It feels like we are on the cusp of Summer, with warmer temperatures bringing bees and blooms to the Good Life Garden at the heart of the Robert Mondavi Institute.
Chocolate and wine are more similar than one might think. For example, chocolate and wine are both fermented, can be analyzed for tasting notes and other sensory descriptors like tannins, and are produced worldwide. With so many different styles and origins of wine and chocolate, tasters can have a lot of fun deciphering which kinds of wines and chocolates best pair together to create a divine sensory experience.
Every winemaker has a toolkit. Before, during, and after fermentation, the winemaker can use their tools to craft the wine they want to create, a wine that fits their style, the consumer’s desires, or the vineyard/region. Part of this toolkit is wine additions. These additions are dictated by the laws of the local wine region and, should the wine be exported, the wines of the importing country.
When a consumer walks down the grocery store wine aisle, their eyes are simultaneously bombarded with a multitude of colors and pictures on labels, with each label representing one of the many brands trying to reach the consumer. Competition abounds, so brands attempt to grab consumers’ attention quickly. There is one wine company that stands out. It’s not because of fancy embossed labels or contorted glass bottles; rather, O’Neill Vintners and Distillers stands out because of its commitment to sustainability.
A new, $5.25 million greenhouse is being built on the University of California, Davis, campus to safeguard an important grapevine collection from red blotch disease and other pathogens.
If you’re a wine drinker like me, you probably have some fundamental knowledge about grape varieties. For example, Sauvignon Blanc makes white wine and Pinot Noir makes red wine, right? Well, it depends!
Next week, the Spring semester starts, and for the first time since March 2020, students and staff are on campus and can forgo face coverings. The mask requirement change is a significant milestone for the college and our community, taking small steps back to normal. However, we are still committed to supporting one’s personal choice to wear a mask and will remain flexible in light of COVID developments.
As someone who has studied viticulture and enology in both my bachelor’s and my current master’s program, I have learned that most grape-growing and winemaking is problem-solving. It’s up to the grape-grower and winemaker if they want to problem-solve proactively or reactively (or both), but trust me, the problems will come eventually and need solving—and you simply can’t prepare for them all.
If consumers cannot tell the quality of a product when they buy it, it can drive high-quality products, like a good French wine, out of the market. Consumers would not pay a premium, and producers would have no incentive to make costly quality improvements. This widely held economic tenet, formalized in a famed article by Nobel Prize-winner George Akerlof, suggests that without standards, consumers could be left with mostly “lemons,” such as defective used cars.
Since COVID-19, socially distanced, virtual, and remote functioning has become the norm. Many people, businesses, and institutions have had to scramble to adapt to this new way of life. However, Wine.com has been unknowingly prepared since it was founded in 1998 with its expansive digital shop and focus on bringing wine and spirits right to the consumer’s door.
Looking for an easy A with a happy hour? Don’t enroll in the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California-Davis.
“A lot of students come here thinking they’re going to get to taste a lot of wine,” says Andrew L. Waterhouse, director of the Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science and professor of enology.
