By: Daniel Hoey

Choosing the right wines for your Thanksgiving feast

Thanksgiving is upon us, and there is no better time to start selecting wines to complement the feast. It’s also a good time to buy the wine if you don’t have something already stored away that you want to drink, as many wine stores have sales the week before Thanksgiving.

By: Daniel Hoey

When to Harvest – A Matter of Taste

We were in Walla Walla, Washington right after a harvest that was sped along dramatically by a frost the previous week. I met with Matthew Loso, award-winning Washington state winemaker, and talked with him about harvest – the “crush”.

As we walked through the Ahler Vineyard, where Matt is currently making wine for a new brand, Walla Faces, Matt explained his philosophy regarding one of the most important decisions winemakers make, which is when to harvest grapes. The time of harvest is determined primarily by the ripeness of the grape as measured by sugar, acid and tannin levels with winemakers basing their decision to pick based on the style of wine they wish to produce. As it did last month in Walla Walla, the weather can also speed up the timetable of harvesting. Sugar is measured in the U.S. using the Brix scale, which uses specific gravity to determine the percentage of sugar, by weight. Wine grapes are normally harvested between 19° and 25° Brix.