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Get to Know the Global Superstars of Wine
Wall Street Journal ^ | March 27, 2014 | Will Lyons

Posted on 03/29/2014 7:20:12 PM PDT by nickcarraway

What every wine drinker should know about Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Riesling

"I KNOW NOTHING about wine—where do I start?" is perhaps the most frequent question I am asked. An obvious starting point is with grape varieties, which each have their own distinctive character and flavor.

There are more than 5,000 varieties of wine grapes planted in the world. Luckily, for those new to the subject, only 100 or so have enough appeal to be deemed commercially viable. Luckier still, it's a relatively small number that have found international recognition.

Jean-Manuel Duvivier These used to be referred to as the Noble Grape Varieties, a term coined by the British wine trade to describe the classic grapes of Europe (though it's no longer used in professional wine exams). Nicholas King, research and development manager at the Wine & Spirits Education Trust, says it drifted out of use in about 2003. After using "common" or "international," the educational body has now settled on the term "principal" grape varieties.

Whatever the term, it refers to the eight classic varieties—Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Grenache and Riesling—whose flavor and character have led to them being exported around the world. Their success has, in many ways, been detrimental to their reputation: the level of planting being such that quality has inevitably been diluted.

Wherever you are on the wine journey, whether a connoisseur or a novice, an understanding and appreciation of these varieties will benefit you enormously.

I rather like the old term for them as, in their finest form, these grapes are capable of producing wines that are among the very best in the world. Here's my guide to what every wine drinker should know.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Food
KEYWORDS: business; international; oenology; wine
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To: dfwgator

Interesting version. I like Dossie Terry’s, from 1958.


21 posted on 03/29/2014 7:49:37 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: MeshugeMikey

I went to college with four of those fellows, I have not had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Cisco.

22 posted on 03/29/2014 7:50:35 PM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
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To: nickcarraway
WPLJ is hard to beat!
23 posted on 03/29/2014 7:51:24 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: central_va

ya know I saw this photo in a search I just did but it was made of five seperate images pasted side by side....

Cisco...looks like a new label...

the others I encountered in my much much younger years


24 posted on 03/29/2014 7:54:19 PM PDT by MeshugeMikey ( "Never, never, never give up". Winston Churchill)
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To: AlexW
I buy Spanish and South American wines in one ltr. boxes.

I've never tasted a Spanish wine that I didn't like. I've had wine from Australia, but not South America, although I've read that Chile produces some good wines.

25 posted on 03/29/2014 7:55:51 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: Fiji Hill

“What’s the word? Thunderbird!”
_____________________________________________
Ahh yes, and here is a very fine review of that elixir from the gods: http://www.bumwine.com/tbird.html


26 posted on 03/29/2014 7:56:04 PM PDT by AlexW
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To: central_va
I went to college with four of those fellows

I went to grad school with Gallo Hearty Burgundy--$1.39 a bottle during the Gerald Ford presidency.

27 posted on 03/29/2014 7:58:51 PM PDT by Fiji Hill
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To: nickcarraway
I am NOT drinking any F***ING Merlot!!!
28 posted on 03/29/2014 8:39:27 PM PDT by Rodamala
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To: nickcarraway

Bota Box.


29 posted on 03/29/2014 8:39:34 PM PDT by Oratam
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To: Rodamala

“Let’s splurge! Bring us some fresh wine!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sELqobCIXU


30 posted on 03/29/2014 8:41:30 PM PDT by dfwgator
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To: onedoug
I get mine in a box...er, a bag in a box.

It never goes bad.

31 posted on 03/29/2014 9:37:12 PM PDT by PistolPaknMama
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To: PistolPaknMama
It never goes bad.

Because it never achieves good to begin with.

32 posted on 03/29/2014 9:43:33 PM PDT by Sirius Lee (All that is required for evil to advance is for government to do "something")
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To: nickcarraway
Here is the real stuff...peasants
33 posted on 03/29/2014 9:54:11 PM PDT by xp38
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To: xp38

Where’s Boone’s Farm?


34 posted on 03/29/2014 11:04:35 PM PDT by flaglady47 (Oppressors can tyranize only w/a standing army-enslaved press-disarmed populace)
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To: nickcarraway
Yet another article purporting to explain wine to the common man but after reading the article, I'm as oblivious as ever. It seems that every wine article and wine book out there uses obscure "insider" language to describe flavors. All this talk about tannins and "secondary notes of cedar" and "pungent petrol" et al.

"Taste predominantly of blackcurrant" might mean something to me if I actually knew what a blackcurrant tasted like.

Then you have all those talk about French towns that have funny characters sitting on top of certain letters in their names. I'd show you an example here but I can't find the characters on my keyboard.

Wait a minute, maybe "cut and paste" will work... Côte-Rôtie - there, did it! Now how do you pronounce it. Kotay-Rotay? Or more like Coat-Rodie? Those French words make my eyes glaze over.

It's almost like these article are intended to make the rest of us feel like unsophisticated rubes. By the way, the same kind of highfalutin approach is taken with classical music. Has there ever been an article about classical music that made sense to anybody who did not do six years at the Julliard School?

Don't get me wrong, I'm a regular wine drinker and I love classical music (especially Bach, Mozart and Beethoven). However, I had to acquire my tastes for wine and classical music pretty much on my own because I can't make heads or tails out of articles like this.

35 posted on 03/30/2014 2:23:12 AM PDT by SamAdams76
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To: central_va

Of those “four fellows”, Thunderbird is probably the least offensive to the senses.

But that ain’t saying much...

If you like Moscato (white, light and on the sweet side), check out Barefoot. Good value.


36 posted on 03/30/2014 7:48:57 AM PDT by Max in Utah (A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot survive treason from within.)
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To: workerbee

Mr. GG2 and I enjoyed a nice bottle of Alamo Malbec last night at our local Italian eatery.


37 posted on 03/30/2014 9:53:41 AM PDT by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose o f a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped.)
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To: SamAdams76
A long time ago James Thurber did a send-up of wine experts in one of his cartoons:

"It's a naive domestic Burgundy without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption."

Thurber died in 1961 but the cartoon may date from much earlier in his career.

38 posted on 03/30/2014 10:41:01 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: Georgia Girl 2; goodwithagun

Pinot Grigio is my go-to, but I have come to appreciate Malbec. It’s one of the few reds I enjoy. I also use it in pasta/lasagne/spaghetti sauce. Perfect!


39 posted on 03/30/2014 3:36:16 PM PDT by workerbee (The President of the United States is DOMESTIC ENEMY #1!)
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