By Leticia Borges. If you’ve ever watched American Idol you would know the concept of a blind spot is alive and well. Many contestants are great.  We won’t take that away from them. Many others are bad and they know it but don’t care. The group that intrigues me the most are

By Leticia Borges. The way in which the French approach wine is complicated.  If all you want is a nice wine to go with your lovely meal, why does it feel like you must memorize the lineage of every Chateau in Bordeaux dating back to 1389?  A normmelier trying to find a

By Leticia Borges. Answer: Probably. Everyone has a theory about wine glasses. What is the right glass for a Pinot Noir?  Can I use the same glass for Cabernet Sauvignon?  How many glass shapes and sizes do I need? Does the glass really make a difference? I always thought the glass debate

By Leticia Borges. Wine is always welcome.  If you bring a great bottle of wine to a party, the host will hide it until all the guests are gone.  If you bring a half decent bottle, the drunks will gladly indulge. If you miss the mark entirely and bring a wine that

By Leticia Borges. Every Borges family celebration I can remember involved a cork popping. To this day, that sound still makes me smile. Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and engagements were occasions to cheer, but our family finances restricted us to beverages we could afford. That’s where Spanish sparkling cider came into play. We

By Leticia Borges. There’s much to be said about big wineries that produce massive amounts of wine per year. Unfortunately, not all of it is good. Small production wineries may lack the big brand names but often produce much better wine. The problem is that they also lack the massive marketing machinery to