Jul 25, 2006
Can you imagine the Federal Govt. or a state government in the United States refering to a winery as "Third Rate"? This is the job of wine critics, isn’t it? Yet it France it appears that such character assassination is the purview of government. The French want to put a six lane highway and a TGV line through Bordeaux to make the trip from Spain to Northern France quicker. However, in doing so they are going to have to go…
Jul 24, 2006
The New York Time’s Eric Pfanner has an interesting story today about a French wine company apparently doing something extraordinary for a French wine company: Branding! The story has become a fairly familiar one: The French, having trouble competing with competition from new world wineries and their own tradition, must do something to revive their franchise as the premier producers of wine in the world. The person behind the new French Branding Experiment is Pierre Courbon, the director of international…
Jul 23, 2006
What wine do you drink when it’s 115 degrees? That was the official high temperature in the Wark Family backyard yesterday, and the record high for my life. The answer is not wine. Believe me, you’re sluggish enough without putting any alcohol in your body. The correct answer to what you drink is obviously The SLURPEE. Now, when it comes to Slurpees, I’m a "Cola" kind of guy when it comes to Slurpees. It has a refreshing "bite" that gets…
Jul 21, 2006
I’m not even sure what to make of THIS. The United Nations’ "Food and Agriculture Organization" has issued a statement saying that 90% of Georgian wine sold outside that country is Fake. That’s just astounding. If it’s not wine, what is it? "Fake Georgian wines ranged from alcoholic cocktails mixing spirits, colourings and flavours to wines bearing false appellations of origin." Yuck! The Georgia wine industry has had it tough this last year, owing mainly to the Russian Government’s banning…
Jul 19, 2006
I sat back in my chair. Somewhat stunned. I had just read what amounted to a "hit piece" on a few wineries by a wine critic. The gist of the article was, "these guys just don’t cut the mustard". Being the sensitive type I had to wonder what the point is of raking these wineries over the coals. It’s a question that could only be answered if I knew the inner workings of the wine critic’s mind. Who knew how…