Archive for the ‘Rating Wine’ Category
We learn about ourselves and our world through little mini revelations. I’ve had a few over the years as they relate to my life and wine. Here are my Top Ten Wine Revelations 10. Stony Hill ChardonnayStony Hill’s Chardonnays, those crisp, lemony, minerally, long-lived gems, were the first wines that possessed me and put me on a quest. I wanted to taste and/or have every single one ever produced. My collection, unfortunately stops somewhere in the very early 70s, meaning…
It’s often said that Sonoma County winemakers have a chip on their shoulder named "Napa Valley". I don’t know if the chip actually exists, if there really is any significant rivalry between the two, or if one region is better than the other. But I do know this. The purported chip/rivalry/competition is perfect fodder for writers who are looking for a lead for their story about Sonoma County. I think I’ve read this lead at least 1000 times: "While the…
Joel Stein reminds us just how important a statement Richard Hofstadter made in his seminal 1963 work, "Anti-Intellectualism in American Life." This reoccurring theme we see throughout American history of folks aiming their disdain at intellectuals, "elites", and deep thinkers is at the core of Stein’s recent LA Times Column entitled, "The Language of Snobbery". Wrote Stein, "When wine drinkers tell me they taste notes of cherries, tobacco and rose petals, usually all I can detect is a whole lot…
WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD? Napa Valley Vintners"The question is not why the chicken crossed the road, but how much we can charge for a taste of that chicken." Constellation CEO"We are very confident that upon finally crossing the road, the chicken will fit in perfectly to our growing ‘Across The Road’ portfolio of chickens." The Wine SpectatorNon Vintage Chicken—The Road"This is a superb effort by the chicken that we haven’t seen in a number of crossings. A…
Alice Feiring….You GO! I think it’s great that the San Francisco Chronicle and the LA Times would give Alice a fairly large stage to bitch and moan about California wine not being to her tastes and the contention that a single, Maryland-based Palate is the reason for her California Discontent. Alice is in the midst of promoting her new book that takes the art of bitching and moaning into a book length format. Feiring’s "The Battle for Wine and Love:…
