Welcome to our Wine & Spirits Blog!
We update our Blog a couple times per month with insightful
tips and educational material that benefits your interests…
Brad Caskey
Durango Liquor & Wine
1145 S Camino Del Rio # 101
(next to Walmart) Durango, CO
(970) 259-4900
Open 8am-9pm seven days a week.
One Thing to Drink Wine, Another to Taste…
One Thing to Drink, Another to Taste… Hi – Tilt the glass and drink, it’s easy… However, you’ll find discerning the taste of your wine to be a bit more challenging. As you know, understanding and appreciating wine pays off with big dividends. Really savoring your vino adds that extra dimension of enjoyment. The big 3 areas to consider in appreciation are… Appearance, Aroma and Taste. Also, consider your ambiance as an additional contribution to your overall wine enjoyment…...
read moreWhat’s With Animals on Wine Labels?…
Animals on Wine Labels? Hi – An earlier eWine newsletter talked about the marketing power wine label design elements have… Many consider the quality of a wine to be relative to its ‘cool’ looking label. Part of the reason for such labeling… from birds, fish and kangaroos, to reproductions of fine art and comic relief, is a move by wine makers to make their bottles more of a novelty, instead of something looking stuffy. Be that as it may, the bottom line is that animals and other forms of images are inclusive in...
read moreWine Extraction (part 2)…
Wine Extraction part 2… Hi, There are a few primary factors that determine the end result of quality wine… The position and condition of the berries in relation to the liquid… the temperature of the maceration… duration of the maceration and de-stemming. It’s much easier to extract color, tannins and flavor from crushed grapes immersed in the juice, than it is from unbroken berries floating on top. The maceration and extraction process begins at the crush-pad soon after picking. Two of the initial decisions...
read moreRed Wine and Lung Health…
Update on Red Wine and Healthier Lungs… Hi – With consideration to moderation a given, and a waiver that no medical advice is provided in this email (refer to citation provided*)… research continues to support that red wine may indeed reduce one’s risk of lung cancer, according to a study published in the journal, Thorax™. One such study had 282 hospital patients, mostly men ages 50 to 70, categorized by the type of alcohol they primarily consumed. After adjusting for factors such as smoking, the...
read moreWine Extraction…
Wine Extraction… part 1 Hi – Grapes contain flavor compounds that must first be removed from solids in order to impart and coax character thereafter. Extraction must be appropriate in duration and strength in order to achieve the wines ultimate taste and color results. Of course, compounds in the skin of the grape account for wine color, as well as much of its flavor and tannins. Extraction of these molecules, through a variety of maceration methods, is the essence of the red wine production process. Strictly speaking in this...
read moreWine Club Confirmed
Congratulations! Your eWine Club confirmation is on its way to your email box… Enjoy Your Wines! Brad Caskey Durango Liquor & Wine 970-259-4900 Next to WalMart 1145 S Camino Del Rio – #101
read moreIs Bigger Better?
Bigger and Bigger… large-format wine bottles continue to attract attention. Hi – Big wine bottles are fetching some good dollars at auctions, there are other advantages to the larger format(s). Even though they can be unwieldy to handle, slow to mature and have to be consumed (for the most) in a single sitting, their appeal lies partly in their impressive size, and the fact that they promise a longer and some say, better shelf life and quality. Because the ratio of wine to air volume increase in direct relation to a...
read moreThe Biodynamic Movement…
Biodynamic winegrowers… Hi – The Biodynamic movement abstains from the use of chemicals and encourages holistic agricultural practices, such a planting according to the phases of the moon (an old farmers approach). And it has gathered momentum and respect from the wine world. Winemakers focus on the earthen soil for the quality of their vines. Biodynamic winegrowers, like organic vintners, avoid chemical pesticides and fertilizers. They rely primarily on their rich and vibrant compost along with beneficial insects to...
read morePhylloxera almost ‘killed’ wine…
Phylloxera, a wine vine killer… Not to long ago the Phylloxera epidemic was a major problem, it basically wiped-out a substantial amount of vineyards on the west coast. Yet, it has become evident that the mistakes made over those several (past) decades have largely been corrected, ironically because of Phylloxera itself. Introduced by vineyards in France, Phylloxera was (is) a form of root rotting of the vines. And, did it ever play havoc with a bunch of vintners. As a result of this grape destruction, new techniques have enabled us...
read moreWhere are all the Wineries?…
Where are all the Wineries? Where in the U.S. do Vineyards reside besides; California, Oregon and Washington? More than 8,000 wineries now produce wine in North America according to Wines & Vines, which released the latest data at their 2014 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium. The number of wineries in the U.S. has continued to grow each year, even during the recession, although the pace had slowed from 2010 through 2012. A large majority of the wineries counted are small; almost 6,000 produce fewer than 5,000 cases per year. Just 50 make...
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