ARTICLES BY GEORGE BALLING/THE DINNER PARTY
Arsenic and other issues
We taste and have wines on our shelves here at the dinner party that range from the very inexpensive - around $10 per bottle - to prices many of us would find unreasonable to pay for a single bottle of wine. There are customers and markets for all of them. …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 1 MONTH AGO
Winemaker and grape grower 'buzzwords'
Winemakers and grape growers have their own vernacular, their own "buzzwords" they use when describing all they do throughout the growing season and harvest. When you attend tastings or our winemaker dinners, or visit wineries in wine country, it is tough at times to get questions answered about some of …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO
Vintage reviews
Since we first started writing our column for The Press, we have seen vintages come and go, good ones and challenging ones. Vintage reviews are generalizations by their nature, there are always exceptions, but here is some guidance on vintages from 2007 forward to help guide your purchases.
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO
Winter recommendations
The calendar says February, despite the spring-like temperatures and rain all weekend. We will leave the unseasonable weather to Cliff Harris to let us know when it will end, but we will take care of recommending some great new wines we have found to take us through the shortened days …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 2 MONTHS AGO
Getting to know your palate
No matter the size of your favorite wine retailer, they will never have all of the wine that is available. Even the biggest of big box stores can't have the full selection of wines that are made, especially when you add in all of their private label entries there is …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO
The wines of Piedmont
In the northwest corner of Italy, tucked between the borders of France and Switzerland, lies the Italian wine-growing region of Piedmont. The Italians produce some of our favorite wines, with many varietals coming from all parts of the country: from Piedmont and the Alto Aldige in the north, through Tuscany …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO
Seasons and regions, the easiest way to pair food and wine
The very roots of winemaking are firmly planted in the old world appellations of Europe. Grape varietals are planted and date their lineage to the areas they grow best, driven by all that makes up terroir. Similarly, in certain areas of Europe, foods other than grapes are grown and livestock …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO
Creating your own collection
For most wine consumers, as they move beyond their introductory phase with wine and really start to embrace and explore all the possibilities, we start to think about keeping some bottles on hand. We want to be able to have some of our favorites around, and not have to make …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 3 MONTHS AGO
Wine price misconceptions
Assumptions, opinions, we all have them about most everything, including what wine should cost. Even more importantly, we have them about how a wine should taste when it is "X" dollars. Those assumptions and opinions cut both ways, too. We have all thought or said it during a wine discussion: …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
A tough follow
Mary's brother John, a great winemaker, first coined this phrase at one of the many dinners we shared around our table in Sonoma. "A tough follow" referred to when the second bottle we would open was perhaps not as good as we expected, and definitely not as good as the …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
Oil and wine
Right now most of our loyal readers are questioning that headline, what could the two possibly have to do with each other? It turns out that the rapid drop in oil prices - a holiday gift for many of us, resulting in lower fuel costs - will likely moderate wine …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
Time for a toast
It is indeed that time of year when we gather with friends and family. Celebrations are bigger, and each in our own way, a bit more extravagant. We spend more, but not always in dollars. Many times, we just commit more of our own emotion and energy into creating a …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
Your choices
For the next couple of months, wine consumers will be bombarded with this list and that list of the best wines. From big box retailers to wine publications, there will be many interpretations of what constitutes a great wine. As a wine writer who also works daily with customers, I …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 4 MONTHS AGO
'Bubbly' status
Champagne, sparkling wine, Cava, Prosecco - and probably a few names I have missed - they are all fun and festive wines with varying degrees of sweetness, effervescence and alcohol. One thing we all know for sure, though, is they set a festive mood at this festive time of year. …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO
Questions of oak and ageing
We always welcome questions from readers and customers, and find that many of you have similar inquiries, so we answer them right here in the weekly wine column. We recently have heard from a couple of different folks that wines they were holding to drink on special occasions had not …
COEUR D'ALENE PRESS | UPDATED 10 YEARS, 5 MONTHS AGO
