1. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Lot18

    Now we’ve talked about yeast before, albeit in a different context, but frankly I feel like these little buggers require a bit more examination. Yeast, after all, is arguably the most important fungus on the planet. It’s responsible for wine, beer, bread, that “not so…

    (Source: lot18)

     


  2. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Lot18

    Cork Dork College

    Now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty. First, we talked about dirt; next, we talked about climate; today, we’re going to take a look at some specific examples of regions and how their own individual traits express that very special something we call terroir.

    (Source: lot18)

     


  3. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Lot18

    And we’re back. It’s time for “Terroir, Part Two,” and this time it’s all about location, location, location. Last week we talked about soil composition and you graduated with a license to use the word alluvial. This week we’ll work “macroclimate” into your vocabulary….

    (Source: lot18)

     


  4. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Lot18

    Ah yes, terrior: How French, how terribly oenological. This broadly applied term comes from the French word terre which means “land,” but what it really refers to is a wine’s “sense of place.” That makes sense, right, for your grape juice to have a good sense of place?…

    (Source: lot18)

     


  5. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Lot18

    Swirling, just like structure, legs and inexplicably expensive Oregonian Pinot Noir, is one of those wine things that we all take for granted. And when brains start turning off, this cork dork starts turning on. Wait, let me start that thought over again.

    “No…

    (Source: lot18)

     


  6. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Senior Member Services Associate, Lot18

    The kids are off at band camp, the car is loaded up with bottled water and goldfish crackers. Your significant other has marked up a map she picked up from the hotel concierge desk. You’re ready to take the plunge and go on your first wine…

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  7. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Senior Member Services Associate, Lot18

    There are many things that are widely acknowledged to get better with age: wine, teenagers, Jennifer Aniston. But a post on the way wine ages would need to span multiple weeks, and I’ve already surpassed my quota of Jennifer…

    (Source: lot18)

     


  8. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Senior Member Services Associate, Lot18

    This week’s sports frenzy presents an issue for me, as I believe the closest I’ve ever been to a tailgate party involved a bad parking spot, mistaken identity, and a pack of Johnsonville Brats. It wasn’t pleasant for anybody involved. As…

    (Source: lot18)

     


  9. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Senior Member Services Associate, Lot18

    We’ve all had it happen before. Get to the bottom of a perfectly good bottle of Malbec, especially one that’s got a few years on it, and all of a sudden your stemware gets coated with something that looks like a grizzled 18th century…

    (Source: lot18)

     


  10. lot18:

    Steve Unwin, Senior Member Services Associate, Lot18

    We’ve all heard it before: “This wine is corked.” “Well of course it is. How else would it stay in the bottle, right?” That, dear reader, is not what I’m talking about and you know it. In fact I think you’ve been waiting for me to…

    (Source: lot18)