August 14, 2026
winespeed-by-karen-macneil

Dear Kelsey, Good question!  No one knows why, of all fruits, only grapes make great wine. And there’s a corollary idea that’s equally perplexing: If you ferment apricots or cherries, or blueberries, the resulting “wine” still tastes like those fruits. But wine made from grapes doesn’t taste like grapes. It can taste like a hundred other things from lemons to cowboy boots, but it almost never tastes like grapes themselves.

—Karen

STICKIES

The affectionate name Australians give to their sweet wines. Ther term is broadly used to cover late-harvest wines as well as Australia’s phenomenal sweet FORTIFIED Muscats, topaques, and fortified tawnies.

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