Terroirist Wins Best New Wine Blog!

Posted by | Posted in Terroirist | Posted on 07-24-2011

On Saturday night at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Charlottesville, Terroirist won the Best New Wine Blog Award. As one might imagine, I was elated.

I wasn’t prepared to give remarks, so when I went on stage, I simply thanked all the bloggers in attendance – about 325! – for blogging. I wouldn’t be a blog writer if I weren’t a blog reader, so I appreciate what each and every wine blogger is doing. And wanted to let everyone know that I wouldn’t have ever started blogging if I weren’t such a huge fan of so many wine bloggers.

But I should have mentioned a few people to whom I owe some deep gratitude.

At the top of that list are my fellow bloggers at Terroirist: Ainsley Adams, Rebecca Canan, Katie Cavanagh, Andrew Feldsen, Greg Golec, Robby Schrum, and our newest Terroirist, Jeff Vogel. By assembling such a smart, dynamic team, we’ve been able to keep our content prolific and interesting – and offer our readers a site that’s worth visiting daily.

Next on that list is Tom Wark. Tom created the Wine Blog Awards in 2007, and was instrumental in creating the annual Wine Blogger’s Conference that same year. He launched his own blog, Fermentation, way back in 2004. And he’s been one of the most important voices in wine writing community ever since – encouraging everyone, myself included, to write about wine. (For the first time, Tom was eligible for this year’s awards, and took home the prize for Best Overall Blog and Best Industry Blog.)

Also on that list are Joe RobertsAlder Yarrow, and Eric Asimov. I’ve been reading these guys since I first caught the wine bug at the end of 2007, so they’ve been a huge part of my development as a wine writer – and they set the bar high for all of us.

Finally, I’m grateful for our readers. Terroirist wouldn’t be relevant if it weren’t for YOU – so thanks, enormously, for making my website a part of your life.

Weekly Interview: María Martínez-Sierra

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 07-22-2011

Each week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses 16 questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring María Martínez-Sierra, the winemaker at Bodegas Montecillo of Rioja, Spain.

Montecillo was founded in 1874 in the town of Fuenmayor, Spain, and is the third oldest winery in Rioja. María has been making wines at Montecillo for over 30 years – meaning she launched her career when women winemakers were virtually unheard in Spain.

And today, she has quite an operation. The winery produces 275,000 cases annually – at several different price points – and recently opened a new wine project in Rías Baixas to make an Albariño. Check out our interview with María below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Charlottesville!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 07-22-2011

Tom Wark is starting to think that “the very idea of a ‘wine blogosphere’” is a “false categorization.” I agree. Wine bloggers are a critical part of the wine media. And that’s why I’m so fired up about the Wine Bloggers’ Conference, which starts today in Charlottesville. (Follow the action on twitter, with the hashtag #WBC11.)

On Sunday, Jon Bonné “returned” to the Santa Cruz Mountains. Yesterday, he took to his blog to explain why Rhys Vineyards has captured “the attention of the wine-and-words crowd.”

In reaction to the scorching summer temperatures, Dr. Vino brings attention to the certainty of heat-damaged wine.

As Hong Kong’s wine auction industry has taken off, so has its wine storage industry.

Joe Roberts (aka 1WineDude) tastes a 111-year-old wine – and lives to tell about it.

Wine Spectator covers the news that a group of female winemakers in Austria has posed — in lingerie — for a new calendar.

Daily Wine News: Off to Charlottesville!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 07-21-2011

At the Bloggers' Conference, Friday night's dinner will be held at Monticello. Rumor has it that Hardy Rodenstock will be handling the wines.

Later today, I’m off to Charlottesville for the annual Wine Bloggers’ Conference. Please keep your fingers crossed over these next few days — last month, we were named an official finalist in the “Best New Wine Blog” category for the annual Wine Blog Awards, and the winner will be announced on Saturday!

For some pre-coverage of the Wine Bloggers’ Conference, check out 1WineDude, New York Cork Report, and the Washington Post.

Ever wonder why the United States doesn’t produce more sparkling wine – even though the category is booming? Taxes. W. Blake Gray has the details.

“When the mercury soars,” Dave McIntyre’s “mind starts to wander.” And this week, his mind is in southern Italy – and its wines.

Tom Natan, the owner of first vine wine imports + sales, is a “chemical engineer and science geek.” So he has the qualifications to argue that that wine is understudied.  This week, in a super interesting post, he looks at the latest studies on resveratrol – and wonders why “no one seems to have looked at in wine-glass sized doses….  and no one has looked at resveratrol in combination with any of the other potentially beneficial chemicals in wine.”

Wines in the United States are usually served at the wrong temperature.” Please repeat this 100 times and send it to all of your friends. And then do it again. When served at “room temperature,” most reds taste pretty terrible. (Of course, most whites are served too cold!)

White House party crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi are back in the news! This time, they’re being sued for “allegedly defrauding a woman out of the money she paid them for a tour of Virginia’s wine country.”

Put A Cork In It!

Posted by | Posted in Out of the Glass | Posted on 07-20-2011

With a new initiative from the California Wine Club (CWC), you can earn credit toward your next wine purchase while helping the environment. In partnership with ReCORK, the CWC will plant 1,000 new cork trees if they collect 20 million corks by September 2011. For every 30 corks that you mail in, you’ll earn a $10 credit towards purchases from the club and entry into a variety of weekly contests.

This initiative got me thinking about corks. Cork has been used to stopper wine vessels for centuries, though it faces growing competition from other closure methods. But why do we use cork? How are corks even made?

Learn more about cork and its history below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: The AWCC Is Coming!

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 07-20-2011

The American Wine Consumer Coalition is moving closer to reality! Tom Wark has the details.

FishBowlLA covers this year’s wine blog awards, and warns of a possible “broken Merlot bottle mini-feud between Best New Blog finalists Reverse Wine Snob and Terroirist.”

Eric Asimov tastes through 20 different bottles of Sauvignon Blanc from Northern California, and isn’t impressed. “Sure, we found bottles that we liked. But too many lacked freshness and vibrancy, and… others seemed disjointed or unbalanced or simply lacked harmony.”

In her latest Vintage America column, Talia Baiocchi brings attention to Chicago’s budding wine culture. “As the city’s dining scene continues to become more and more dynamic,” she explains, “it’s building a wine scene that threatens to overthrow the prevailing steakhouse mentality and, at the very least, nudge beer culture around a bit.”

In Wine Spectator, Matt Kramer offers his thoughts on what “needs to be said” about wine.

In Jay McInerney’s latest attempt to fill his readers with envy, he writes about a recent dinner with “several of the city’s top sommeliers… at the Park Slope home of Daniel Johnnes, wine director of Daniel Boulud’s restaurant group, founder of La Paulee New York, importer and all-around super-geek, for a Riesling tasting.”

Daily Wine News: Geography on the Brain

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 07-19-2011

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Randall Grahm takes part in the FiveBooks Interview series, putting together “a fabulously eclectic reading list for understanding and enjoying the world of wine.” (H/T: Eric Asimov.)

In the San Francisco Chronicle
, Jon Bonné returns to the “Santa Cruz Mountains, with geography on the brain.”

VinTank
’s Cruvee, a “free social monitoring tool [which] helps wine brands track and engage in conversations across the web about their brands” – is highlighted in Mashable. Congrats, Paul Mabray!

About six months ago, Joe Roberts (aka 1WineDude) went on a wine-touring excursion to Chile and Argentina. Over the next few months, he put together a series of posts on “the good, the bad, the ugly, and the stunning” from his trip. If you’re looking for some good reading, check out his wrap-up of the coverage.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is terrified of privatization. So, to pretend it cares about consumer choice, the PLCB has “reintroduced a list of proposals,” including Sunday liquor sales, home delivery, and more wine kiosks. (Of course, the best way to respond to market pressure is to let the market decide, but that would require eliminating the socialist organization known as the PLCB.)

In France, it’s been hot
. Vignerons in Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne have already announced that they expect to start harvest “weeks earlier than normal.” Now, the Loire trade association has said that its wineries, too, will pick early – and expect to harvest at the end of August.

On the Wine Compass Blog, a preview of the “Drinking Local” breakout discussion at this weekend’s Wine Bloggers Conference.

Later this week, when Space Shuttle Atlantis to Earth, the astronauts should consider drinking red wine. A new study suggests it “could help prevent the ill effects of prolonged weightlessness on the human body.”

In late June, workers at sherry bodegas in Jerez “came out on strike over pay and working conditions… and they are threatening to strike again during harvest.”

Weekly Wine Roundup: Beat the Heat!

Posted by | Posted in Wine Reviews | Posted on 07-18-2011

Although members of the Terroirist cell were busy moving to new lands (New York!), adjusting to a return to the States (from France and India!) and drinking beer to quell oppressive heat, a few of us did find time to pull some corks:

David White
I had three whites this week. All completely different — and all quite enjoyable.

On Tuesday, over dinner at Zentan (an Asian restaurant in DC), I had a glass of the 2009 Adelsheim Pinot Gris. The wine is decidedly simple, but it’s varietally pure and focused — and delicious for the price.

On Wednesday, I opened a 2007 Richard Leroy Anjou Les Noëls de Montbenault, a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley. It was delicious — and totally unique. The wine smelled big and sweet — honey, apricots, super ripe orchard fruit, along with some really nice cinnamon and all spice. Underneath that was the (unexpected) smell of fresh rainwater, which got stronger as the wine opened up. Despite these big notes (and some oxidative flavors, which might not have been purposeful), the wine finished with a crisp acidity.

The wine of the week was consumed on Saturday, together with some fresh-caught rockfish and softshell crab from Maryland’s Western Shore, when I opened up a 2010 Massican Gemina. An inspired-by northeastern-Italy blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Ribolla Gialla, the wine was absolutely delicious. And surprisingly, it hit its peak as after about two hours out of the fridge. “Seductive” doesn’t begin to describe how captivated I was by the nose (light and floral yet sweet yet tart — absolutely incredible). Read the rest of this entry »

Daily Wine News: Pushing for Privatization

Posted by | Posted in Wine News | Posted on 07-18-2011

Uploaded to flickr by Norman27.

This week, Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Turzai, the Republican Majority Leader, will formally introduce legislation to privatize Pennsylvania’s liquor stores. Bravo.

In the Wall Street Journal, Jay McInerney pays homage to the wines of Meursault, focusing on Dominique Lafon and Jean-Marc Roulot, the “Han Solo and Luke Skywalker of this small village in Burgundy’s Côte de Beaune.” In his piece, he also calls attention to the widespread problem of premature oxidation, or premox, that has plagued so much white Burgundy. McInerney writes more about premox on his blog.

In Austria, a group of female winemakers has posed — in lingerie — for a new calendar to promote their industry.

Jon Bonné has concluded that the phrase “European palate” is an “utter load of crap.” He’d much prefer it if those looking for rhetorical shortcuts instead stated that “some palates are geared to big, powerful flavors” while “some are driven to nuanced, subtle ones.” I agree, but I doubt those who use talk about European palates are listening.

On his blog, Steve Heimoff profiles Andy Erickson and Annie Favia, the husband-and-wife team behind Favia.

Is it ethically problematic for those who write about wine to be friends with those who make it? Alder Yarrow explores this question.

For 16 years, the most-requested wine at restaurants has been Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Now, the parent company of Santa Margherita — Terlato Wines – “is looking to cash in on brand affinity with consumers” interested in red wine, by introducing Santa Margherita Chianti Classico Riserva.

Fox Business sits down with Matthew Spaccarelli, the general manager of New York’s Benmarl Winery, to discuss what wine can tell us about economic growth.

Weekly Interview: Mike Brunson

Posted by | Posted in Interviews | Posted on 07-15-2011

Each week, as regular readers know, Terroirist poses 16 questions to a winemaker. This week, we’re featuring Mike Brunson, the winemaker and vineyard manager at Michel-Schlumberger.

Michel-Schlumberger was founded in 1979 when Jean-Jacques Michel, a native of Switzerland, fell in love with Sonoma and found the perfect piece of land in Dry Creek Valley. While Dry Creek Valley was known then – and it still is now — for hearty red grapes like Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, and Carignane, Michel believed the land would be perfect for Bordeaux varietals, so planted his land with Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, and Merlot.

In 1991, Michel took things up a notch by partnering with Jacques Schlumberger, whose family had 400 years of grape growing and winemaking experience in Alsace. Schlumberger had been in Sonoma since 1971, and when he joined the team, he put together a new staff and “cleared the decks” for high-quality wine from the newly named Michel-Schlumberger.

Mike Brunson joined the team in 1993 as the assistant winemaker to Fred Payne. In 2006, Mike he became the head winemaker. Check out our interview with Mike below the fold. Read the rest of this entry »