scott Fitzgerald, once proclaimed, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much Champagne is just right.”

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If April showers bring May flowers, then October Brides get showered with colorful leaves and crisp autumn air.

According to the American Association of Certified Wedding Planners, it appears that there are a growing number of couples who are opting for fall weddings. In addition, many of these weddings are destination events, with venues as close as a couple of hours or as far away as another continent.

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David Phinney has a restless soul and a deft touch when it comes to making wine. He is the man behind the proverbial curtain of Orin Swift Cellars, which he began after taking a permanent hiatus from college in 1998. A fortuitous trip to Italy with a college roommate set him on a course that would eventually please palates from around the globe with wines he makes from around the globe.

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According to Wikipedia, a saint is defined as “a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness…”

While the English term “saint” originated in Christianity, historians of religion now use the appellation in a more general way to refer to the state of special holiness that many religions attribute to certain people with remarkable conviction and generosity of spirit, including members of the Jewish, Islamic, Hindu and Buddhist faiths. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official ecclesiastical declaration and denomination or by popular acclamation.

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