Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
Despite the occassional rant about Americans drinking more and more high alcohol, sweet tasting wines, I do believe the American wine consumer is becoming more sophisticated in its taste for wine. Maybe we are just becoming more experimental. Maybe as a people we are embracing the notion of variety. Perhaps the best evidence of our growing sophistication is our steady embrace of German Riesling. According to Wines of German, a trade organization responsible for promoting the wines of German in…
You see a lot of events in Wine Country that seem utterly the same. The reason they seem that way is because they probably are. But, before we get our panties in a bunch about sameness, it’s important to realize that some formats for celebrations and events just work. And they work well. The Charitable Wine Auction is a perfect example. It works like this: 1. There is an organization that needs to raise funds to operate2. One or two…
To quote a friend: "It’s a bit like watching a Civil War Re-enactment. You know who’s going to win." I can’t help myself. The whole fiasco with the celebration tasting (it’s not longer a competition) of the 1976 Paris Tasting is so weird, juicy and fun I just have to offer an update. A quick recap: In 1976 Steve Spurrier held a tasting between CA and French wines. The judges tasted the wines blind. CA wines came out on top….
Mark Fisher over at Wine Sediments gives us the heads up on a development which is at once pitiful while also indicative of the crisis that exists in the French wine industry. Fisher reports and comments on the fact that at the upcoming "redo" of the famed Paris Tasting of 1976, at which American wines surprising bested French wines and put this country’s vino on the map, will in fact not be a BLIND tasting as it was the first…
How long does it take for a new grape growing region to establish a reputation for it’s wines? It can take quite a while or no time at all, because this kind of development is not dependent on the passage of time. It is dependent on the quality and quantity of fine wines from the region. Marin County, one county south of Sonoma, is attempting to build a reputation for its wines and primarily for it’s Pinot Noir. Over the…
