We have a new, and quite good, wine blogger in our midst: Cultured Wino. Tiffany, the proprietor of the Cultured Wino, wants to help “de-snootify” wine. And she’s off to a good start by taking me to task over my comment that I think there is room for elitism and snobbery in the world of wine. However, Tiffany’s point, which is correct, is that if the wine industry is going to attract a larger audience then the predominant view of…

Wine lovers talk and talk and talk and talk…about wine. There’s no problem with this unless you find yourself talking to someone whose appreciation of wine isn’t quite as deep as their appreciation of Diet Cola. The glazed look arrives on their face and you get labeled as a snob. So, what you need are like minded lovers of wine who are always available to talk about oak aging, ratings, where to find wines, your latest acquisition or that wine…

It appears there will be no revolt among vintners in Napa Valley as this blog speculated in an earlier post According to an article by Alan Goldfarb in the St. Helena Star, Napa Valley Vintners Board of Directors unanimously approved a significant change in the way the Napa Valley Auction (Now called : “Auction Napa Valley”) will operate. The per couple cost will triple to more than $7000. In addition, the auction will be cut from the usual 7 hours…

The great hole in the world of wine information must certainly be the “Vintage Chart”. Those who publish them (The Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, etc.) try hard, but in the end are forced or choose to take short cuts by rating the vintage of an area so large as to make them fairly useless. California is the best example. The better charts seem to be the Wine Spectator Vintage Charts. When rating California’s Pinot Noir by vintage, they…

I was looking for some information on the internet concerning alcohol laws in the various states. Did you know…. -In New Jersey it’s illegal to give even a sip of alcohol to a minor, even in your home -The wine “Fat Bastard” cannot be sold in Ohio or Texas -The BATF made it illegal to define any alcoholic beverage as “refreshing” -In Missouri a minor can be charged with possession if they take out the trash and there are empty…