Top Wine Videos of 2011
Favorite clips—entertaining and educational—from the past year
Posted: December 28, 2011
Every year, Wine Spectator’s video department brings top winemakers from around the world (and sometimes rock stars!) into the studio for tastings and conversation, heads out into the vineyards and cellars to teach you about key regions and their wines, and taps chefs to provide recipe demos and tips on great food and wine matches. We also recruit our readers to share their wine videos—humorous, informative or both—and vote on their favorite submissions.
Without fail, the Top 10 Wines countdown videos are the most popular clips each year, but we always like to check out the top views in other categories. Take a look back with us at the best of the vintage, and see what you may have missed along the way.
Video Contest: Zinfandel—Paso’s Wine
For the fifth year in a row, our readers showed off their talent for filmmaking. The nine finalists ranged from Divorce Honeymoon (shot on an iPhone) to a sassy talking grapevine to undercover agents who investigate counterfeit bottles. The winner—from Paso Robles, for the third consecutive year!—humorously conveys what’s distinctive about Zin from this California region.
Editors’ Tastings: Bordeaux Values
How can you find delicious red Bordeaux that doesn’t break the bank? Join senior editor James Molesworth as he shares some of his favorite value producers from this prestigious French region.
Food Pairing: Cooking for Wine—Sauvignon Blanc and Shrimp Ceviche
Wine Spectator’s Cooking for Wine series continues with a winery chef whose job is to make great pairings. Ruth Van Waerebeek, who works for Concha y Toro in Chile, demonstrates a simply elegant seafood dish that is perfect as an hors d’oeuvre, a first course for dinner or a lunch with a salad. Get the recipe in the link below the video.
Wine Regions (International): Argentina Primer—Andes, Altitude, Diversity
The Andes Mountains define Argentina’s wine regions, making for diverse styles of Malbec and Torrontés, the country’s signature red and white grapes. Learn the basics as Wines of Argentina president Alberto Arizu joins
Wine Spectator’s Gloria Maroti Frazee.
Wine Regions (U.S.): Rock 'n' Wine from Queensrÿche’s Geoff Tate
What can happen when an introspective rock legend returns to his roots in Washington? And how is making music like making wine? Lead vocalist Geoff Tate, who started the Insania brand, answers these questions and more in his tasting with
Wine Spectator’s Jennifer Fiedler. Also, check out
this 2011 video with rocker-winemaker Maynard James Keenan (of Tool, Puscifer and A Perfect Circle), who runs a vineyard and winery in Arizona.
Learn Wine, with Worksheets: Transforming Tuscany, Talking Ripeness
One of the hottest issues in wine is ripeness. Consulting winemaker Stefano Chioccioli, who has worked with clients such as Tua Rita and Ruffino, describes the evolution of how grapes are grown—and how that affects ripeness—in the popular Italian region of Tuscany. Get the worksheet below the video.
Special Reports: Wine Experience 30th Anniversary
Since it was founded in 1981,
Wine Spectator’s Wine Experience has come to be much more than a wine tasting, for the participating wineries, chefs and wine lovers—as well as for the universities and charities that benefit from the annual event.
