Ask the Wine Guy

The Wine Guy - Pierre Lasserre. Pierre Lasserre was born and raised in Auch, hometown of D' Artagnan and the 3 Mousquetaires, located South West of France, in the heart of Gascony.

Pierre has been in the Food and Beverage Industry for more than 20 years. He graduated from the Hotel School of Toulouse in 1979, and went on to do his apprenticeship in various establishments throughout Europe, including an Assistant Maitre d'Hôtel position at the famous 3 Michelin Stars Restaurant from Michel Guerard in Eugenie les Bains.

Pierre came to the US in 1985 and attended Cornell University School of Hotel Administration while working as a Sommelier in a local French Restaurant in town.

He went on to join Four Seasons Hotels in 1989 were he presently works as Cellar Master/Sommelier in Chicago.

Pierre's wine philosophy:

Emile Peynaud's book "The taste of wine" is largely responsible for sparking my early interest in wine.

Today, I see wine as part of my roots and heritage. Wine is intensely human and it is the essence of civilizations.

But above all, for me wine is about shared experiences and every day celebration of life. It is a gift and a blessing from Mother Nature, and I truly consider myself fortunate to be its humble servant…

Put him to the test.

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Questions Received

Two questions! 1994 Vintage Port, and 2005 Birthday-year bottles
Question: First: My wife and I have two 375mL bottles of 1994 Vintage Port - one from Warre's and one from Dow's. We're wondering whether to drink now, or hold on to them. Some sites have said they should be held longer, but with the smaller bottle, I thought drinking one now would be good, and maybe you have thoughts on which one. Second: We are looking for a bottle of wine from 2005 for our daughter's 21st birthday in 2026. We would spend in the 50-70 dollar range, and also would be excited to see any recommendations from Washington State, where we live. Here's the tricky part - we don't enjoy Bordeaux as much as other reds, and I'm sure that Bordeaux would have been the easy answer here!
Dear Wine Lover, 1 - You are correct, when it comes to wines, the larger the format, the better. Half bottles do not age as well, and the percentage of spoiled bottles is also much greater. However we are talking Port Wine here, which by definition is a fortified wine with much greater aging potential. Also 1994 is drinkable now, you can hold these half bottles for many more years. 2 - Stonestreet Christopher's Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 100% Cabernet Sauvignon Elevation 2,400 ft Riverbed composed of gravel and volcanic rock