Press

Germany, Spain, Italy and Australia were front and center on our tasting trail in August as we rated nearly 2,700 wines from the four countries out of the 3,199 bottles in total we tapped into during the month from 18 countries, including such outliers as Brazil, England, Poland and Romania.

Kerner is a German grape that was developed in 1929 as a cross between Riesling and Trollinger (also known as Schiava Grossa and Vernatsch). It was introduced in the 1960s, first in Germany and then Italy, where it is mainly used in several regional appellations in Alto Adige/Südtirol.

Uni’s flavors are at once demure and extravagant, and the wine pairing should also balance elegance with personality.

When tasting dry Rieslings, ask what you would of any wine: Is it well balanced and a pleasure to drink? These five passed with flying colors.

White wine, some people love it, others swear they only drink red. But you shouldn’t overlook a nice glass of white wine without first diving in to see what you like and don’t like, avoiding sweeping judgments or assumptions along the way. This might surprise you, but there is a plethora of white wine styles out there, and they go fantastically well with all types of food, even steak.

Warmer summers mean earlier and earlier harvests for wine growers, but what do they mean for us wine drinkers? For those determined to drink red wine, high temperatures pose a challenge. Any drink should have an element of refreshment but once wine gets much above 20 °C (68 °F) it loses its precision and starts tasting more like soup. In fact one of the most common faults in more casual bars and restaurants is to store and serve red wine too warm. I often ask for an ice bucket or, in extremis, an ice cube.