Grapevine

When I was younger I drank wine to be sociable, to be used as a prop for an engaging conversation, either with the other sex or with friends seeking to engage the other sex. And of course when I was

What are Americans drinking? How much are Americans drinking? These are subjects I’ve explored on numerous occasions with readers. And each year the dynamics change. As the availability of international wines increases in the United States, and as Americans’ palates

What began as an analytical approach to comparing the processing of grapes and cacao beans to their logical end-product of wine and chocolate, has stirred more interest than I expected. In recent columns, I’ve focused on the similarities in the

This past weekend, as I sat at my keyboard contemplating the 396th column of You Heard It through the Grapevine, an urge struck me to indulge in one of the topics I had previously focused on. So it is that

The natural and scientific components of winemaking are similar to the production of numerous other products. These products share the core processes and procedures of winemaking, but digress at some point in their unique lifecycles. The end results bear the

There are numerous parallels to winemaking in the natural world, as man has endeavored to extend winemaking techniques to other agricultural harvests. The end results bear the imprint of the winemaking process but are distinct unto themselves. Cheese, bread, yogurt,

The process of making wine, with its natural life cycle of fruit-producing grapevines to fermented juice to bottled wine, has been carried on for millennia. For all of the modern technology and techniques, it remains an ancient art best expressed

Did you happen to see the photos on the front page of The New York Times last week depicting the effects of the four-year-long California drought? The photos accompanied the report that Gov. Jerry Brown had mandated water use reductions

Which end of the wine budget spectrum do you find yourself in discussions with friends or family? “Why do you spend so much on a bottle of wine? My $8 bottle of wine is just as good as your $25