I feel that I should clarify upfront that I unabashedly love Rieslings. I know they’re not everyone’s cup of tea (yet), but Rieslings are for sure amongst my desert island wines, the ones I’d absolutely need to include if I were ever forced to whittle down my wine selection to just the barest of minimums.

That said, my love for Riesling is not actually the reason why I’m creating two Riesling tastings back to back. This tasting is focused on dry Rieslings from around the world, while next week’s will focus on tasting through the styles in between dry and fully sweet, because there is quite the range on offer.

Rieslings are wines that I reach for again and again. I hope that after this tasting, you will too.

November has indelibly become the month of Beaujolais. Thanks to Georges Duboeuf’s marketing promotion in the 1970s, Beaujolais Nouveau, a particular style of Beaujolais, is celebrated every third Thursday in November with cries of “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!” and a lot of wine. Not all of it good. In fact, most of it not.

But there’s so much more to Beaujolais than Nouveau. I won’t say that Beaujolais Nouveau is horrible, since there are some that are decent, but in this tasting, we’re going to focus on Beaujolais that’s not Nouveau. The good stuff. Specifically, the crus.

Body is such a weird word to describe liquids, isn’t it? I can’t help wishing there was a better word to describe the fullness, weight and texture of wine. Body, to me, just feels so fleshy. As in, in the flesh. Not at all how I think of wine.

But it’s the word that’s widely used, so I’ve accepted it too. This tasting groups styles of red wines together by a body-related characteristic. All of these red wines have light bodies, which in wine’s case, means that their weight is more akin skim than whole milk. Hopefully, I haven’t deterred you with mentions of flesh and milk, because these are some of my go-to styles of red wine.

Austria always makes me think of Alpine skiers and hearty dishes like Wiener Schnitzel, knödels, and apfelstrudel. And if you just thought, wait, aren’t those foods German? Think again. Austria and Germany share a language and many cultural traditions, but Austria has a history just as long, complex and fascinating as its northern neighbor. And it has a wine culture all its own.

Austria’s capital city, Vienna, consistently tops lists of “most liveable cities in the world,” and I like to think that might be at least a teensy bit to do with the fact that Vienna is also the world’s only metropolis still growing vines and making wine within city limits. This is a country where wine has been made since the Bronze Age, and if the preservation of the vines within its capital is any indication, wine culture here is still going strong. This is your sign to get to know Austrian wines, starting with some of its best-known styles: the whites.

Pinot Noir is the Goldilocks of grapes. It needs conditions that are just right to make great wine. And it’s also somehow the fifth most planted red grape variety in the world. You’d think that fewer producers would want to mess with such a cruel mistress of a grape, but Pinot Noir wines, when they’re good, are just really, really good. Mesmerizingly good. This tasting focuses on some of the world’s best regions for still red Pinot Noir wines.

No one is surprised that the first Italian tasting here is focused on the reds. Italy is famous for its red wines, but please don’t count out the whites! We’ll get to those another time, don’t worry. This tasting covers the “biggies.” The must-know Italian red wine styles, the ones that are widely exported and have come to represent Italy’s modern wine culture, even though it’s far more diverse than we could ever cover in a single tasting.

I love Champagne. Love the wine, love the place, love the people, love the stories. I am completely biased when it comes to Champagne, but I still hope this tasting helps you sort through what is marketing fluff and what is actually true about these wines. And as always, I hope it helps you discover your own preferences and favorite styles of Champagne.

There’s a reason I called this “Wine for Dessert” and not “Dessert Wines.” For whatever reason, dessert wines have gotten a bad rap. There’s a tendency to think of sweet wines as the bottom shelf, gas station-style swill that tastes sweet like soda, but also not quite like soda, and that just screams future headache. These wines are not that.

And if you do serve wine for dessert, know that it is one of the easiest (read: laziest) desserts you can offer…and yet it’s somehow one of the classiest choices you can make.

Grenache. Garnacha. Granaccia. Cannonau. Many names, one grape. It just depends on where it grows. Grenache is probably best-known as the “G” in GSM wines, southern France’s Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blends. An unsurprising claim to fame, since Grenache is often blended with other grape varieties. Grenache has a reputation for being a bit “blah” by itself, since the grapes can accumulate lots of sugar, resulting in high alcohol wines that lack sufficient acidity to taste balanced.

But. (There’s always a “but” when it comes to wine.) More and more producers are finding ways to bring out the best in Grenache. And the vine’s ability to thrive in dry soils is coming in handy in these times of climate change, as droughts have become commonplace in some wine regions. This tasting will take you through Grenache’s greatest hits, both in blends and monovarietal wines, so that you can decide whether it’s blah or brilliant.

The Rhône might as well be two separate regions. The defining feature that connects them both is the namesake river, cutting through France from the Swiss Alps all the way south to the Mediterranean. But the Northern and Southern Rhône are very different places viticulturally. This tasting covers the top red wine appellations: 3 from the north and 3 from the south, so that you can form your own opinions about Rhône Reds.

Chardonnay is the most-grown white grape variety globally, so pretty much everyone has heard of it. That ubiquity hasn’t always helped Chardonnay though, especially California Chardonnay. After a huge wave of popularity in the 90s, the “ABC” movement (Anything But Chardonnay) gained traction in an effort to shift away from buttery, overripe, oaky wines that were starting to all taste the same. Trends always change though, and so do winemaking styles. Recent endorsements from celebs like Lizzo have certainly given Chardonnay a boost in perception.

California Chardonnay is often discussed like it’s a single style of wine, rather than a wide range of styles depending on where the grapes are grown and how the winemaker decided to treat the wine. This tasting is intended to give a sense of the range of styles produced in that massive and sunny state, so that you can figure out what you prefer.

Bubbles! Effervescence captured in a bottle. Just the sound of a cork popping is enough to inspire a cheer…even though ok, fine, these days I carefully & quietly pop those bottles. And not just because of proper etiquette, but because emergency room visits from poorly popped bottles are a real thing. Safety first, folks. Keeping a grip on the cork once the wire cage and foil are off and carefully twisting the bottle (not the cork) while holding it at a 30-45° angle pointed away from faces and breakable things is not just fancy, it’s smart.

Champagne usually comes to mind first when we start talking about sparkling wines, but this tasting will include 5 other classic styles so that you can get into what makes each style distinct and decide which you prefer.

French reds. Les vins rouges. Some of the most esoteric, expensive and imitated wines in the world. But also some of the most exuberant, relaxed and accessible. Wines from Burgundy and Bordeaux are considered the crème de la crème of the wine auction world, with bottle prices that can rival luxury cars. But those same regions have a myriad of delicious options at affordable prices too. This is a tasting theme that’s full of contradictions, and the good news is that there are enough options out there, so you can decide how deep to go.

Sauvignon Blanc is responsible for some of the most in-demand wines in the world: Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Sauvignon Blanc wines from New Zealand. In recent years, there have even been product shortages when harvests have been smaller and demand has continued to increase. And yet, there are some who adamantly dislike Sauvignon Blanc wines, even among adventurous wine people. I’m in the “love it!” camp, though I still have my preferences amongst the various styles produced. Hopefully this tasting will help you determine where you stand on Sauvignon Blanc.

First up, there are two things about rosé that I firmly believe to be true:

1. The color of a rosé doesn’t tell you anything about its quality.

2. Rosé is not just for spring and summer.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into it. This tasting is focused on the still rosé wines from around the world. But don’t worry, there will be another tasting focused on sparkling rosés too.

If you’re going to start anywhere, start here. Yes, even those of you who “only drink red wine.” The white wines of France are some of the world’s most versatile and classic wines, and they’re well worth exploring and understanding. I’d even be willing to bet that the most die-hard red wine drinkers among you will find at least one white here to love.