Quench! Archives - WebTalkRadio.net

So you want to be a wine collector? Are you aware of the perfect storage conditions for your wines, to avoid having your collection develop premature senility? Can you curb your momentary enthusiasms and not end up with the world’s foremost assemblage of Albanian Grenache? Can you thread your way through the intricacies of Bordeaux futures, the auction market, and well-executed and convincing counterfeits? Mark draws on a lifetime of experience, and gives would-be collectors a quick guide to the art of buying, selling and waiting patiently for wine to mature. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark investigates the case of the counterfeit Romanée-Conti—roughly 400 bottles of the world’s most expensive wine, selling for $12,000-15,000 each, that were found to contain $40 Pinot Noir. He then examines the latest breakthrough in the art of living: wine for cats.

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LINKS:

Binny’s Beverage Depot—Link to: http://www.binnys.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

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For Jews and non-Jews alike, kosher wine is a topic filled with many preconceptions and misconceptions, beginning with the age-old jokes about Mogen David and Manischewitz. . A number of consumers are ignorant of the process by which a wine is made kosher. Many others only see kosher wine being sold at holiday time, and don’t regard it as a product they might consume every day. In fact, there are any number of outstanding kosher wines, and you don’t have to be observant—or even Jewish—to drink them. Mark speaks with Alan Kratish of Prince Distributors in Miami, who sells the portfolio of the Royal Wine Company, the largest distributor of kosher wine in the U.S. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark investigates the theft of 65 cases of the legendary Pappy Van Winkle bourbon from the Buffalo Trace warehouse in Kentucky—was it an inside job?

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LINKS:

Royal Wine Company—Link to: http://www.royalwine.com

Binny’s Beverage Depot—Link to: http://www.binnys.com

Iconic spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

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In a relatively short period of time, Numanthia has taken its place near the top of Spain’s red wine hierarchy. Located in the Toro region, in Castille y Leon, Numanthia is made from a clone of the Tempranillo grape called Tinta de Toro. The secret to the power and elegance of the wine is the vines, which range from 60 to an amazing 120 years old. Mark speaks with Manuel Louzada, director of Numanthia, who describes his methods in crafting the estate’s three remarkable reds. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark looks at two recent cases of trademark infringement in the beverage

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LINKS:

Numanthia—Link to: http://www.numanthia.com

Binny’s Beverage Depot—Link to: http://www.binnys.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

Mark Spivak

Moonshine Nation (forthcoming from Globe Pequot Press in Spring 2014) Host of Quench!, Great Tasting Talk Radio (www.webtalkradio.net) Wine and Spirits Editor, Palm Beach Media Group

The post Quench! – Numanthia: A Great Spanish Wine Estate appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Americans tend to have a schizophrenic attitude toward vodka. On one hand, we expect it to be virtually without identifying odors or flavors of any sort; on the other, we like it to taste like whipped cream, bacon, or peanut butter and jelly. In the middle of this dynamic are two unusual vodkas from Australia, Bombora and Cooranbong. Both hail from the Barossa Valley, and both are distilled from red wine grapes. When you try these vodkas, you’ll be reminded of exactly how enjoyable pure and understated flavors can be. Mark chats with Merritt Rathje, a Florida spirits broker who is involved in marketing them to the public. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark begins with the tale of an Englishman who called the equivalent of

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LINKS:

Bombora and Cooranbong—Link to: http://www.bomboravodka.com and http://www.cooranbong.com

Binny’s Beverage Depot—Link to: http://www.binnys.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

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Being a craft distiller is more than a matter of size: It’s a question of style, approach and mission. At Koval, Chicago’s first legal distillery within the city limits since Prohibition, Michael Birnecker and Sonat Birnecker Hart are carrying on a family tradition with passion. They source and mill all of their own grains, select and filter the water for their products, and use only the heart of the distillate—the clear, sweet center of the process. The result is an impressive array of liqueurs and single barrel whiskies. Sonat discusses their philosophy and practices. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark examines the Breathometer, the first breathalyzer app for smart phones. He also delves into the inevitable appearance of a new line of wines, marketed by Fifty Shades of Grey.

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LINKS:

Koval Distillery—Link to: http://www.koval-distillery.com

Binny’s Beverage Depot—Link to: http://www.binnys.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

The post Quench! – Koval Distillery: From The Heart appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Where do those magical wine ratings come from? Who are the experts, and what qualifies them to pass judgment on wine and recommend it to you (or not)? Mark surveys the history of wine criticism in America over the past three or four decades, describes the major players, and examines how the critical scene is being transformed by social media. He also takes a close look at celebrity wines. Would you buy a bottle because the label depicted a golfer (Greg Norman), a race car driver (Mario Andretti) or a tall guy (Yao Ming)? There are two stories on Bizarre Beverage News: a recent study indicating that people who drink moderate amounts of wine are less prone to depression, and the 2012 vintage of Victory White, a wine dedicating to encouraging Hillary Clinton to run for President in 2016.

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LINKS:

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

Mark Spivak

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A cicerone is a beer expert, the beer world’s equivalent of a sommelier.

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LINKS:

The Cicerone Certification Program—Link to: http://www.cicerone.org

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

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At one time, dry rosé from the South of France was one of the most popular wine categories in America. Then the dreaded White Zinfandel epidemic swept across the land: Like the plague during the Middle Ages, it destroyed everything in its path, obliterating good taste much as the plague wiped out human lives. After a while, serious wine drinkers didn’t want to be caught drinking pink wine in public, for fear that others would think it was White Zinfandel ; of course, White Zinfandel drinkers didn’t want dry rosé either, because it wasn’t sweet enough.

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Dry rosé became one of the Rodney Dangerfield wine categories, shunned by almost everyone. In the past five years it had made a miraculous comeback, enjoying growth of 30-40% per year. Mark looks at the styles of dry rosé, along with the leading producers and popular food pairings. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark surveys a trio of stories: new research detailing the effect of alcohol on your waistline; a winemaker in Croatia who can no longer call his dessert wine Prosek, because the EU is afraid someone might confuse it with Prosecco; a Virginia winemaker who was arrested for making sixty-seven cents worth of Grappa, and charged with a felony.

LINKS:

Provence Rosé—Link to: http://www.provencewineusa.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

The post Quench! – Pink Wine: The Agony and the Ecstasy appeared first on WebTalkRadio.net.

Until several decades ago, pairing wine with food was an exercise with its own set of sacred rules. In recent years those rules have been challenged and broken—partly because the nature of restaurant cooking has changed, but also because of consumer empowerment. Mark examines a few of the traditional and modern approaches, and exposes some myths of food and wine pairing. He talks with New Zealand native Matt Lambert, chef and proprietor of The Musket Room in lower Manhattan, who has partnered with the Nobilo winery to create recipes that accompany some of the wines in their portfolio. Matt discusses how he came up with the recipes, and how he paired components of the dishes to elements in the wine. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark discusses two of the stranger beer stories that have recently surfaced: the Japanese popularity of flavored beer processed through Slurpee machines, and an Alaskan company that has developed a dehydrated beer for hikers and campers.

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LINKS:

The Musket Room—Link to: http://www.musketroom.com

Nobilo Winery—Link to: http://www.nobilowines.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

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German wine has certainly had its ups and downs. In the early 1970s, it was one of the most popular wine categories in America, the go-to drink for neophytes who were first getting acquainted with wine. Its market share began to slip toward the end of that decade, with the rise of California wine and the epidemic of White Zinfandel. Starting in the late 1990s, however, it became popular again—but with a twist. Wine drinkers had become more sophisticated, and they were no longer content with Blue Nun. Having spent the intervening decades consuming estate bottled, vineyard-designated wines from everywhere else, they demanded a higher level of quality from Germany. Mark chats with Julie Swift, U.S. Marketing Director for P.J. Valckenberg, the largest importer of German estate wines into the U.S. She offers her insights on what to look for, how to choose German wine, and what foods to pair it with. On Bizarre Beverage News, Mark investigates the Coravin, the latest miracle technology in wine preservation.

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LINKS:

P.J. Valckenberg—Link to: http://www.valckenberg.com

Iconic Spirits: An Intoxicating History—Link to:

Mark Spivak

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