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About
Our List
What a pleasure it has been to create this wine list! We have hand-picked
every entry, and happily guarantee that you will be pleased with
your choice. In many cases, we know the winemakers or owners personally.
Their integrity and craftsmanship are evident in each bottle.
What
are phenols ?
According
to Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst in "Wine Lover's Companion,"
phenolic compounds are "naturally occurring compounds present
in grape skins and seeds and extracted from oak barrels." They
include "tannins and pigments and are responsible for astringency,
bitterness, color, some flavors and odors (like vanillin), and antioxidant
activity (which helps wine age)." A simple way to illustrate
this concept is the following statement: White wines contain less
phenolic compounds than red wines.
Our
list, taking a phenolic "ladder" as our guide, places
white wines before red wines. Wines which are lighter in style are
at the top of their categories, and those which are progressively
bigger in style follow.
So, even if you do not recognize a particular wine on our list,
you should feel confident in predicting the kind of expression of
its varietal that it is delivering just by where it is located in
its category.
In other words, "bigger" wines will be farther down on
the list in each category.
If
all else fails: Ask. We love to talk wine!
Cheers
- Ellen
A
Drinking Song
Wine comes in at the mouth.
And love comes in at the eye;
That's all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth
I look at you, and I sigh!
- W. B. Yeats
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