News

     Texas in March is lovely, especially in Irving Texas just outside of Dallas. This past 13th to 15th I had the pleasure of taking the Advanced Sommelier Course from the Court of Master Sommeliers Americas. To get into the course first you had to have your Certified Sommelier certification, then take a pretest and be in the top 200 amongst all the test takers in Canada, US, Mexico and all of Southern America. There were 2 Canadians, 1 Honduran and 1 lovely lady from Chile whose family owns an import company.      Three days learning from 33...

     With all the things we’re going through in these crazy times, it’s no surprise that wine will follow suit in some way. Now we’ve all heard about sunken ships with loads of gold and various other treasures. Along with the jewels and precious metals, there have been several clay containers that still have wine in them!  It didn’t take long for winemakers, especially of the new world where we have fewer and less strict rules about making wine, to try and start aging wine underwater.      You heard that right. People are purposely putting many multiples of...

I hope everyone had a great holiday season and got to spend time with loved ones. In the wine world it seems that this is the case. According to the New York Post, “Champagne makers pop corks on record $6.5 B in 2022 sales.” The B in the last sentence was for BILLIONS. Last year there were 320 million bottles of bubbly sold although not quite the high of 2007 where 339 bottles were sold!  Where is all this wine consumed? The top 3 markets are the United States, Britain and Japan while some Euro markets continue to imbibe as...

Wine Republic and Red Bench Bakery, both independent, family and locally-owned, are excited to announce our Wine & Cheese Affair Club. Each month you’ll discover amazing wine & cheese pairings, including 2–4 bottles of wine, a cheese and accompaniments box plus notes on producers. You’ll also receive a fresh-baked baguette or box of artisan crackers free every month! Save on wine purchases every day: 10% off 1-11 bottles / 15% off mixed case / 20% off case of 12 of the same wine.