Mitch RABINOWITZ

I’m a retired university professor with a Ph.D. in cognitive and developmental psychology. I taught cognition and education starting in 1984. In retirement I decided to take wine seriously, and I’ve been using AI to help me learn faster and create better. I’ve also learned you can’t just ask AI one question and call it done. For me, an essay usually takes a number of iterations. I create a draft, then I check accuracy, hunt for gaps, revise the structure, and do it again until the piece feels coherent and useful. I also use other AIs as collaborators. It is an extensive process creating the essays. I try to create these as stories because that is the format that sticks for most of us. Facts land better when they have a sequence and a few turning points.

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Château Ausone: History and Portfolio

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Château Ausone: History and Portfolio Château Ausone occupies one of the smallest and most exacting great sites in Bordeaux. The vineyard covers about 7.25 hectares on the southern edge of Saint-Émilion, immediately below the medieval village, where the land descends from the limestone plateau along a steep slope. The upper parcels sit on asteriated limestone, … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Château Angélus: History and Portfolio

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Château Angélus: History and Portfolio Château Angélus lies southwest of the village of Saint-Émilion in a naturally curved area of vineyards overlooked by the churches of Saint-Émilion. For generations, vineyard workers in this part of the appellation could hear the bells ringing in the morning, at midday, and in the evening for the Angelus prayer. … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Grappa: Italy’s Pomace Spirit

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Grappa: Italy’s Pomace Spirit Wine production leaves behind a substantial amount of solid material after grapes have been pressed. The skins, seeds, pieces of pulp, and sometimes stems are collectively called pomace, or vinaccia in Italian. For centuries, much of this material had little commercial value once the juice had been removed. It still contained … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Why Cabernet Sauvignon Is Often Blended with Merlot

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Replanting after the freeze helped establish the distribution of the two varieties found in modern Bordeaux.

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Why Merlot Tastes Different in California, Bordeaux, and Italy

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Those differences begin with climate and vineyard soils.

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Syrah and Shiraz: How One Grape Acquired Two Names

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Syrah and Shiraz: How One Grape Acquired Two Names Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape. The difference is linguistic and often stylistic. When a producer chooses one term over the other, the choice can signal the tradition the producer has in mind and the kind of wine they intend to make. Syrah began in … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Why Grape Varieties Came to Have Fixed Descriptions

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Why Grape Varieties Came to Have Fixed Descriptions For much of European wine history, a buyer ordered Chablis or Sancerre; the grape names Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc usually remained unstated. Someone choosing Pauillac was expected to know that Cabernet Sauvignon would probably have an important role, although the label did not need to say so. … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: A Walk Through White Burgundy

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A Walk Through White Burgundy: Vineyards, History, and Change Vines were growing in Burgundy during the Gallo-Roman period, although the surviving evidence does not establish when they first arrived or which grapes were planted. By the early Middle Ages, vineyards had become important to religious communities and secular landowners because wine was required for worship, … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Why Does Burgundy Have So Many Communes?

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Why Does Burgundy Have So Many Communes? Burgundy can be difficult for new wine drinkers because it asks them to understand places before grapes. In many wine regions, the label begins with a grape name, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, or Pinot Noir. In Burgundy, the label often begins with a place: Bourgogne, Chablis, Gevrey-Chambertin, … Read more

LEARNING ABOUT WINE: Chablis The History of Wine Production

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Chablis: The History of Wine Production Chablis sits in northern Burgundy, in the Yonne along the Serein, geographically distinct from the Côte d’Or villages to the south. That position has always shaped the work. Chablis is cool, exposed, and vulnerable in ways that force wine production to be organized around risk as much as around … Read more