Education Archives - Marczyk Fine Wines

What are we drinking? Chillable Reds!
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What are we drinking? Chillable Reds!

Education, Red, WAWDN - What Are We Drinking Now?, Wine

What are we drinking? Chillable Reds!

What is a Chillable Red? You may have recently noticed our chilled reds section in our cooler or seen a tag on a red wine in the shop that says, “Chill me!” For some, a chilled red reminds them of bad Italian restaurants where ALL the wine has been chilled to a flavorless level, and, for others, it may remind you of your friend who always takes her Cab with ice. We’re not here to judge anyone’s methods of enjoyment, but let us explain what WE imagine a “chillable red” to be and why it’s getting so much press [...]

By Kristen Lindbeck| 2024-10-31T15:02:02+00:00 October 31st, 2024|

What’s With That Cheese? Well, White Wine!
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What’s With That Cheese? Well, White Wine!

Education, Wine, Wine & Food Pairing

What’s With That Cheese? Well, White Wine!

With fall arriving, it's time to think about delicious seasonal cheeses, and the wines that match. Thanks to Bill St John, we have a cheat sheet for you! What’s With That Cheese? Well, White Wine! By and large, and despite common assumptions, white wines do a better job than red wines as regular partners for cheese. The higher native acidity of white wines is a happier match for both the high salt and fat of most cheeses. Read on: Comté (France) with white Côtes du Rhône Emmenthaler (Switzerland) with Dry Sauvignon Blanc (Sancerre or New Zealand) Fresh Goat with [...]

By Bill St. John| 2024-10-02T19:02:20+00:00 October 2nd, 2024|

What is Pét-Nat?
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What is Pét-Nat?

Bubbly, Education, Natural Wines, Uncategorized, Wine

What is Pét-Nat?

BY KRISTEN LINDBECK While pét-nats seem to be all the rage for some, others are still on the fence, wondering what a pét-nat is and if they should care more about them and maybe jump on the pét-nat train, too. You are not lame or behind the times if you don't know what a pét-nat is, and it's okay if you've never had one. It's also okay if you don't (or think you don't) like them, but give us a chance today to explain them, defend them and define them a bit, and you might walk away from this [...]

By Kristen Lindbeck| 2024-10-02T18:49:04+00:00 October 1st, 2024|

What is Natural Wine?
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What is Natural Wine?

Education, Natural Wines, Wine

What is Natural Wine?

Many of you may have noticed how many buzzwords there are these days regarding the world of wine (specifically, natural wine), so we thought it might behoove us all to take a moment (or many) to delve into these words and phrases that have become so commonly used of late. Words/phrases like "natural," "organic," "biodynamic," "unfiltered," "low intervention," "pet nat," "chillable red," "skin contact," and "glu glu" are all terms you may have heard, but what do they mean? Like REALLY mean. When it comes to "natural" wine, there's no single clear definition that encompasses the term fully, so [...]

By Kristen Lindbeck| 2024-10-02T18:49:22+00:00 September 5th, 2024|

Residual Sugar in Wine: Can We All Just Chill Out???
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Residual Sugar in Wine: Can We All Just Chill Out???

Education, Wine, XYZ 101

Residual Sugar in Wine: Can We All Just Chill Out???

Residual Sugar in Wine: Can We All Just Chill Out??? By: Fleur Alvarez Sugar...visions of bleach-white menacing little granules of PURE, PURE EVIL!? Sound about right? We certainly have learned to love hating the 12 atoms of carbon, 22 of hydrogen, and 11 of oxygen that compose our little molecular buddies we call sucrose...but, is our vilification just, or are we simply stickin’ these dudes with a bum rap? Venture on my plucky readers, in hopes that these soothing words will assuage your fears, demystify your concerns, and perhaps even comfort you to the point of embracing these absolutely [...]

By Marczyk Fine Wines| 2021-11-30T21:13:55+00:00 November 30th, 2021|

De Vinis Naturalibus: On Natural Wine
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De Vinis Naturalibus: On Natural Wine

Education, Wine, XYZ 101

De Vinis Naturalibus: On Natural Wine

De Vinis Naturalibus On Natural Wine By Marshall Davidson Having worked in wine shops since college, it has been a pleasure to see the popularity of natural wine grow over the years. I remember being at Total Wine when I was twenty-two and asking my manager what it meant when a label proclaimed that a wine was natural. “After all,” I asked, “isn’t all wine natural? It’s just fermented grape juice, right?” My manager thought for a moment, shrugged, and said, “It’s just a marketing gimmick I think.” Oh, how wrong he was. Still, while I’ve learned the term [...]

By Marczyk Fine Wines| 2022-04-25T02:35:28+00:00 November 30th, 2021|

What is Bio-Dynamic Wine?
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What is Bio-Dynamic Wine?

Education, Rose, Wine

What is Bio-Dynamic Wine?

The term ‘bio-dynamic’ is used to describe an approach to farming that is ethical, holistic and ecological, and it applies not only to planting and harvesting wine, but it is also a practice put forth by farmers of all types of agriculture. It is a relationship that is shared with the land, the product, and the myriad of organisms living in the farm. In many ways, it is considered the first take on modern organic agriculture. Furthermore, ‘bio-dynamic’ is a trademarked term that can encompass a vast assortment of different practices and methods. These methods can range from consulting [...]

By Marczyk Fine Wines| 2020-09-28T21:29:50+00:00 November 19th, 2019|

Natural Wine
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Natural Wine

Education, Wine

Natural Wine

Nature is a thing of beauty, as is wine. When the natural approach to making wine is enlisted, a rather unique and expressive version of fermented grape juice is the result. While it is currently on an upward trend among buyers and consumers alike, this style of wine making is not new, and it can even be traced back to the eighth century BC. Natural wines are, in short, a result of minimal intervention from the winemaker, and they are quite unlike other wines on the market. Moreover, in drinking these wines one may even feel as if the juice [...]

By Marczyk Fine Wines| 2020-09-28T21:35:02+00:00 September 12th, 2019|

Lambrusco
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Lambrusco

Bubbly, Education, Wine

Lambrusco

Tis’ the season for pink bubbles. With so many options regarding style, format and price point, there is plenty of reason to branch out and dive into Lambrusco. The word Lambrusco may conjure thoughts of sweet, cloying, syrupy wine that is dense and one-dimensional. On the contrary, Lambrusco can be made into rather elegant wine that both treads lightly and delivers depth. While these wines do possess a fizz, their bubbles are not quite as alive and animated as those found in Champagne, Cava or even most Proseccos. Specifically, Lambrusco is the type of grape, which encompasses over [...]

By Marczyk Fine Wines| 2020-09-28T21:41:14+00:00 July 31st, 2019|

Beaujolais
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Beaujolais

Education, Wine

Beaujolais

The word Beaujolais can evoke a whole range of thoughts and associations: Thanksgiving, Nouveau, Gamay. The latter is the only grape used in this esteemed wine-making region of France, while the former is widely regarded as the season to consume said wine. Caught in between is a word that might make devout wine drinkers cringe, especially those who prefer the finesse of old-world, terroir driven wines, but there is an occasion for everything. Beaujolais is a small (we’re talking less than 40 miles long and less than 10 wide) area that is due south of the famous Burgundy region, and [...]

By Marczyk Fine Wines| 2020-09-28T21:45:30+00:00 May 14th, 2019|

Italian Wine Labels by the Alphabet
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Italian Wine Labels by the Alphabet

Education, Wine

Italian Wine Labels by the Alphabet

DOC and DOCG Italy’s law of Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) regulates the production and labeling of a significant share of Italian wine. The law intends to give purchasers of a DOC wine a reasonable expectation that a wine labeled as, say, Barbera d’Alba will be both a Barbera d’Alba in fact and in style. That is, it will look, smell, taste, feel and age like a Barbera d’Alba—because it is. The words Denominazione di Origine Controllata roughly translate as “the name [of a wine] is governed [or set] by its place of origin.” The underlying idea of DOC is [...]

By Bill St. John| 2020-09-28T21:47:09+00:00 May 14th, 2019|

Margaux
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Margaux

Education, Red, Wine

Margaux

Margaux has the distinction, among the Médoc’s six winemaking communes, of being both the largest in area and diverse in style. It alone sports estates at all five levels of the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wines. Too, the soil is the poorest of the Médoc; the amount of gravel, the highest; the climate, the warmest; and the yield per acre, the lowest. The 4th century Latin poet, Ausonius, while in residence across the Gironde from this area, wrote of the Gallo-Roman thermal baths here, the termes mauojaliques, also known as “Marojallia.” Hence, over time, the name “Margaux.” While unquestionably a [...]

By Bill St. John| 2020-09-28T21:48:51+00:00 May 14th, 2019|