Wine tasting rituals are an integral component of the vinicultural experience, and have evolved over the years to embrace both the cultural traditions of old and the ever-developing innovations of technological advancements. From the ancient Greeks offering libations to their gods to futuristic sommeliers aided by artificial intelligence, wine tasting has always been far more
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Oregon’s capital is an easy, underrated base for wine tasting — minutes from the wind-cooled Eola-Amity Hills. A guide to the area, the AVA, and how to plan a day.
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Why does the same grape taste so different from one place to the next? The answer is a single French word — terroir — and it’s the key that unlocks the entire wine world. KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History ToursWillamette Valley wine-tour hosts Terroir is one of wine’s most important ideas —
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Tannin, malolactic, cuvée, brut, lees… wine has a language all its own. Here’s a plain-English glossary of the terms worth knowing — grouped by where you’ll meet them. KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History ToursWillamette Valley wine-tour hosts Wine talk can feel like a secret code. But most of the vocabulary falls into
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A wine trip isn’t a beach holiday or a city break — it has its own rhythm of gravel paths, cool cellars, warm afternoons, and bottles you’ll want to bring home. Here’s how to pack for it. KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History ToursWillamette Valley wine-tour hosts Wine country rewards a little planning.
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The most famous red-wine region on earth is best understood as two halves — and knowing which bank you’re on is the single most useful thing for planning a visit. KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History ToursWillamette Valley wine-tour hosts Bordeaux, in southwest France, is the world’s most celebrated red-wine region — a
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Two grapes, a thousand tiny vineyards, and centuries of monks obsessing over which slope makes the best wine — Burgundy is the spiritual home of Pinot Noir, and worth every bit of the puzzle. KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History ToursPinot Noir tour hosts, Oregon Burgundy, in eastern France, is holy ground for
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A History of Wine Tasting Wine tasting has been around as long as the history of wine itself. While tasting is an obvious part of wine drinking, the specific practice of wine tasting as a group or for purposes of evaluation and critique has developed in various ways throughout history. Below we will look at
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Rolling hills stitched with cypress and vine, hilltop towns that have not changed in five centuries, and in every glass a piece of history. This is how to see the wine country of Tuscany. KWReviewed & edited by Ken Wytsma · Fact-checked June 2026Researched and fact-checked against independent sources, with AI assistance.✓ Verified If there
A day of wine tasting is one of life’s great pleasures — and a few small essentials make it smoother, safer, and more memorable. Here are the ten things we’d never head out without. KWWritten & edited by Ken Wytsma, Wine History ToursWillamette Valley wine-tour hosts Whether you’re spending the day in Oregon’s Willamette Valley
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