All posts tagged: Viticulture

Featured Wine (Event) of the Week

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Happy Wine Wednesday!  I’m dreaming of bubbles this morning after attending a super fun event put on by J Vineyards at the PaliHouse in Los Angeles.  It was advertised as a wine and cheese interactive tasting led by Winemaker Nicole Hitchcock of J Vineyards and Francois Robin of Fromage France, followed by a cheese and wine soiree. So, let me get this straight…one of my favorite Sonoma wineries was putting on an event with a French Cheesemonger? Um….yes!  Yes please! I’m not sure what I expected, but I did not expect the wonderful cheese and wine extravaganza I got to enjoy!  There was a bar pouring four beautiful wines from J Vineyards:  J Sparkling Brut Rose, J Cuvee 20, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir.  More on those in a moment…  There was a giant table in the middle of the courtyard filled with several different French cheeses, including Brillat-Severin, Tomme de Savoie, Bleu D’Auvergne, and Beaufort.  There were olives, almonds, berries, honey, and of course, the requisite bread. Oh. My. God.  I was in heaven! As …

Wine Diamonds

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Have you ever seen these crystals in the bottle or glass of your wine?  I once had a server at a restaurant try to explain it as sediment in my white wine.  That’s not what these are.  They are tartrate crystals, also known as wine diamonds. These wine diamonds are nothing to fear.  They are a natural occurrence that happens from time to time, and are safe to drink.  They are formed from a natural component, called tartaric acid.  Tartaric acid is found in grapes, apricots, apples, avocados, tamarinds, citrus, and bananas.  You can find it in among spices and is commonly used as cream of tartar that can be added to eggs to increase their thickness. When you see them in wine, it is due to the tartaric acid binding with potassium when the wine is chilled.  They form the white crystals that can stick to the bottom of a cork and can be found in the last pours of a bottle. These crystals can occur in both red and white wine.  However, they …