Serious Eats

Posted by Joe Campanale, September 14, 2007

"The Virtue of Old Age": In this post, the Riesling enthusiasts over at Derkellermeister stage a tasting of the same wine of a recent vintage and one that is much, much older. The kick? All of the wines are white and some are aged over 40 years. Especially interesting is the section entitled, "Why are some wines age-worthy and others are not?"

The beauty of reading it from the beginning: Aaron Epstein, a quad-lingual, mid-twenties, and handsome wine expert, has left his job "toting the bag" (industry speak for working for a wholesaler and carrying a case of wines from client to client for tastings) so that he can "work" the grape harvest in Provence then try to assimilate to life in Argentina's wine industry. In this new blog, he sometimes rambles off on wine jargon but then brings readers back to reality with great advice like, "Those of you not in the wine business may be asking yourself why any of this matters. The short answer is it doesn't, really — if you like a wine, drink it."

There's so much to love about good wine. Not least of it all is the vineyards. This dramatic photo gives you the perspective of one single vineyard row. Images like this are enough to make a city mouse move to the country.

And a nod to Eric Asimov, who continues to shine more brightly in his blog than his column in the New York Times. This week Asimov writes of a rare bottle of 1985 Barolo that he comes across on a rainy day. Even more alluring than his descriptions of the wine is the way he is able to convey the sense that the enjoyment of a wine is highlighted by so many factors, the people you are drinking it with, the environment, even the weather. The aged Barolo was great on that rainy day for him and with our last bought of heat, I drank a Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs 2003 that was so refreshing that it seemed not only to quench my thirst but refresh the entire day.

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