As we all know, use of the 100-point scoring system is very popular among wine reviewers – after all, it’s very easy to understand – each point is equal to one percent, leading up to the perfect wine. Or is it that simple?...
In this video, Tom Shoults answers some questions about why we use cork to seal our bottles, and where it comes from. Tom is our resident cork expert, since when he's not here he is a sales agent for Gueltig Cork, a German cork supplier to the wine industry...
I had the opportunity to attend an excellent August Briggs winery dinner last night at Le Mistral restaurant in McLean, Virginia. Chef Tino (full name AUGUSTINO) Buggio prepared a beautiful and delicious four-course meal for an enthusiastic crowd. The third course, pan roasted New Zealand lamb chop with a ratatouille charlotte, was paired with two of our Cabernets, the Monte Rosso and the Napa Valley...
I've been thinking a lot about wine tasting since my last blog. I thought back to when I first got into wine, now about 25 years ago - one thing that amazed me then and still amazes me today is the sheer variety of wine styles, types, and flavors available. With the increased interest in wine and more modern transport methods, this variety available has only increased during that time. So how can you find what you like?...
“Taste is Personal” – a simple enough headline, but it caught my attention since it was in my blog subscriptions inbox from none other than the Wine Spectator, (I believe) the world’s largest wine publication. Several of their fine writers do their own blogging, and this one was from Bruce Sanderson. I thought this was a very interesting post, coming from a magazine that is, essentially, telling thousands and thousands of people what they should buy and drink every issue via their scores and reviews. Bruce basically writes in this post that all wine drinkers should taste for themselves and decide what they like – BRAVO! Our owner Joe Briggs and I couldn’t agree more...
We woke the boys up early one day last week (can you tell?) to taste our biggest reds - the 2005 August Briggs Petite Sirahs from Napa Valley and the Red Hills of Lake County. These bottlings of 100% Petite Sirah offer an interesting comparison of how the location of the two different vineyards are reflected in the wine.
Joe's nephews go into our barrel cellar to taste our 3 Cabs from the 2005 vintage side by side - the Napa, Monte Rosso Vineyard (Sonoma Vly), and Two Moon Vineyard (Dry Creek Vly). Give us your comments on these wines (via clicking on "read" below), or if you haven't tried them yet, come by our tasting room and ask these guys to share some with you. Crank up your speakers a bit to hear it well ---
