Brett Zimmerman

Regional Guides · Northern Rhône Northern Rhône Syrah, explained. Côte-Rôtie. Hermitage. Cornas. Saint-Joseph. The international gold standard for what cool-climate Syrah from granite soils can taste like. Syrah is one of the world most adaptable grapes. In warm climates it produces big, ripe wines often labeled Shiraz. In cooler climates – Northern Rhône France especially … Read more

Regional Guides · Burgundy Burgundy 101 – the three things that matter. Producer first, village second, vintage third. The hierarchy is shorter than the wine industry pretends. Burgundy is the most place-driven wine region in the world. A 100-meter shift in vineyard location can double the price. Two adjacent producers in the same village can … Read more

Wine Education · Pairing Wine with Asian food, properly. The old “wine does not go with Asian food” rule is wrong, but only if you ditch the steakhouse-Cabernet defaults. For most of the 20th century, American wine writers told their readers that wine did not pair with Asian food. The advice came from a generation … Read more

Wine Education · Champagne Grower Champagne, explained. The label says “Récoltant-Manipulant.” The price is half of Krug. The wine drinks like the soil it came from. Most Champagne sold in the United States is “Négociant-Manipulant” – made by a large house that buys grapes from many growers and blends to a consistent house style. The … Read more

Wine Education · Labels How to read an Old World wine label. Burgundy says “Volnay 1er Cru.” Tuscany says “Brunello di Montalcino DOCG.” None of them tell you the grape. Here is the cheat sheet. New World wine labels tell you the grape. Old World wine labels tell you the place – and the grape … Read more

Wine Education · Tasting How to taste wine like a sommelier. Most of the formal tasting framework is straightforward once you strip away the jargon. Four steps. There is a structure to careful wine tasting that sommeliers learn during training. The shorthand is “sight, smell, taste, conclusion.” The actual moves are simple, useful, and worth … Read more

Wine Education · Cellar How to start a 50-bottle cellar without losing money on it. A practical guide to setting up your first wine cellar — what to buy, what to age, what to drink right away, and how to avoid the most expensive beginner mistakes. A 50-bottle cellar is a real cellar. It is … Read more

Regional Guides · Argentina Argentina is more than Malbec — and the Malbec is better than you remember. Mendoza’s top winemakers spent the last decade chasing elevation, fresher fruit, and lighter touch. The result is some of the most aromatic, food-friendly red wine in the world. For a long time, Argentine Malbec meant one thing … Read more

Wine Education · Sake Is sake wine or beer? A Master Sommelier walks through the answer. It is brewed like beer, drinks like wine, and the answer turns out to be: a little bit of both, with its own category in the middle. The short answer: sake is technically a brewed beverage (closer to beer … Read more

Brett’s Notes · Spain Spanish Garnacha: the most underpriced wine on the floor. A grape with the richness of Grenache, the savoury complexity of old-vine Rhône, and prices that have somehow not yet caught up with what is actually in the bottle. Garnacha (Grenache, in France) is one of the world’s most generous grapes. It … Read more