Archive for the ‘Culture and Wine’ Category
A holiday in Northern California’s wine country usually means heading to Napa Valley, Sonoma County or a little of both. In realty and for most people, it means choosing between one or the other. Choosing between Napa and Sonoma isn’t required necessarily by geography, but the vast majority of folks do choose one region and stay put. Having lived in both spots and having spent a good deal of time exploring and working in the wine realm in both areas,…
I have in the past defended and lauded the wine critic and wine criticism, be it in the form of reviews or prose. Like most other forms of professional criticism, wine criticism I think is an act of reverence. When it is done at its best, it is a work of art. I'm reminded of the vital role of the critic upon learning of the death of the great art critic, Robert Hughes. Hughes brought art criticism to the mainstream…
In every state where long-standing bans on sales of alcohol on Sunday have been lifted, consumers express their approval after having experienced the new convenience. This, predictably, appears to be the case in Connecticut where the long-standing ban on picking up a bottle of wine on Sunday was ended by the legislature and sales began in mid May. However, just as predictably, store owners remain unsatisfied by the change. Why consumers would like the lifting of the old, religious-inspired restrictions…
Would you rather be the primary beneficiary in the will of a successful small winery owner from Sonoma or the primarybeneficiary in the will of one of the greatest wine collectors in the world? Would you rather be a powerful and influential wine writer or a powerful and influential wine retailer? Back in my college days, particularly during my time in the dorms, that part of the weekend evening would arrive when most of the shenanigans were over, it was…
I only have inconsequential anecdotal evidence for the idea that as dedicated wine lovers age, they tend to gravitate to wines that are less obvious, more nuanced, more delicate and less enthusiastic in their size. If my anecdotal evidence for this idea is accurate, and if I am correct about the aging wine lover, perhaps its is a case of experience overcoming the power of sensory manipulation. Why my mind tends to drift to the issue of wine upon experiencing…
