Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category

Oct 11, 2006

I Got a Bottle of Wine—What that Means

I received a bottle of 2004 Bishop’s Peak Rock Solid Red from the UPS man today. Brian Talley sent it to me with information about the wine. It was sent in the hopes that I would review it. (Thank you very much, Brian!) There a few things I want to say about this. First, I want to say upfront that I do not review wine at Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog. The reasons are many, but let me hit the…

Oct 2, 2006

Wine Consumption Up…and with it…the deals.

If you are a wine drinker, things are looking up for your pocket book according to a number of sources. First, Americans continue to drink more wine. According to drinks info publisher Adams Beverage Group consumption in 2005 rose 2.1% over the previous year to 273.7 million cases of wine. This upward trend in the volume of wine Americans are drinking has been continuous since 1988. The per capita consumption of wine increased in 2005 to 2.1 gallons, the highest…

Sep 27, 2006

A Paternal Moment in Wine Blogging

I’m feeling rather paternal today. A Wark Communications client, Goosecross Cellars, recently launched their own blog, aptly named, "The Goosecross Cellars Blog". The Goosecross Cellars Blog is the second winery blog we’ve helped birth. The question with any blog, winery related or not is two fold: Can you write on a regular enough basis to keep the attention of your audience and can you deliver content that is both compelling and the unique voice of the winery. I was extraordinarily…

Sep 21, 2006

The Wine Experimentation Campaign

I had  chance to very briefly chat with Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon the other day. In the midst of a short conversation he explained his belief that we live in a "post-varietal" world. This would put him in line with Appellation America (a Wark Communications client) publisher Roger Dial who also believes the future of North American wine culture is terroir driven. This idea that we are moving toward a terroir-driven understanding of wine in America doesn’t necessarily conflict…

Sep 19, 2006

Family Winemakers Returns to Its Roots

Back in the day, Family Winemakers of California was a fairly radical organization relative to the other winery associations that existed in the United States. This radical posture was due in large part to the leaders of the organization (Brice Jones (Sonoma Cutrer), Bill MacIver (Matanzas Creek Winery), Patrick Campbell, Laurel Glen), all huge advocates for the concerns of small wineries and family farmers. In fact, the birth of Family Winemakers of California came after an exodus of small and…