Inez Ribustello's Wine Blog
From the category archives:
During these past few years of studying for the Master Sommelier exam, I have been intrigued by different cocktails on restaurant lists or clever renditions highlighted in the New York Times. In preparing for the cocktail portion of the service exam, I started researching a few classic cocktails as well as the history behind them. [...]
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I’ve waited awhile to write about the competition because while I like to have things fresh in my mind, I didn’t want to come across as being the least bit disappointed in the results. In fact, I am extremely glad I waited to blog because some revelations were made in the time period afterwards that [...]
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in San Francisco, at Monk’s Kettle, a beer haven recommended to me by a fellow sommelier. My problem with wine right now (besides the obvious competition tomorrow) is that I’d rather drink beer. It’s been a major cram session, I have to say, and right now, I don’t feel like I could tell you the [...]
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So here I am back at work in my office trying to figure out the regions of Germany when I receive an email from one of our wine purveyors featuring one of my favorite wine regions from my absolute favorite producer. What’s a girl to do but buy a case with good intentions to sell [...]
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As is the case so often in life, we begin to think about people and events that took place what seems like an eternity ago. Today, I came across a magazine edition of Slammed, a periodical dedicated to the restaurant industry. No longer in print, I picked up this old, ragged copy with my first [...]
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As I write, I am riding on Highway 97 heading toward Hancock, New York, a town approximately 15 miles away from the hamlet of Lordville, population 79 people. Lordville is the place where my father-in-law lives, and the place where I love to vacate more than any other. It is at Pop Pop’s cabin where [...]
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As this is a wine blog, and hopefully, people reading it won’t judge me too much for saying wine is a way of life, I have to share what’s going on in my current world to explain. As a mother of a five-year-old girl who is quite the head-strong perfectionist I totally deserve, it has [...]
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How I love thee, let me count the ways. You are perfect to drink when there is nothing to eat. You are in your own, total glory when arugula, green curry, jalapenos or juicy steak is at hand. Whatever is on the plate, you seem to know exactly what to wear, and as if [...]
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Answer: Flavor compounds responsible for herbaceous flavors in wine, such as the bell pepper aroma in cabernet. Just in case you thought my blog was getting too soft and emotional versus winey and intellectual, I thought I would surprise you a bit with big words that may stump the average person. Methoxypyrazines, pronounced ‘me-thoxy-pie-razines’ are [...]
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Hello all…I apologize for being so slack in my blogging. It isn’t that I haven’t had anything to write about, it’s more that my May has been as busy as our last December. A pretty busy May, or as one of our wonderful customers said to me today, “You’re busier than a one armed paper [...]
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So many of you who drink wine may think I am getting ready to talk about the wines of St. Francis in Sonoma, but you would then think I misspelled the name of the winery which I would try to never do. No, instead, I want to tell you a story of a woman very dear [...]
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One fundamental lesson that constantly reminds me of my priorities on a day-to-day basis is the importance of relationships. Just like the importance of saying thank you or the importance of not always saying what is on your mind, the importance of maintaining relationships at every level will help you progress in education, career and [...]
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Dear Friends, I kept a secret from you. I apologize for being deceptive in any way, but I was too nervous, too insecure, too scared to share it because I didn’t want to disappoint you yet again. The Court of Master Sommeliers, the group I have so desperately been trying to join, has started a [...]
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I have been a little unavailable lately due to my concentration on studies, and one of the biggest reasons is the material I am studying. When I have something to write about, I want it to be fascinating to the reader, regardless if they like wine or not. Lately, when I am trying to memorize [...]
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I’ve been talking so much about the wines of North Carolina that I have almost neglected the other wonderful beverage I also love to drink. Beer, beer, beer. A beverage I honestly crave at lunch time, in the afternoon and after a long, eventful night. There is something about drinking a cold beer that makes my [...]
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