Old World vs New World: The Vinous Deductive Challenge, Revisited

Last week, I provided a rudimentary Guide to Blind Wine Tasting. Taste, hypothesize, repeat. This newfound knowledge was immediately put to the test in a blind wine tasting event for the Friends of Italy Society of Hawaii. Italians unrelentingly boast of their wines as unsurpassed anywhere in the world. They are confident, but are they correct? Time to determine whether they can blindly discern the difference in a crowded and diverse lineup. Challenge presented ...

The event commenced with a few elementary tasting tips, followed by a blind tasting of six wines - three Old World Italian and three New World. Those New World newbies couldn’t possibly keep pace with the refined, elegant wines of Italy. Could they? The patrons, as laudable arbitrators, held the final verdict. Would their vinous paesani blindly prevail?

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Costco Corner: The Journey to Mordor Passes Through Wine Country

This week we are back in Costco Corner, expanded edition, searching for those paradoxical low-cost, high-quality wines that occupy the crowded Costco aisles. My faithful tasting team endeavors on an expedition south to New Zealand, the land of Kiwis (fowl, fruit, human), rugby and well-crafted vinous beverages.

Best of all? New Zealand wines do not break the bank. Costco makes certain of it. So pour yourself a glass of plonk and let the Fellowship of the Vine set its course due south. The journey to Mordor must inevitably pass through wine country. As it should.

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