Sep 18, 2006
HERE is a really good promotion that the folk over at Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines are putting together to honor the Beaulieu Georges de Latour Private Reserve, a wine that is truly an historic CA wine. They want anyone with a good story about this wine to write in and share it with them. The best stories will show up on their website and the very best will end up in an advertising campaign. In the first place there…
Sep 14, 2006
The governing body in France that grants appellation status to wine growing regions has added 4 new appellations to the over 400 that currently are recognized in France. There are apparently some who are quite unhappy about this further carving up of France’s vineyard lands:“France’s wine industry often operates at different speeds with little co-ordination or coherence,” said Jean Clavel, head of the Coteaux Languedoc AOC region. “This decision by INAO is the fruit of 10 years of work by…
Sep 11, 2006
Imagine walking into a bookstore and finding that novel you’ve been looking for. It’s right there on the New Releases hardback table. The inside flap, right there on the book, notes the cost is $25.99. You bring it up to check out counter and they inform you that the cost is actually $39.00. Welcome to the wine industry…well, sort of. Wineries don’t print their suggested retail prices directly on their bottles or labels. But they most certainly do have one….
Aug 30, 2006
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill that would have recognized Zinfandel as "The Historic Wine of California". What a GirlyMan!! Well, maybe that’s not fair. Let’s at least see what he had to say in his veto message: "To name only one of the many of the varietals produced in California as thehistoric wine fails to recognize the many world class varietals produced in the State.With California’s unique micro climates, diverse geography, outstanding soils, andindustrious growers, farmworkers and vintners who…
Aug 29, 2006
Another winery client at Wark Communications is about to take up blogging. This occasion has given me the opportunity to think about what’s important in this pursuit. One of those things is honesty and openness. I believe readers respond best to those who disclose as much as is prudent to their readers. Oddly, this point was driven home yesterday when I was looking over a new website, not a blog, that I think might have potential. But, as I cruised…