
Relatable and valuable pieces shared by wine students, industry professionals, and enthusiasts!
All You Need to Know About Verdejo: A Quick Guide
In a region known for Tempranillo and Rioja blends, it’s easy to forget about Spain’s fine white wine grape, Verdejo. Known for being refreshing, balanced, and delicate, this white wine grape is found almost exclusively in northern central Spain in the province of...
Top 10 Hybrids You Should Try
As the wine industry grows across the United States, hybrids have become way more trendy. A hybrid grape is produced from two different species of grapes: Vitis Vinifera and usually a native American grape. Vitis Vinifera includes the traditional European wine grapes...
Bulk Wines: To Buy or Not to Buy
When you hear the term “bulk wine,” you probably picture a cardboard box with a glossy picture of a glass of splashing red wine. Or maybe you imagine a large glass jug gathering dust on the bottom wine rack at your liquor store. This term does not command much respect...
Everything You Need to Know About Touriga Nacional; A Quick Guide
Touriga Nacional is highly regarded as the “crown jewel” of Portuguese grapes. It is, in fact, the backbone for many high-quality Portuguese blends. Occasionally, the variety can be made into a single variety wine, and on its own, it is celebrated for its ability to...
A Guide to Beaujolais:
Everything you need to know about the region’s “Nouveau wines”, “Premium wines” and future
Wine Blends: The Treasures of the Wine World
Why they are necessary and important There is a common misconception among wine consumers that if their wine is a blend of different grape varieties, then it is of inferior quality, a hybrid, a mere “muggle” wine! This cannot be further from the truth. In fact, the...
Everything You Need to Know About Aligoté: A Quick Guide
Aligoté is a neutral, high acid, white grape variety hailing from Burgundy, France. If you thought Burgundy whites were only made with Chardonnay, that is almost true ...Aligoté is the exception (only accounting for 6% of plantings). It is considered "the other white...
Grape vs Winemaker: Where Does One Start and the Other Begin?
Picture this: You’ve just poured yourself two glasses of Cabernet (what a treat!), one from the Margaret River in Australia and the other from Napa Valley in California. You swirl both glasses and really get your nose in there. You sip each and note their differences....
Assessing the Champagne Glass: All you need to know about the coupe the flute and the tulip
Champagne has always been synonymous with festivities, celebrations, and toasts. Recently, however, it is being regarded as so much more than that: a well-crafted sparkling wine to be enjoyed, analyzed and assessed, because sparkling wine, above all else,...
All You Need to Know About Garganega: A Quick Guide
Garganega (pronounced gar- GAN- egg-uh) is a vigorous, thick-skinned, late-ripening white wine grape almost exclusively found in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Garganega wines are best enjoyed when consumed while young and fresh. Garganega is the primary grape...
All You Need to Know About Aglianico: A Quick Guide
Aglianico is a black grape native to Southern Italy. The variety is most famous for the wines it produces in the region of Campania and Basilicata. Wines made from the Aglianico grape were virtually unknown to much of the world just 25 years ago. They have made great...
All You Need to Know About Pinotage: A Quick Guide
Pinotage is South Africa’s flagship red varietal, specifically in Stellenbosch along the Western Cape. A cross between Cinsault and Pinot Noir, Pinotage is favored for its balance of dark fruit, spicy, and meaty flavors. The intentions for breeding Pinotage were pure....
Core Contributors
Oliva Abramson
Olivia is a Washington-based freelance writer with a Level 2 Award in wines from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. She has a passion for all things food, wine, and travel, though her heart belongs to the Pacific Northwest. When she’s not sipping on a glass of Washington Cab., she’s usually bikepacking, crocheting, or chillin’ in the sun with her dog Tater.
Rana Masri
Rana is a certified WSET3 and French Wine Scholar. She is a forever student with a passion for wine stories and converting wine drinkers to enthusiasts following their own wine journeys. Rana comes from the ancient land of wine Lebanon and currently lives in Dubai with her other two passions, her kids.
Is there a specific grape variety you’d like to add to our Variety Library? If so, I’d love to hear from you!
