Daily Wine News: American Dream

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-24-2011

Ulises Valdez. Courtesy of Skipstone.

In Wine Review Online, Tina Caputo writes about Ulises Valdez, “one of Sonoma County’s most successful vineyard managers, growers, and now, winery owners.” Turns out Valdez, 41, jumped the U.S./Mexico border at age 16 without a job and unable to speak English. A great story.

Jon Bonné writes about the Zinfandel Advocates & Producers festival, and calls for an end to “the great Zinfandel divide.”

At an auction in Hong Kong this weekend, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wine collection sold for $5.6 million. The Wall Street Journal Asia discusses the recent influx of auctions and the new attention being paid to provenance.

In the San Francisco Chronicle, Lynne Char Bennett takes a look at the increasing number of U.S. producers that are fortifying traditional Portuguese varieties to make Port that, well, tastes more like Port.

Nutrition labeling on wine. Unsurprisingly, the big guys support it.

A vineyard in Malibu. Owned and operated by Emilio Estevez.

Pam Danziger, a luxury-goods marketing guru, offers some advice to winery marketers at last week’s Direct to Consumer Wine Symposium.

Recent Uncorkings: Olives!

Posted by | Posted in Wine Reviews | Posted on 01-21-2011

Les Jassettes to accompany New Year's Eve Dinner

Just before Christmas, Terroirist Greg started the trend of posting mini-reviews of the wines he’s been drinking. I’ll aim to do the same, periodically posting some thoughts on what I’ve opened up over the previous few weeks.

I try to hew to the 100-point scale as articulated on CellarTracker. That scale assigns “good” wines ratings of 80-84. “Very good” wines get ratings of 85-89, “outstanding” wines run from 90-95, and only those that are “extraordinary” break 96-100. I do my best to be honest about the meanings of those adjectives. So my 87 is smack-dab in the middle of the “very good” range — enjoyable, has characteristics that I enjoy, and very much worth drinking.

Wine-tasting is, of course, subjective. I’ve found that I tend to score wines lower than my friends, not necessarily because I found a wine significantly worse than my tasting partner but because I really try to reserve scores above 90 for truly outstanding or extraordinary wines.

I recognize that the 100-point scale comes with quite a bit of baggage. It’s my hope that my scores form just one data point for each wine I taste — and that folks see for themselves whether their palate and their experience with a given wine match up with mine. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: What’s Your Favorite?

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-21-2011

Uploaded to flickr by stevendamron.

On Thursday, the Treasury Department updated the rules for designating viticultural areas.

Speaking of federal regulations, the Treasury Department also opened up a two-month comment period on proposed new grape variety names for use in making wines. My favorite? A hybrid red called “favorite,” petitioned by Chateau Z Vineyard in Monroe, Virginia. Check the whole thing out — some big name wineries are petitioning for new grapes (and new names for well-known grapes).

The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases some updated data, finding that Australians are drinking less beer these days than at any time in the past 61 years. How much beer did the Aussies used to drink?

Jon Bonné is impressed with President Obama’s wine game.

Wines from Idaho and Colorado seem pretty obscure to most of us. How about wines from the Czech Republic? The Wall Street Journal visits and finds “a pronounced new interest and heightened appreciation for fine (Czech) vino, with a new generation of wine bars, as well as well-stocked wine shops and improved restaurant wine lists.”

As the economy recovers, consumers are starting to spend money on pricier wines. In the 52 weeks ending on December 11, total U.S. wine sales rose 4.1 percent — with sales of wines costing $20 or more jumping 11 percent. Leading these sales? Young drinkers.

Daily Wine News: Borrowed Money

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-20-2011

Uploaded to flickr by Nick J Webb.

Last night’s state dinner featured a 2008 Dumol Russian River Chardonnay, a 2005 Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, and a 2008 Poet’s Leap Botrytis Riesling. The Quilceda Creek retails for just over $200 per bottle. I’ve heard it’s one of America’s best wines — but is that an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars? Let us know in the comments.

Most wine pundits pretend to be know-it-alls. Matt Kramer, though, is willing to admit that he’s confused.

In the Washington Post, Dave McIntyre writes a nice profile of wine importer Robert Kacher, “champion of inexpensive French wines.”

Lettie Teague interviews Robert Schagrin, the proprieter of New York’s Crush Wine & Spirits.

Elsewhere in the Wall Street Journal, an interesting piece on wine sales. “The economic downturn was toughest for the U.S. wineries that sell wines for $20 a bottle and up. After switching to less-expensive wines in the downturn, many consumers are staying at those lower prices because they liked what they found, industry executives and analysts say.”

Heard of Jessica Altieri or WineChannelTV? Reuters thinks you should pay attention.

Daily Wine News: Points!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-19-2011

The wholesaling lobby.

In his column and his blog, Eric Asimov chimes in on the Willamette Valley’s 2008 vintage. As he writes, “the results seem to be unanimous. The 2008 vintage for Oregon pinot noir is superb.”

Could direct shipping soon be legal in New Jersey? Wine Spectator investigates.

Paul W. Jameson takes a really interesting look at the 100-point rating system by selecting six ’07 California pinot noirs that were awarded 87 to 92 points by the Wine Spectator, and blind tasting the wines with his tasting group. Jameson’s piece also has some interesting data on grade inflation.

Speaking of points, Remy Charest writes a nice piece on wine scores — concluding, get this, that points are entirely subjective. Agreed!

Talia Baiocchi writes about the past, present, and future of Santa Cruz wines. On a related note, Santa Cruz also inspired a great Pearl Jam song.

A German winemaker has uncovered a hidden cache of 500 bottles of  wine — untouched since 1945! He plans to re-bottle the wine, which strikes me as rather strange.

Yet another look at wine auctions in Hong Kong. Turns out Lafite remains quite expensive.

Dr. Vino sets the record straight on the history of white Zinfandel.

Daily Wine News: California Dreamin’

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-18-2011

Some California Zin. Uploaded to flickr by juanlondres2.

Snooth editor Gregory Dal Piaz puts together a cheat sheet in anticipation of this year’s ZAP Annual Zinfandel Festival, highlighting ten wines. Talty Vineyards, the “under-the-radar Zin producer” we mentioned yesterday, makes his list!

Jon Bonné highlights five of California’s “Winemakers to Watch.” On his list is Alex Davis of Porter Creek, one of my absolute favorite pinot producers.

At Bloomberg, John Mariani discovers some elegant Sonoma County pinots. He highlights Windsor SonomaFaillaMorlet Family Vineyards, and Martinelli Winery. Has anyone tried Windsor Sonoma or Morlet Family? Those are new to me.

Any plans on April 17? I plan on drinking some Malbec. Wines of Argentina has designated the 17th as Malbec World Day.

Vinography turns seven. Congrats, Alder!

Cheese and Wine, In That Order

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 01-17-2011

Jill Erber, at Cheesetique in Alexandria, VA.

No matter how much you think you know about cheese, entering Cheesetique in Alexandria, Virginia, is a humbling experience. Proprietor Jill Erber stocks, on any given day, 300 or more cheeses and cured meats, ranging from a silky and buttery Daffinois to a “3 noses” ripe and complex Cashiel Blue. There is a wall of carefully chosen wines reflecting a broad range of vineyards, methods, and price points; a wide selection of cheese accouterments; and gourmet items ranging from locally made chocolates to artisan vinegars.

Making a decision at the display case is difficult, but if you enter the cheese and wine bar, it becomes easier. You can choose several different complimentary cheeses or charcuterie from the rotating special list to sample, there is also a menu of cheese-centric dishes and an extensive wine list. If you attend one of Ms. Erber’s cheese tasting classes, you see immediately that this woman is the Robert Parker of cheeses, and is also passionate about her wine. Last week, I decided to ask her how Cheesetique’s perfect pairing of cheese and wine came about. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Zin Rocks

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-17-2011

Talty Vineyards

In Australia, liquor companies may soon be required to display nutritional information and list ingredients on beer, wine, and spirits.

Jay McInerney writes a great piece on Zinfandel, saying some really nice things about TurleyBedrock, and Carlisle. If you’re looking for an under-the-radar Zin producer that’ll knock your socks off, check out Talty Vineyards.

Rémy Cointreau, the massive French liquor company, is looking to sell its Champagne division, which includes the Charles Heidsieck and Piper-Heidsieck brands.

Consumption and sales of sweet wines are at an all-time low. At a UC Davis symposium last week, a host of wine producers and industry experts explored this issue.

In the Wall Street Journal Asia, a look at the upcoming Sotheby’s auction of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wine collection.

Daily Wine News: Winding Down

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 01-14-2011

Uploaded to flickr by tsuacctnt.Cork’d announces plans to wind down operations. CEO Lindsay Ronga will “move on to other opportunities” and senior editor Jon Troutman “will continue working in the wine industry” with Cork’d chairman, Gary Vaynerchuk.

W. Blake Gray profiles Matthew Rorick, and exciting young winemaker producing “unusual varietals from tiny vineyard blocks from less-heralded wine regions.”

Kevin Zraly is among the best-known wine educators in the country. At the Wall Street Journal’s wine blog, Jay McInerney previews Zraly’s recently published book, The Ultimate Wine Companion.

In two posts, Tom Wark analyzes Vintank’s recent interview with Craig Wolf, president and CEO of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America. The analysis is spot-on.

Wine and social media. Turns out it’s profitable (when combined intelligently).

California wine has terroir!

Wanted: Wine Writers

Posted by | Posted in Terroirist | Posted on 01-13-2011

Uploaded to flickr by Dave Dugdale.

Terroirist is off to quite a start.

Just one week after our launch, Tom Wark of Fermentation wrote a glowing review of the blog, stating, “It’s new, it’s good, it’s smart, it’s daily and it’s on my ‘to read’ list.” Alder Yarrow of Vinography has put it on his list of “Wine Blogs I’ve Newly Discovered.” 1WineDude and Steve Heimoff have both commented on our posts. And on a personal note, I’ve been published in the Los Angeles Times, linked to by Eric Asimov at the New York Times, and scored a fellowship to the annual Symposium for Professional Wine Writers at Meadowood Napa Valley.

But we’d like more content. That means we need help — your help. We’re looking for writers to cover emerging wine regions, conduct interviews with people ITB, review books, and write about auctions and investing. But that’s not it; we’re interested in all things wine. Just remember that none of the terroirists have any financial stake in any wine store, winery, wine distributor, or wine importer, and we’d like to keep it that way.

For now, at least, Terroirist is a nonprofit endeavor. But there are some pretty cool perks associated with being a wine blogger. So if you’d like to join us, please send an introductory email, two writing samples, and three story ideas to david (at) terroirist (dot) com by Friday, February 11.