Collin Flatt takes on the POPE and gets touched in a bad place.

Serves 6 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, trimmed 1 Tbs. salt 1 1/2 Tbs. pepper 1 ½ Tbs. fennel seed 1 large sweet yellow onion, such as Vidalia, diced 1 Tbs. olive oil ½ tsp. of salt ¼ c. brown sugar 1 1/2 tsp. dried mustard 1 cinnamon stick ¼ tsp. ground cloves 1 Tbs. ginger grated 1/4...

On April 28, 2010, our spirited wine tussle known as The Sommelier Smackdown had an unusual twist. No, not so much in the plucky plonk posturing that permeates these light-hearted throwdowns, but in the special guest contestant that faced our very own Brian Freedman. Known more for his pipes...

*Note: although this article does not reference wine specifically, the issues are key to wine tasting: supertasters are highly sensitive to the bitterness of tannin. Do some people inherit a distaste for broccoli? Former President George Bush got a lot of flack for his dislike of broccoli. Is...

The science of flavor is still in its infancy. Only a handful of the trace elements of wine have been studied, and many flavor compounds -in different proportions-can give distinctly different flavors. Esters The biggest contributor to flavor is yeast. It is the fermentation process that truly...

Tannins Don’t Fade Away By James Laube From Wine Spectator magazine, November 30, 2005 issue Not long ago I was asked about what happens to tannins in red wines as they age. The best ad-lib analogy I could come up with at the time was this: They’re like the Rolling Stones—just...

Red wine varietals gain their “fingerprints”, or aromatic signatures, from ESTERS and TANNIN, and are a composite of the three aspects of taste: 1.Mandibular Nerve: sensation of dryness or cutting (TANNIN) 2.Tastebuds: bitterness (TANNIN) (FYI: when you combine the sensation of...

When you read the Wine Spectator, no doubt you’ve noticed the countless adjectives and that wine is described as being like almost any kind of fruit except grapes. Why do we describe a wine as being like pear or raspberry when it’s made out of grapes? We certainly can’t add...

Basic Composition of Wine At it’s root wine is expensive water. Grapes are typically 75% water, 20% sugar, and 5% of trace elements. During fermentation most of the sugar will be converted to alcohol by yeast. The trace elements are the origin of taste (the synthesis of flavor,...

Part One: Introduction to the Nose The Wine Foundation is a program to teach the student how to taste. Therefore, we have to begin with an obvious question: how do we taste? The answer is more interesting and complex than you may expect. First of all, we don’t taste with our tongues which...