CORK TAINT: DEALING WITH THE MOLDY MONSTER

What is happening when some says that a wine is “corked?”Check this out:

LISTENING TO THE SOUND OF YOUR SOUL: HOW YOU PERCEIVE WINE

We are back on track with the video blogs and are having a blast! Check out how we perceive wine!

WINE TASTING FOR THE WEEKEND IN VIRTUAL REALITY!!

A FORMAL APOLOGY

Always Thinkin'

Dear lovers of wine,

I’ve been having so much fun shooting video blogs about wine and running a restaurant as well as a wine shop in beautiful New York City. I am really lovin’ the vlogging because it gives me a chance to talk to the public as if I was at a wine tasting speaking face to face.

I still have a lot to say about wine.

I have all these ideas about how to approach the subject when faced with shelf unit upon shelf unit of wines from around the world and it feels a bit overwhelming.

I want to talk about sustainable agriculture and its buddies, organic and biodynamic (do some video collab with @ zacharycohen).

Fall is coming and all I can think about is medium and full-bodied reds as well as, big, deep whites, like a good Orvieto and the right Chardonnay with the right amount of oak and balance.

I have a lot to say and there is a lot of fun to be had.

But I have hit a speed bump.

I am temporarily without the adequate facilities to produce a video blog. I am working on it, and hope to be back in front of the camera rambling on about the good juice and all its wonders but right now I am searching for missing pieces.

So, in the meantime please come and say hi to me on twitter (@evwgnyc) and, watch the Fall wine-tasting season unfold. This is where it gets really fun. September is a month full of grand and intimate portfolio tastings alike. They reside in the most ornate of ballrooms and the most humble of restaurant basement private halls.

David and I are getting together next week to get our game-plan together because we are buying for IN VINO as well as ALPHABET CITY WINE CO. And that, my friends, is awesome. What a feeling, to be running around this bad-ass city sipping and spitting (okay, not always spitting) great wines and searching for possible additions to our wine family.

I will be tweeting the whole thing to give a perspective on this side of our world. The magic is in the passion and David and I have loads in reserves waiting, willing, ready and chompin’ at the bit.

I will also use Twitter to let y’all know when I have rounded up the right elements to start shooting the vlogs again- it should be sooner than later. I just need a couple essentials (cameraman, lav mic, proper Mac, etc…) and I will be up and running.

I would like to thank all the people that have come to me and commented on how much they dig the video blogs. Thank you so much for the support! Everyone says don’t stop and I love it. I don’t want to stop…and I won’t stop…’til tha break-a-break-a-dawn.

Stay tuned and thanks for baring with me.

WINE TO THE PEOPLE!!!!!!!

Sincerely,

Keith Beavers

(East Village Wine Geek)

THE TALE OF TWO MONTEPULCIANOS

The word Montepulciano has a couple of meanings. It is a grape and it is a town. Two completely different worlds of flavor, structure and profile. Have you ever ordered a Montepulciano and were disappointed because it tasted completely different than what you thought it was going to be? The wine may not be flawed but just different? Allow me to clear up some confusion.

FRENCH GRAPES IN SOUTH AMERICA

Malbec. Carmenere. Tannat.

Grapes that are making names for themselves in South America.

Three grapes that are allowing three countries define their individual wine cultures.

Yet they are not indigenous. They are from a place called France. Here is a little history.

BOX WINE: DON’T HATE

There is nothing wrong with box wine as long as there is nothing wrong the wine inside the box. What is the trick? I say this a lot but it is sooooooo true: trust your wine merchant.

Here is a little background and what y’all should look out for when buying wine in a box in a box.

Ladies and Gents, The Death of Romance Part II: Box Wine

SCREWCAPS: WHAT’S UP WIT DAT!

I have written about these little guys before but I felt like riffing on it in the video blog. It gives me a chance to convey the info as if I was doing a tasting in the shop. Actually the video is shot in Alphabet City Wine Co.

The title of this one is a bit of a joke. There is nothing wrong with screwcaps. Even though you get a crack and not a pop. Here are couple things you might want to know going forward with this newish enclosure. Check it.

THE CHARDONNAY-SAYERS

I have posted about Chardonnay before.

I love this misunderstood varietal.

Check out my two-part rant on the history of the grape, what went wrong, where it’s going and how it is soooo getting better. (PART I and PART 2)

This week’s video blog is me, riffin’ on this idea.

I understand why our love has waned for Chardonnay so here is a story to bring it back to its humble beginning and hopefully rekindle some old flames.

PUTTIN’ A CHILL ON RED WINE (video blog)

Doing these video blogs are really fun. Andres and I are having a blast trying to make wine fun and entertaining. Learning how to edit video is fun too. Granted its only iMovie but still…..

This week I’m talkin’ about chilling red wine. It is such a cool experience (no pun intended) to sip a well balanced chilled red wine. Balance is the key here. If the wine is not balanced when chilled then the experienced is lost. Even though a red wine is cold it should still show off its subtleties. Which wines are best on ice? I have some ideas……

“Go go work the cold one. Go go work the cold one what?”

- G. Love