'Groovy' Dry White From Austria Great for Summer

Riesling, Oregon, Costieres de Nimes, and Kermit Lynch are your friends

(NEWSER) - Ordering wine in a restaurant can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. "Quit being afraid of wine!" wine blogger Nilay Gandhi writes for The Awl . "There's one truth to that wine list you're so terrified to negotiate: it's full of baloney." You can't go wrong by ignoring half of the vintages on it, which are "show wines. Stop ordering them." More»

Price does matter, but it's possible to find exciting varieties

(NEWSER) - Chardonnay is ubiquitous, but the “countless weak versions,” especially in the $10 category, disappoint wine lovers, writes Eric Arnold in Forbes. Nevertheless, Americans gulped down about 60 million 9-liter cases in 2008. If you’re willing to beef up your budget and experiment a bit, you may be surprised at the variety of “styles and flavors—and there's joy to be found in discovering which suit your palate best.” More»

Wine panel rates the best from South America

(NEWSER) - We have reached “the vast plateau in the middle of summer,” the time when “one of wine’s primary purposes is to offer relief from the daily bout with seasonal oppression,” writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times. Summer wines, “like a good beach read, should be engaging enough to retain interest but not heavy.” Sauvignon blancs fit perfectly, so his tasting panel sampled a variety from South America: More»

We love cold things, but a good white wine should only be lightly chilled

(NEWSER) - America loves cold things, from beer to overly air-conditioned theaters. But we’re only hurting ourselves by “chilling white wine far too long and drinking it way too cold,” writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times. As long as the wine is good, serving it directly out of the fridge “deprives one of fully enjoying the complex aromas and delicious flavors in the glass.” More»

(NEWSER) - It’s not easy, but it is possible to find inexpensive American wine that “will fascinate and intrigue,” Eric Asimov writes in the New York Times. Whereas European vintners grow a diverse range of regional grapes, Americans generally stick to classics like cabernet sauvignon, resulting in “a small amount of top-flight wine along with an ocean of generic.” Still, there are notable exceptions. More»