The Wine Idea

Most of us turn to wine, if not as a vehicle of relaxation, at least as a gateway to it. If you’ve gone so far as to acquire the apéritif habit, … Is Your Wine Thinkable?Read more

There was a time when the tasting note was a wine insider’s tool. Sommeliers, cellar masters and wine brokers, whose job it was to make purchasing decisions, made use of them … <bold>Pour Me Another Tasting Note</bold>Read more

One of the things we learn as we become more acquainted with the wide world of wine is that there’s almost no end to its variations. Wine can be made in … Fat and Skinny Had a Race. Or Did They?Read more

It’s gone from Val day, to Gal day, to Pal Day. Maybe, to cover all our bases, it should just be Enthrall Day — a day to celebrate, or at least … The Heart Has Its ReasonsRead more

Cork taint may not be the most commonly encountered wine fault, but it is the one most people can name, if not always recognize. The condition typically declares itself with an … Corky … or Just Quirky?Read more

Wine’s long history is replete with fact and fancy. Over the centuries, its enthusiasts have wrapped it in a cloud of myths, tropes and what today we call memes. One of … Connoisseurship. Still a Thing?Read more

We’re living through a period just now when the more natural a wine is, the more cachet it enjoys. We have no argument with this, exactly, except insofar as . . … Wine’s Geyser FantasyRead more

The benefits of preparation are pretty well-established by now, wouldn’t you say?  It’s why you read all the directions before assembling your IKEA bookshelf, and why you do a mise en … The Pleasures of the House PourRead more

Yes is welcoming. Yes is affirming. In a negotiation, yes is the thing we strive to get to. In the Wine Corner, we like saying and hearing yes, but sometimes a … It Ain’t Necessarily SoRead more

Much maligned, but still a bit too useful to do away with altogether, Sigmund Freud, above, taught us that the best analogy for the mental life of the individual isn’t that … Is That You, Ego? It’s Me, Id.Read more

The 2025 Beaujolais Nouveau has arrived, and has been sitting cooly and calmly in the FK wine cellar, as we waited for the calendar to tell us that it’s legal to … Solemn Sacrament or Just Hot Potato?Read more

Here in the Wine Corner, we don’t go in much for fancy dress — you won’t find us stocking shelves or flourishing our feather dusters in monogrammed jumpsuits or sporting FK-branded … Lab Coats, Everyone!Read more