Aaron Winsor

Hello Prince Albert! When the weather gets hot and the days get long during these summer months, many people turn to a crisp, refreshing beverage to relax with company or to cool down in the shade. Not sure what to try while lounging about? I've got a couple of delicious sparkling wines to introduce you to as well as a delicious summery cocktail from a Canadian company (Paloma anyone?). As if that isn't enough refreshment, I've got a smooth Radler from Germany to save the day. Let's take a look at some summertime sippers!

Hello Prince Albert! The process for choosing wines usually involves walking through the wine aisle waiting for inspiration to strike or for an interesting or unusual bottle to catch my attention. What really kicks my wine-brain into high gear is the inspiration I get from food. For example, if I'm told that there will be steak for supper and I need to choose a wine to go with it, my heart almost leaps out of my chest with excitement! What will I choose when there are so many options? The same feeling overcame me last weekend when I spotted a large display of cheeses and convinced my wife that we needed to try a few. After purchasing the cheese, my mind started racing with possibilities for wine pairings and realizing I couldn't decide, I got my wife to pick a wine from New Zealand and a wine from Germany. What flavors did we discover and was the cheese any good? Here is a breakdown of our 6-cheese wine adventure.

Hello Prince Albert! After the cheese extravaganza and wine tasting from last week, the budget had to be adjusted for this week's wines which is the perfect opportunity to scour the shelves for some delicious (hopefully) and affordable “budget” wines to try out. What are your personal thoughts on budget wine? Do you enjoy spinning the roulette wheel of the under-$20 wine category where hidden gems may be sprinkled here and there (you might have to get through a few bad spins/duds first). Perhaps experience has burned you too many times and you feel that better value is found in the $20-30 price range (where the standards tend to rise considerably), either way, the important factor is that you enjoy the wine you buy. Are these two budget-friendly wines worth the price?

Hello Prince Albert! All Prosecco is the same, right? Don't be ashamed if you feel this way as I quietly held this belief for many years. Prosecco has never blown me away stylistically, but I must admit that any time I've had it, it has been delicious and refreshing. There is something exciting about hearing the “pop!” of a cork and seeing a glass of bubbly being poured. It tends to lift the mood. If you're not aware, there are several levels of Prosecco to be savored, and they are definitely worth picking up!

Hello Prince Albert! It can be an intimidating venture to walk into a liquor store and find enough information to make an educated purchase. If friendly, motivated staff are not available to guide us towards new products, how do we know what to try next or which wine to take a chance on? I'm happy to report that private liquor stores are recognizing the uncertainty of consumers and have started to include useful information on the SKU tags like country of origin and more importantly, the sweetness levels of the wines on sale. It's also a great thing to see neatly marketed signs clearly describing the flavor profiles of the wine, which was the case for the Diablo Luminous Rose. These kinds of initiatives impress me for their ability to quickly educate the customer, and it resulted in an immediate purchase of the product.

Hello Prince Albert! With the prices of wine going up every year (like everything else), it is becoming more important for consumers to get the most from their wine dollars. Nobody wants to spend $30 to taste an average wine but the hard truth is that wines which used to cost $8 are now $12-$15 and those that used to cost $12-$15 are now $20-$25. Where do we go to find consistently reliable value from our wine purchases?

Hello Prince Albert! Most of us remember the little calendars we would receive as children during the holidays (typically during Christmas) and the delight we felt when we opened the tiny door to reveal a small chocolate or toy. Most of the fun was in the anticipation of what would be behind the door even though it was often a simple trinket or a cheap chocolate; it was about the adventure and the unexpected. Now as adults, we can relive some of this excitement by buying one of the many types of booze advent calendars found in liquor stores. With everything from rum, scotch and whiskey to liqueurs, beers and wines, there is a calendar for almost every type of enthusiast.

Hello Prince Albert! Is there really a difference between the tiers or levels of quality within European wines? For instance, does a wine with a DOCG rating from Italy taste better than a DOC-designated wine? For that matter, does a basic “Bordeaux” red carry the same quality level as a “Grand Cru” or a “Premier Cru”? The answer always comes down to the taste. As much as we would like to analyze a wine by its label, the proof is illuminated when the wine reaches your lips and tongue.

Hello Prince Albert! One of my favorite times of the year came and went last Saturday at the 18 annual Rotary Club Wine Premier at Plaza 88 in downtown PA.

Hello Prince Albert! After the excitement of the wine premier a couple of Saturdays ago, my wine appreciation level was at a high point; it became important to find a couple of wines to talk about to extenuate those feelings of wine awesomeness and that search led me directly to one of my favorite wine producing countries in the world, Italy! While I enjoy the wines of all the regions of Italy, Piedmont is my absolute top pick due to the quality and types of grapes they use to make wine. There have been a number of bottles of Barbera d'Alba showing up on store shelves recently, and once I spotted the Francone Superiore, I decided to focus on this amazing grape this week. What is so special about Piedmont and Barbera?