WINE Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Dr. Liz Thach, MW

What Dessert Pairs Best with Sparkling Wine? Korbel & Bianchi’s Provide Some Answers

Erica Mandl of Korbel Champagne Cellars For the last tasting of the semester at the SSU WineSense Club, we focused on a holiday theme of sparkling wine and dessert. The beautiful Erica Mandl, head winemaker at Korbel Champagne Cellars, led the tasting by introducing five different Korbel bubblies. These were matched to delectable desserts from the new bakery in Rohnert Park, Bianchi’s. How Sweet is Your Sparkling Wine? Erica cautioned that it was important to understand the level of residual sugar in a sparkling wine, in order to determine the type of dessert with which to pair it. [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:38:10-08:00December 16, 2012|

Average Vineyard Worker Wages in South Africa – Emerging as a BRICS Country

Sept. 2012 - Several times throughout my wine trip to South Africa I asked winemakers the average wage they paid their vineyard workers. The answer was it depends on the region, as well as whether or not the workers have housing and benefits on the property. In terms of regional pay differences, it appears that Stellenbosch pays the highest wages at 170 Rand ($21) per day for a basic vineyard worker who does not live on the estate. Wineries in Cape Point and the Constantia region said they paid 120 – 150R per day ($15 - $18). In Swartland I [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:38:32-08:00November 12, 2012|

The Source & Extinction of “Burnt Rubber” Taste in South African Wines

Last week I had the opportunity to attend CapeWine and visit five major wine growing regions in South Africa. During the course of my eight day visit, I realized that the vast majority of the more than 300 South African wines I tasted did not include the telltale “burnt rubber” note that I used to rely upon to identify “South Africa” in a blind MW tasting. Some people also refer to this taste as “eraser or band aid,” but it is a unique note that has plagued South African wines for many years now – especially in reds and primarily [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:38:57-08:00October 4, 2012|

Benziger Winery Provides “How to Taste” Seminar to SSU Millennials

Kathy Benziger from Benziger Family Winery kicked off the first SSU Wine Club meeting of the semester by hosting a “How to Taste Wine” seminar. It was a packed house with 50 students, and some disappointed ones who had to be turned away from the door because there were no seats left. Kathy did an incredible job of telling the story of Benziger with its inspiring organic, biodynamic and sustainably grown wines. According to Kathy, “Every wine in our portfolio carries a third party certification of green farming practices history.” Favorite Wines of the Evening The favorite wines of the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:40:16-08:00September 18, 2012|

A Tasting of the 20 Top Wines in the Beijing Market

Last week I attended an interesting wine tasting in Beijing with 18 Chinese Millennials between the ages of 21 and 34. It was a tasting of the top 20 wines in the Beijing market priced between 200 – 350 RMB ($30 – 55 US). My friend Qin, a wine professor at the Chinese Agriculture University, organized the tasting as part of a research project. The Chinese Millennials were wine buyers, sommeliers, and wine educators working in Beijing. She is also planning on conducting a similar tasting with a group of consumers and comparing the results in order to understand why [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:40:37-08:00September 5, 2012|

Why Millennials Don’t Read Emails

Last night we had our annual SSU Wine Club Board planning meeting at my house. This is usually a relaxed event where we identify the wineries we want to invite to campus next semester, and enjoy a BBQ dinner with many fun wines. This year’s planning dinner was equally enjoyable, but I was struck by our conversation about how we will promote our educational tasting seminars. “We will market the seminars via word of mouth and Facebook, of course,” said our new VP of Marketing. “Most college students never read emails.” As a college professor, I already knew this, but [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:40:58-08:00May 29, 2012|

Wine Galore! Five Wineries Pour for SSU Millennials – Silver Oak, Twomey Cellars, Corkscrew, Azari Vineyard and Dutcher Crossing

By Guest Author Jenna Riggan - The SSU Wine Sense club was fortunate enough to have five awesome wineries pour for us at the most recent Food & Wine Pairing! 50 students tasted wines from Silver Oak, Twomey Cellars, Corkscrew, Azari Vineyard and Dutcher Crossing. Our chefs prepared delicious food as usual, including tri-tip, asparagus and raspberry brownies. Favorite Wines The first favorite wine of the evening was a 2009 Dutcher Crossing Stuhlmuller Vineyard Alexander Valley Chardonnay. ($34.00) This wine was an instant favorite with its floral aromas, and lemon, vanilla and crème brulée flavors. Dutcher Crossing Winery is [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-01T22:41:17-08:00April 20, 2012|

Wine Poetry: How an Ancient Persian Legend Gave Birth to a Petaluma Gap Winery

“As a child growing up in Persia I heard the story of the discovery of wine,” says Pari Azari, “but it is also documented in my Persian cookbook. In fact Omar Khayyám referred to the story in some of his poetry.” Kamal Azari, Pari’s husband and co-owner of Azari Winery, nods in appreciation as he listens to his wife. “Yes, it is this story, plus the fact that I was born in Shiraz, the ancient city in Persia thought to be the birthplace of the syrah grape, that inspired us to start our winery.” Pari then proceeded to tell the [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-02T13:26:36-08:00November 28, 2011|

The Ancient Connection Between Women and Wine

Originally published in Wayward Tendrils Quarterly (Vol 18, No. 2, April 2008), Liz Thach, Ph.D. Posted here by request. Most historians now agree that wine was most likely discovered by a woman. However what is often left out of the history books are the ancient stories of the goddesses of wine – most who came into being centuries before Bacchus and Dionysus. Modern technology and carbon-dating has helped us prove that wine from cultivated grapes was being made in what is now modern-day Georgia, in the Caucasus Mountains around 6,000 B.C. There are also reports of wine remains in Armenia, [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-02T13:27:18-08:00October 26, 2011|

8 Tips to Increase Online Wine Sales – Lessons from Google

This month even wine business students who had already graduated from Bus 305W showed up to hear a presentation from Google on increasing online wine sales. Fifty Millennials listened aptly to two guest speakers from Google, and many incorporated the tips into their final wine business papers for the semester. "Online wine search queries have increased more than 33% in the past 2 years," announced Google manager, Joe Rosenberg. "In addition, wine searches via mobile phone increased ten times in the same time period." Google colleague, Danny Navarro added, "We see that consumers are increasingly interested in wine online, but [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-02T13:28:30-08:00May 31, 2011|

Favorite Aromatic White Wines

Aromatic white wines are those that are considered to be very fragrant when you smell the wine. They often provide lovely aromas of flowers and fruit. Common aromatic varietals include riesling, gewürztraminer, muscat, torrentez (from Argentina), albarino (from Spain), and gruner vetliner (from Austria). We tried all six of these varietals today, but the slightly sweeter muscat from Sutter Home eclipsed the drier styles of the others. Following are the favorites of the five Millennial wine judges. ***** (97, GOLD) Sutter Home Muscat, California, -$4 Lovely fragrant nose of roses and apricot, which carries through on the palate. Sweet, dessert [...]

By Dr. Liz Thach, MW|2021-02-06T08:35:44-08:00October 28, 2008|