Archive for the ‘Terroir’ Category
Janice Fuhrman reports via Decanter that a proposal to create an appellation system for Mexico’s major wine production regions has not been embraced by the very folks the system would effect: the winemakers. What’s interesting about the story is that it suggests the proposal would actually create regulations for HOW wine can be made under the appellation system, an approach that takes its cues from European appellation system, rather than from the nearby American appellation system that merely attempts to…
As I think I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of lists. I like looking at rankings and sets. I like the context it delivers, whether I agree with the rankings or don’t. Among the most interesting and thought-provoking lists I’ve seen in quite some time was Foreign Policy Prospect’s 2008 List of the World’s Top 100 Public Intellectuals. The list contained no one with a focus on wine, but it was a fascinating glimpse into what the world of…
This year it was a vineyard not more than a quarter mile as the crow flies from where I live that appears to have been given the distinction of being the first to be picked during the 2008 North Coast Harvest. Hunter Vineyards, just down the road from me on Arnold Drive in Sonoma Valley had their grapes removed from the vines on August 1st. The grapes will go to Gloria Ferrer Winery just down the road where they will…
Have you ever sat down and started to tick off those people who have been instrumental to your career? Stopped and given some thought to who those folks are who actually made you substantially better at what you do? I could do this, and it would make for an interesting post, if not an interesting personal inventory of my own gratefulness. One of the folks on that list is Judd Wallenbrock, the President of Michel-Schlumberger in Sonoma County’s Dry Creek…
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…
