Winery-Sage “U”

…It All Starts In the Field

For now, we’ve finished our wine education posts.  If you have a question, submit it to us and we’ll answer your questions and perhaps write a post about it.

Winery-Sage.com’s Winery University is a free online resource for aspiring wine enthusiasts who want more wine knowledge but don’t know where to get it.  There is no cost and we don’t ask for your contact information.  We are just passionate about teaching “all things wine”.  We created Winery-Sage “U” as an informal, self-paced wine tutorial and the best part…we even let you drink in class…in fact we encourage it.  If you are new to wine or just looking to round out your knowledge, we probably have resource for you.

While informative, it’s also a slightly irreverent journey that describes the path wine has taken from its origins from thousands of years ago to our consciousness and from vineyard to barrel and glass.  We’ll teach you how to choose, store, serve and preserve wine (assuming there is actually leftover wine).  We’ll also point out the difference between European and U.S. wines and how to recognize the similarities and differences.  You won’t get a formal degree but hey, you get what you pay for and Winery-Sage.com is free so other than investing a few hours of your time to learn about wine, there’s no other requirement.

But for now…we’re going to start our journey back in the dim and distant past at the origins of winemaking when the first winemaker unintentionally discovered that if fruit spoils, something magical and mind altering occurs. Enjoy the ride…

History and Background – Probably Stuff That You Don’t Really Need to Know But Helps In Understanding the Whole “Wine Thing”

• A Brief History of Wine Making in 15 Seconds
• AVA, Appellations & Some Other Seemingly Random Terms in Spanish & Italian That Are Really Tough To Pronounce
• The Vineyard and Terroir – No Not Terrier or Terror…Terroir
• Grape Vines – Getting to the Root of the Wine Grape Growing
• So What’s In A Name?  Making Sense of “Old Vine” Labels
• How Much Wine Is Actually In That Vine?
• Grape Fruit (Not Grapefruit)

How Wine Is Made and Stored (Assuming of Course, the Winemaker Didn’t Start Drinking Too Early In the Day)

• Harvest and Crush – Where the Pampered Fruit Gets the Crap Beat Out Of It
• How Wine Is Actually Made 
• Fermentation and Carbonation – How Yeast and Sugar Changed The World and Introduced the Hangover to Modern Man

Buying, Storing, Serving & Preserving Wine Without Sounding Like a Pompous Ass

• Reading Wine Labels (Part 1): What Are Wineries Required to Print on Wine Labels?
• Reading Wine Labels (Part 2): What Can Clever Marketers Put On Labels to Mislead You?
• Cross Referencing European to US Wines – Yep…One More Language to Learn
• Serving Wine Part 1 – Introduction…AKA…Buying Good Wine Is Pointless If It’s Not Served Correctly
• Serving Wine Part 2 – No Tuxedo or Snotty Attitude Required But You Do Need the Right Type of Wine Glass
• Serving Wine Part 3 – Allowing Wine to Breath Doesn’t Mean “Giving It Some Space”
• Serving Wine Part 4 – It’s Sedimentary My Dear Watson
• Serving Wine Part 5 – Stop Your Wine From Getting Hot and Bothered
• Serving Wine Part 6 – Storing Opened, Unfinished Wine – Yeah, It Actually Does Happen
• Serving Wine Part 7 – Aging Wine in the Hope That It Will Grow Old With More Grace Than We Do
• How Much To Spend On A Bottle Of Wine (While Making Sure You Can Still Afford To Eat)
• Where and How to Buy Wine – – How Not to Spend Your Entire Paycheck On A Bottle of Wine, Part 2
• Wine Bottle Shapes – Individuality Can Reek Havoc With Your Storage
• Wine Bottle Sizes – How Much Wine In A Bottle Makes For A Really Good Time – Part 1?
• Wine Bottle Sizes – How Much Wine In A Bottle Makes For A Really Good Time – Part 2?
• The Wine Bottle Rant
• Opening Wine Bottles Without Resorting To Serious Power Tools
• Opening Wine Bottles With Damaged Corks

Wine Flavors and Pairing Wine With Food (Or Passing Wine Off As Food)

• Pairing Wine with Food Because Wine Is More Important Than Food
• Pairing Food with Wine Because Food Is Pretty Cool Even If Wine Is More Important
• How Wine is Described By Those Snooty People Who Invent Terms Like Terroir
• Wine Defects and Other Problems That Make Wine Taste Like Compost