Photo courtesy of Purple Pages
Today is the 3rd annual global celebration of the Chardonnay grape! Grab a bottle (blanc de blancs works too!) and talk about it on your favorite social media site.
Speaking of social media, in WebProNews, Shawn Hess breaks down a recent survey on the online presence of wineries and concludes “that social media is having a dramatic impact on wine drinkers.”
But are consumers too busy to think about wine? The head of one research firm, The Source, thinks so, saying most wine is bought “quickly” and “emotionally.”
One way for time-strapped consumers to get a good deal: seek out private label wines. Bill St. John goes behind the labels of such new-age negociants as Cameron Hughes and 90+ Cellars in the Chicago Tribune.
Is “wine on tap” a more sustainable, drinkable alternative? Marlena John, a macroeconomics graduate student, argues that “[e]conomically, kegging wine makes sense.”
In Wine Spectator, Tim Fish provides an “Insider’s Guide to Sonoma,” with suggestions for dining and winery visits.
While in Sonoma, maybe you can stop in and see Terroirist favorite Jamie Kutch, the subject of this fantastic profile in Entrepreneur.
And make sure to seek out some Cobb Wines from the extreme Sonoma Coast, one of which Ed McCarthy annoints “California’s greatest Pinot Noir.”
“This old fellow with the amazing stories of royal patronage, and helping fend off scurvy on sea voyages before the use of limes, is picking up a few new tricks.” John Maher describes Fondillón, a unique sweet wine from Spain.
Can the shape of a Champagne bottle actually slow down oxygen exchange and produce a better, more age-worthy wine? Bollinger seems to think so, as it unveils a new, old (originally from 1846) bottle for its entire line.
Meanwhile, can something so unmistakably French as Champagne be the “Best of British”? Um, no. Jancis Robinson, among others, takes issue with some dodgy marketing of Lanson in the run-up to the Summer Olympics.
The wines of Southern France may not be the best of British either, but Dave McIntyre argues in the Washington Post that they are “tremendous in quality and value” and gives all of us some summer homework.
Congratulations to the winners of the 2012 Born Digital Wine Awards! According to the site, “The aim of the awards is to give value to writers, photographers and videographers who are successful at creating wine content online.” The photo essays are especially worth your time!
And bravo to the newest recipients of the Master Sommelier Diploma! Only four people made it this year, including Sabato Sagaria of Aspen’s Little Nell Hotel, Thomas Price of The Metropolitan Grill in Seattle, Dennis Kelly of the legendary French Laundry, and Roland Micu of San Francisco’s COI.
Finally, for something completely different, here is a guide to…the wine regions in “Game of Thrones”?