Jan 10, 2008
There is a wildly subversive and subliminal quality to this story. The Office of Champagne, USA has issued a press release exalting the fact that "Belgian Customs authorities seized and destroyed a shipment of over 3,200 bottles of André sparkling wine. The shipment was seized at the port of Anvers, Belgium, on Tuesday." The Gallo-produced products were seized and destroyed because the wine carries the terms “California Champagne” and “André …
Jan 9, 2008
The issue of direct shipping brings out the best and the worst in folks, no doubt about that. But I also think the Direct Shipping issue is the kind of topic that can demonstrate the power of online media and the power of blogs. First the good in people. Alder’s post on the Wine.com Stings has resulted in a remarkably coherent and well thought out set of comments on the issue. I can tell you that people are reading them…
Jan 8, 2008
Some of the most important work I’ve done over the past year has been with the Specialty Wine Retailers Association where I began acting as executive director in January 2007. In that year I’ve had the chance to testify in a number of states on the issue of direct shipping, work with some amazingly talented folks and even bear the brunt of some of the wholesalers’ more nasty and snide remarks. However, a good deal of that time was spent…
Dec 7, 2007
The 2007 calendar year is coming to an end an that prompts me to think harder about the past two months, to make assessments and to try to learn some lessons before we move on the perfectly lovely arbitrary notion of a "new year". The wine new of 2007 when looked at retrospectively turns out to be truly educational as well as a signal of what to anticipate in the coming year and years. Here are my most interesting news…
Nov 26, 2007
For some time now a controversy has been brewing over the system of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). Russian River Valley, Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley…these are all AVAs, geographically delineated areas created/approved by the Federal Government’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) that in theory possess unique climate and geologic aspects affecting grape growing. AVAs are akin to Europe’s well-established appellation system. Unlike in Europe, America’s AVA’s do not come with rules on what grapes can be grown, how…