Aug 8, 2006
Is Costco the largest single retailer of wine in the United States? I believe they are. So, it’s a very nice little coup for Wine Enthusiast Magazine to be able to announce that their reviews and ratings will accompany wines being sold at 300+ Costco stores around the country. I can’t speak to all the Wine Enthusiast wine reviews with the confidence that I can speak to their reviews of California and West Coast wines. But here’s the thing. Over…
Aug 7, 2006
When was the last time you turned on the news and DID NOT hear the words "were killed" or "in fighting" or "was destroyed"? Is it me, or have these words taken on greater prominence in our culture over the past three or four years? It would be nice to think that wine might be immune from such turns of phrase. Alas, as these headlines show that just isn’t the case:Lebanese Wineries Could Be Targeted Israel 2006 Vintage Under Threat…
Aug 7, 2006
While I’m certainly a fan of the various alternative closures for wine, I’m not sure I like THIS IDEA. And I’m sure I don’t like the idea conjured up by those depicted in the photo to the left. What we’ve got here, essentially, is a promotional piece for the idea of replacing the traditional champagne cork with a bottle cap. The idea behind the replacement of the Champagne cork with a bottle cap is the same as most other…
Aug 7, 2006
There’s a wine story out there today that seems to have found its way into the sections of newspapers other than "FOOD". Michelle Locke, the find reporter for AP that has the wine beat writes about some sort of magnet devise that supposedly softens up the tannins in wine through some form of…well…somehow. While interesting, it’s not very consequential. What’s really interesting is the quote that comes out of the story from Peter Farrell, a "master of wine" and the…
Aug 2, 2006
The spectacular heat wave that smashed into Northern California about a week and a half ago is well over We are back to normal here. In fact, looking out my office window I see the tell tale signs of a normal summer weather pattern: the final wisps of fog are blowing off an we are heading toward an 85 degree day. The affects of the heat wave, however, are likely to have an effect on the grapes. Will Bucklin, of…