Yesterday my friend Daniel Dycus recounted a conversation he had the other day with a certified sommelier. Daniel told this fellow he thought grape clone was at least as important as site in determining the characteristics of a wine. The somm told Daniel that he would “sound like an idiot if he said that to [...]
Archive for the ‘Topical’ Category
“Industry” Guests
Taking a quick break from harvest (HARVEST!!!) to get a little rant off my chest. Dear “Industry”: Please don’t come into my tasting room, flash some sort of business card, announce that you are “in the industry” and demand a free tasting for you and your friends. Not gonna happen. We don’t give free tastings [...]
Practical Advice On Managing Wine Alcohol Levels
The other day I came across this fact sheet: “Reducing Alcohol Levels In Wine” published by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI). Directed at the professional winegrower, this is the best agenda-free piece on wine alcohol levels I have read, period. It’s worth the interested reader’s time. All of my own efforts to manage alcohol [...]
Low-Alcohol Trend? Think Again
A couple weeks ago Joe Roberts (1WineDude) queried on Twitter “Curious: I keep hearing about a low alcohol wine trend in the US, but does any consumer data exist to back it up?” Tyler Thomas (winemaker for Donelan Wines) replied on Twitter with a link to a page of statistics compiled by Wine Institute and [...]
Winemakers Will Come To You
At the end of May, the organizers of Hospice du Rhône announced the end of the big annual event in Paso Robles. Predictably, the announcement prompted expressions of sadness and angst over the cancellation of what was a long-running, successful and popular international celebration of wines made from Rhône varieties. In reading through these reactions, [...]
Praise The Thoughtful Wine List
Today I feel like writing about semantics, because the words we use matter (“natural” wine, anyone?). A month ago Jon Bonné put up a piece on “The Bay Area’s incredible shrinking wine lists” where he commented: Years ago, restaurants like Square One and Zuni Cafe pioneered that balance of fancy and fun. Later came Nopa, [...]
Do Proponents of “Natural” Wine Vaccinate Their Children?
This question occurred to me the other day as I was reading a Newsweek/Daily Beast article about the increasing number of measles cases in the US. Author Kent Sepkowitz wrote this little nugget regarding people who refuse to vaccinate their children: For these folks, and their 200-year-old forebears, vaccines are bad because they are not [...]
Corks, & Cork Soakers
Yesterday I spent a couple hours chatting with a gentleman from Chalon-sur-Saône and his Irish friend. The subject of natural corks came up, in the context of my commitment to using them over screw caps. The French guy currently works for a respected tonnellerie but before that worked for a high-end cork supplier. He told [...]
Managing Vineyard Development In Sonoma County
Last night I attended a public hearing at the Kenwood Fire Station, organized by the Sonoma County Agricultural Commissioner’s office, presenting a draft ordinance governing vineyard (and orchard) development involving tree removal. The meeting was surprisingly cordial, and well-managed by Commissioner Tony Linegar. I’m not planning to do any in-depth reportage here, but want to [...]
Will Drunken Guests Destroy Wine Festivals?
For the last two weekends The Northern Sonoma County Wine Road association held their 34th annual barrel tasting event. Following things on Twitter it was clear that many people were having a great time tasting wines from barrels both weekends. The majority of people attending this sort of wine festival have a responsible good time. [...]
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