Let’s face it: Boxed wines are not exactly perceived as the pinnacle of wine-drinking chic. Don’t believe us? Just try showing up with a box of wine — any box — at next week’s graduation/barbecue/baby shower and observe the look of utter disdain creep across your friends’ faces. Yeah, they’ll…

Have you ever gotten the impression that Colorado wines kinda suck? If you’re really, really honest with yourself, you probably answered yes – and you’re not the only person who feels that way. A glance at the wine list of many of Denver’s top-rated dining destinations routinely reveals fewer Colorado-based…

Italian wines can be hard to love. They’re unabashedly old world, full of mouthwatering acidity, brazenly tannic, and as terroir-driven as they come. They’re also endlessly intriguing. Each of Italy’s winemaking regions tells the unique, richly historic tale of its evolution from independent city-state right up to its unification with…

A few months ago, we ranted about four all-too-common restaurant wine service mistakes that drive us absolutely mad. And while it’s one thing to have a less-than-transcendental wine experience when there’s no trained sommelier on staff, it’s quite another to have one when there is. After a few recent wine-and-dine…

While the arrival of summer is mere weeks away, it’s been too damned cold here to think about any of the best springtime wines, never mind all the fantastic rosé that’s piling up on liquor and wine shop shelves around town. But while it’s still chilly outside, in our hearts…

Last weekend’s back-to-back Cinco de Mayo and Kentucky Derby party shenanigans left us feeling more than a little ready to lay off the sauce for a minute. Yet by noon on Sunday, there we were, staring down the wine list at brunch, feeling that familiar urge. That’s when it hit…

We knew something was up when we noticed Denver-area wine shops stocking up and tasting customers on the 2010 rosés a good four weeks ago. And by “something,” we mean the notion that maybe — just maybe — dry rosés have finally kicked that monkey of pink wine-prejudice off its…

You’re a wine lover. You love our planet. So how many bottles of organic wine did you drink on Earth Day? Oh, yeah, that’s right — zero. And if our guess is correct, it’s not because you didn’t want to; it’s because you had no idea how to drink organic…

There are a few key elements that seem to magically define what makes a perfect spring wine. Much like the lighter foods you’re likely craving come April or May every year, your ideal wine should be as clean, bright and flavorful as a salad of just-picked berries and as aromatic…

Last week, we gave you the lowdown on our picks for Denver’s top five burgers, piquing the ire of quite a few local burger-loving peeps. In the spirit of fueling potentially even more controversy, we felt it only proper for us to spark a whole new debate: What kinds of…

You know how hard you’ve been working to master the basics of food and wine pairing? Well, if you’ve been reading the same handful of recent articles we have, then you might be wondering if all that effort has been a big fat waste of time. The flames of this…

Last week I threw down a challenge: taste an old-world wine next to its new-world counterpart and judge for yourself whether old world wines truly deserve their reputation as best in class. Even though I screwed up and included tasting notes from a Rhône wine instead of the Burgundy I…

There’s been a lot of debate in the wine world of late, the gist of which revolves around whether popular, top-selling new world wines deserve their acclaim. It’s an interesting debate, for sure. Are Napa Valley cabs every bit as good as their Bordeaux-based brethren? For that matter, should fruit-forward,…

What the hell is up with the wine service at certain Denver restaurants lately? A slew of recent visits to a number of reputable spots around town resulted in being treated to some pretty egregious wine service faux pas. None of these restaurants were places where you’d know better than…

While there’s less than four weeks remaining until spring the final days of winter still feel like they are literally crawling by. We’re between major holidays, so there’s not much to look forward to…unless you can find a way to get excited about the tasty, homemade (or, let’s be real…

Wow. Who knew that The Infinite Monkey Theorem (aka Denver’s little winery that could) scoring Colorado’s first 88-point Wine Spectator review would stir up so many passionate responses about the validity of wine reviews? Laura Shunk’s scathing critique of most wine industry rags’ random, somewhat archaic approach to rewarding lesser-known…

Valentine’s Day came early for Ben Parsons, winemaker/owner of the Infinite Monkey Theorem winery. Not in the form of chocolate-covered corkscrews or any other such frippery; the gift he received was something every Colorado winemaker has been pining away for: a Wine Spectator score of 88 points. So when Parsons…

Next Monday is Valentine’s Day, and while most adore this heart-riddled holiday, plenty of peeps loathe everything about it. With all the pressure to be coupled up, there’s only one thing to do to avoid the drama: fall in love with a sexy, enticing stranger with a past. Be warned:…

The Super Bowl ain’t exactly designed for wine lovers. Even though wine consumption in the United States is higher than ever, this annual football lovers’ celebration (and the vast majority of its commercials) usually revolves around that good old sporting event standby: beer. Don’t get me wrong; beer is great…

Last week’s post featuring the wines of the Pinot Posse sparked much debate over the respective merits and flaws of modern, new world-style pinot noir. At one end of the table, we had the new world wine lovers, who revel in bottles bursting with ripe, mouthwateringly juicy fruit, and (though…

Imagine an evening wherein eight of the coolest, most talented and down-to-earth pinot noir producers present their hand-picked selections for you to taste — and by taste, we mean consume liberal amounts of — while you soak up stories about how the grapes looked at harvest and why the weather…