Aaron of Wayward Wine won the Monthly Wine Writing Challenge #17 (#MWWC17) and just like all winners of the Challenge, his “reward” was to choose the theme for the following Challenge (in this case #MWWC18). He chose “Crisis.” I’m not going to lie, it has been a very busy July for me. Mike and I spent 8 days in…
In my first entry about cooperage, I discussed the science behind the oak that is used to make the barrels. In the second installment I discussed the actual craftsmanship involved in making the components of the barrel. In this, the final installment, I will discuss thee art behind the assembly of the barrel. After all of the…
In my first entry about cooperage, I discussed the science behind the oak that is used to make the barrels. Although it completely amazes me how much the science influences the decision of which trees to choose, the actual craftsmanship of the barrel astonishes me. The time and precision that it takes to craft a…
The Butterfly Effect: The scientific theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever. As a scientist by education, I believe in this phenomena. Newton’s third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. And a less scientific, but sadly often true,…
This is the third and final post discussing Phylloxera’s impact on the wine industry. The first post was all about the biology of Phylloxera, while the second discussed its impact in France and how that led to the introduction of French hybrids in California. This final post will be a brief view into the history…
Phylloxera is a very complex organism and has had a longtime relationship with wine. There are so many aspects of this relationship, I’ve decided to break it up into several blog entries. My first post was about the organism itself – more biological. This second entry will be the history of phylloxera infestation in France and what…
Phylloxera is a very complex organism and has had a longtime relationship with wine. There are so many aspects of this relationship, I’ve decided to break it up into several blog entries. This first post will be about the organism itself – more biological. The second entry will be the history of phylloxera infestation in…
