About reviews and sample policy

About reviews: Wine reviews on this blog are my own, entirely biased opinion on wines tasted at public tastings, winery tasting rooms, or occasionally in my home. If I mention a wine enjoyed as part of a meal, I will say so; otherwise, my tasting notes reflect my giving full attention to tasting a wine by itself and drawing a distinction between “tasting” and “drinking.” Physical constraints don’t allow me to taste using “correct” stemware or highly specific temperatures; in general, I taste reds at cool room temperature (~68°), whites in the 40°-50° range, and roses at whatever seems most appropriate to the style. I make a habit of only reading tasting notes after tasting a wine and forming my own initial impressions.

About samples: If you would like to send wine samples to be reviewed, please contact me via email at amyszy@gmail.com for address information. I welcome information on production and technical notes that might give insight into how differences in the making of a wine lead to sensory differences in the glass.

I will carefully taste all wine samples I receive. As a rule, I cannot guarantee tasting or review within a specific time frame. Please alert me to any time considerations and I will do my best to oblige. I will review all wines I receive save under the unlikely circumstance that I cannot say anything complimentary about a wine; in these cases, I will let the contact person responsible for sending the wine know that the wine will not be mentioned. If I receive a wine as a sample, this will be mentioned in the review.