Archive for the ‘Public Relations & Wine’ Category
It’s hard to get a handle on Fred Franzia, CEO of Bronco Wine Company and producer of Two Buck Chuck, among other wine brands. Reading about his life and attitudes and beliefs in the latest issue of INC, you get the impression this is a man who will pull no punches and go after the things he wants in a fairly direct fashion. Among the brands owned by Bronco Wine Company are: ForestVille, Estrella, Charles Shaw, Montpellier, Grand Cru, Silver…
I don’t think I can agree with Mike Dunne more than I do. In his frank fashion, Dunne, the longstanding wine writer for the Sacramento Bee, takes to task the wine industry’s associations for not getting behind an effort to name Zinfandel the "historic wine of California." Some of you will recall that not too long ago California State Senator Carole Migden pushed a proposal to name Zinfandel the Official State Grape. Well, this didn’t go over to well with…
Andy Beckstoffer is a pretty astute guy. Andy is one of the largest growers in Napa Valley and maybe the most respected. And it was Andy who last year initiated an inter-industry discussion on the affects of long hangtime and hyper ripeness on the vines and on wines. This is a touch subject for a number or of reasons. Over the past decade or so vintners have been asking growers to let the fruit hang on the vine much longer…
I think it’s simple: A designated growing area, an appellation or, as they are called in the United States, American Viticultural Areas, are only useful if they are able to deliver expectation to the drinker. If I can’t have a pretty good idea of what I’ll experience in the bottle if it says "Anderson Valley" or ‘Oakville" or "Russian River Valley" on the label, then what’s the point of putting the appellation on the bottle at all? This is also…
A wine that alludes to marijuana? Hell that’s nothing. When I was getting a B.A. at Humboldt State University I crossed paths (only saw, of course, never indulged) with Pot Tea, Pot-infused hard candy, Pot-Cakes and Brownies, Pot-laced wine, Pot-infused meatloaf and, in what was really a tribute to the quality of Humboldt horticulture, a large bud of Humboldt grown pot that would stick to the ceiling when tossed upward with force. Still, it’s nice to see some vintners have…
