Wine and Cheese Party - Five pairings - pairings worth shouting about. As effervescent spirits, sparkling wines and champagne share similar characteristics. Ken Cheuvront, owner of Cheuvront's Wine and Cheese Cafe in Phoenix, suggests the five following pairings for a simple, yet memorable celebration. Serve the champagne in flutes and the cheese unadorned. Crackers or bread dilute the flavors of the cheese and champagne and should only be served as palate fresheners. Cheuvront recommends ... read more.

Quite the pair - Picking the right artisan cheeses and champagnes - If you're spending New Year's Eve at home, usher in 2006 on the right culinary foot by toasting with champagne and artisan cheese.
Champagne, as well as sparkling wine, brings out the best in cheese, and vice versa. In addition, serving artisan cheese with New Year's bubbly is an easy way to celebrate: No dishes, no fussing in the kitchen.
"Pairings are very personal. Some people will like a buttery cheese with sweet champagne, while others want a strong, robust cheese to cut the sweetness," said Ken Cheuvront, owner of Cheuvront's Wine and Cheese Cafe in central Phoenix.
The selection of artisan cheeses has never been better.... read more

Getting The Most Out Of Wine Tasting - A step-by-step guide to a lifelong journey.
THERE ARE REALLY ONLY THREE DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO TASTING WINE.
FIRST is the path of the hedonist. You find a wine you like and share it with good company over a delicious meal. This is romance. This is pleasure. This is simple enjoyment. If you're reading this, you're probably a hedonist already.
SECOND is the path of the expert. You examine a wine. You identify, describe and evaluate its features and then you relate them back to their origins. This is science. This is a lot of work. This requires years of study.
THIRD is the path of the connoisseur. You look to wine for both pleasure and knowledge. This path is no easier to travel than the expert's path, but it doesn't lead to snobbery or pretension. It embodies true appreciation. You train your palate and ... read more

Are You A Good Taster? - Recently I was talking with Aldo Conterno. He's surely one of Barolo's greatest producers, but (less well-known) he's also a superb wine taster. I brought up the Barolos of a fellow producer, whose wines are quite good but not great, despite the fact that his vineyards are. How this could be?
"He can't taste," replied Aldo. "He can't see what's missing. It's as simple as that."
It may surprise you to learn how many winemakers aren't that good at wine-tasting. I myself am always surprised when I encounter it, yet it's so.... read more

Judgment Day - It's a question that seemingly won't go away: How can anyone taste 50 or 100 wines in one sitting and actually do a good job at it?
I've lost count of the number of winery owners and winemakers who have insisted that it cannot be done. (Rarely are they producers who have received high scores, however.) These critics point to the undeniable fact that palate fatigue and/or habituation sets in quite soon. The cutoff point varies with whatever study is cited (if any), but the usual number is around a dozen wines.
I am not a taster who, as part of my daily work... read more