The Somm Pour

04/01/2025

Syrah is a charming chameleon of a grape, whose wines vary from the complex, peppery stars of France’s Northern Rhône Valley to the rich, full-fruited blockbusters of Australia (where they call it ‘Shiraz’). This stunning example hails from California’s premium Sonoma region, where Syrah takes on a whole new level of sophistication …

And who better to give you a taste than DeLoach Vineyards, a 12-time Wine & Spirits Winery of the Year? From prime-sited vineyards throughout the sought-after Russian River Valley. Here, chilly temperatures and trademark fog slow the ripening of grapes at night, so they hang on the vine longer and develop fuller, more concentrated flavors.

You’re in for ripe blackberry, espresso, and classic black pepper aromas. On the palate, there’s more rich black fruit, plus chocolatey spice notes that carry through to the long, silky finish. An impressive dinner party wine, this smooth Syrah will pair well with slow-cooked meats, charred portobello mushrooms, and more.

Very limited cases – have your personal wine ambassador place your order today!

23/12/2024

The Sommpour now has an e-commerce platform, curating guided wine tasting experiences, corporate gifts, food and wine pairings, and a complete wine concierge service. If you have a wine question, call your personal wine ambassador!

21/12/2024

Excited to kick-off our chapter's 2025 January gathering with Boisset's range of 5 wines – Vivacious, Voluptuous, Elegant, Sensuous, and Powerful. Let's just say these wines are like the Spice Girls of the wine world! Complete with wine tasting and food-pairing synergies. AWS SoCal members check your inbox for RSVP deadlines! 🍷🥂

13/12/2024

I found using flowcharts to understand the sequence, winemaking options, unique or common patterns across each of the D5 fortified wines: Sherry, Port, Madeira, VDN and Rutherglen Muscat helps with memory recall and review. I have also included key wines styles as a result of these winemaking flows. Check them out, I hope it helps!

https://buymeacoffee.com/thesommpour/e/344231

This is a bundle deal of all winemaking and wine styles flowcharts for Sherry, Port, Madeira, VDN and Rutherglen Muscat. This helps review and recap winemaking sequence and wine styles after your exam

12/12/2024

If you're a DipWSET candidate and prepping for the D5 exam on fortified wines you may find my cheat sheets useful. These are 6 cheats on all the grape varieties we need to know for the exam. Please remember this is not comprehensive or intended to replace the WSET textbook. These cheat sheets are intended for recap & review as part your exam prep, hope this helps and good luck!

To make my products more accessible, I’ve created an option for you to set a price you feel is fair and affordable for you. Your support not only helps me continue creating these resources but also sustains my ongoing wine education. Let’s grow and learn together!

This is a bundle of 6 cheat sheets summarizing key varietal characteristics, strengths, challenges and wine styles for the grape varietals needed for the D5 WSET Diploma exam. Remember, this does not

21/02/2024

Another great winter pruning at Lone Wolf! Such an incredible way to learn from , , and practice everything one reads in wine education.

This year, we learned and practiced key principles:

1. Nurture the Core Vine Struture, Trim the 'Wildlings'
We considered the natural structure of a vine, identified the main trunk (among several in the natural untrained vines), trimmed the core vine to allow it to grow and develop such that we reflect its natural growth pattern. And 'shut down' everything else growing around.

2. Sap Flow
Is about respecting the natural flow of sap through the vines’ vascular system and ensuring continuity of sap flow throughout the vine.

3. The Crown and Big Cuts
Focuses on the vines crown (the top of the trunk) and how avoiding big cuts close to the crown or trunk helps minimize the ‘corking effect’ inside the vines’ vascular system. This also reduces opportunities for disease to enter the vine through the cut.

4. Protective Wood
Takes into account that each time a cut is made, a certain amount of wood adjacent to the cut will dry back. By leaving a little extra wood, we are protecting against impingement upon the vascular system by the dried component.

5. Most Importantly: Trust Your Observations and Your Common Sense
A lot of pruning is still common sense. Cleaning out 'satellite' vines, excessive w**d growth, avoiding downward facing spurs, removing weak canes even if positioned perfectly, etc.

Sacred land, Invaluable Learnings from the Awesome Abe including the numerous times he said "this cut from last year is done wrong, probably done by me..."

A long exhilarating day with friends who are now my Wolf Pack, , .wines ending with great food, good times and fantastic wines!

Big thank you to husband for all his help preparing and transporting chicken sandwiches, grilling lamb kebabs, and taking care of our pup 🐶

16/01/2024

10/01/2024

As a personal sommelier and wine student, I taste wines daily. To me the the art of analyzing and identifying wine by intentionally paying full attention to how it looks, smells, and tastes is a micro dose of meditation. Continued practice puts me in a calmer state of mind with an increased ability to focus.

Abstaining from wine is absolutely a choice. To me, they've been like crash diets, i.e., short-lived.

Instead, I believe in balance. Balancing time spent creating your version of success, time spent with family, time spent on physical activity and the occasional glass or two of wine with food, people, and mindful intentions..

21/12/2023

Once you understand how flavors complement or contrast each other, you can perfect your holiday gatherings! Remember, you've always got your personal sommelier to fall back on!