Are you planning a party ? Are you going to one?  Needing a gift but not sure what wine to select?

Hosting a  party or finding a great gift for a wine lover just got easier with our tips on finding crowd-pleasing, drinkable wine that caters to diverse tastes, while also finding wines that are unique and stand out.

We have an approach to finding crowd pleaser wines in our latest blog article. We liken it to Goldilocks - remember her? But now we've moved up, from porridge to wine.

Read on for expert tips and find your own Goldilocks wine!

What is umami flavor? Do you know that it is considered a fifth taste, after sweet, sour, bitter, and salty? In what foods can you find this fifth taste? Can you find umami in wine as well as food? … You may not know that some wines have umami flavors, or that certain wines pair better with umami dishes than others. Discover the flavor of umami and how it interacts with wines in this article.

This is the story of a Ukrainian woman, farm raised who winds up immigrating to Italy and heading up a winery in the mountains surrounding Modena, called Frignano. Upon meeting Irene Balim, we were struck by her commitment and passion towards the unknown native grape varieties in her area and to making traditional and natural styles of sparkling wine, trailblazing in the heart of Lambrusco land. This woman in wine and farm girl at heart has an inspiring story. Read it in her words in this exclusive interview with this woman winemaker.

Wine and beer lovers need not pick a side! Let us find middle ground in the wine vs beer discussion with something that both can love. Through exploring alternative wines and lambic sour beer, we can find beers that wine lovers can enjoy and pet nat wine that beer fans will fall in love with. In this article we find the common ground between wine and beer, so beer drinkers can find wines that they will enjoy.

How are YOU celebrating the Holidays? Whether pairing foods like potato latke or Grandma’s favorite Christmas cookie, this guide to pairing wine and food will help you choose a great Holiday wine for your table no matter what you celebrate. Inside you will find suggestions for not only full bodied red wines, or age worthy white wines, but also sparkling wines from Italy and sweet dessert wines. Pick out great tasting Christmas wines, wines to pair with Hannukah’s fried feasts and New Years Sparklers.

You want to give wine for gift, and you want it to be special, either something they don’t have already, or something that will surprise, and impress them, yet something that they will also like the taste of. That seems like a tall order for what seems like a simple task, especially with the myriad of wine selections out there.

We’ve made it easier for you to gift for wine lovers with our first wine gift guide, that we are introducing just in time for the holiday gifting season.

For the wine lover on your list, be it a friend, colleague, customer, family member, or significant other, use our wine and olive oil gift guide to find a wine in line with their wine taste preferences, whether it’s bold red wines, old world wine, natural wine, orange wines, rose wines, champagne style wines, pet nat wines, even EVOO, use our list to find the best wine for gift giving and build your own wine gift baskets.

Do you love wine but then struggle finding the ‘right words’ to describe it? Or are you on your way to becoming a wine expert and need a de-brief on terminology for wine tasting?

What does complex mean? Or what is a primary aroma? What is a smooth wine?

We are on a mission to teach you how to fish… for wine!

Here is a wine glossary of terms you can use during your next wine tasting or wine pairing to work your way to becoming a wine pro. Then put these descriptive wine words into practice by buying the wines which fit each definition. Then have wine tasting home party with your wine loving friends. Sooner rather than later you will master wine speak!

Get started by learning the wine description words inside.

Confused about wine terminology, like natural wine, biodynamic wine, native yeast, col fondo, orange wine? While some terms are well defined, others can have alot of gray areas, so you’re not alone! When we seek out small, farm-to-glass wineries, we do vet them out based upon certain criteria. We put together this list of wine lingo that we use and are happy to share with you.

Did you know that in the ‘olden times’ sparkling wine was not made intentionally? The bubbles would just appear in the spring after the wine was harvested and bottled. Hence where the ‘ancestral method’ of making wine came about. This style of winemaking is ‘all the buzz’ as of late with the popularity, especially amongst ‘wine explorers’, of pet nat and col fondo sparkling wines. Read up in this article.

Lambrusco is a historic, underrated sparkling red wine, with 17 grape varieties and many ways it’s wide, from dry to sweet, from charmat to champenois method. There is so much to know… and learn to enjoy! Read more to find out why you should be sipping on Lambrusco today.