Oct 30, 2006
Where does the most Wine Spectator Magazine stand on Pinot Noir? It’s a pretty broad question. So, here is the broad answer: I took at look at the Wine Spectator’s reviews of Pinot Noirs in specific regions for the vintages 2003-2005. The majority of reviews are of the 2004 vintage. So, we are talking a snapshot of the Spectator’s view of the most recent vintages. I also looked at what percent of wines were rated 90 points or above (90+)…
Oct 26, 2006
It appears the French will keep at it until they get the results they want. For 30 years a certain humiliation infested the French wine industry as a result of the "Paris Tasting of 1976" in which California wines bested the French in a taste off. With great hope for vindication, the French watched the recreation of that tasting just this year. Yet again, California wines bested the French. Not content to be good PR practitioners and let this issue…
Oct 24, 2006
I don’t know what the traffic stats are for the wine blog THE ZINQUISITION. However, I do know it should be higher than it is, higher than most wine blogs in fact, given the quality of the posts that St. Vini puts together. EXAMPLE A: GALLIC SYNDROME TO STRIKE NAPA
Oct 24, 2006
I don’t think any other growing region in California has so purposely gone out of its way to associate its climate and soils with particular varietals as the Anderson Valley and its wineries. A few years ago, making the point that Anderson Valley was a source for unique and distinctive Pinot Noir, the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association created the "Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival. It’s a very good event largely because the Pinots from the region are so damn good…
Oct 19, 2006
My wife sometimes complains that too often I’ll open a bottle of wine, sit with a half a glass or a full glass, then never touch the bottle again. It’s true. I’m interested in tasting more than I am in drinking. The exception is low alcohol Rieslings. Those I drink…all the way down to the bottom. Yesterday night I was sucking on a 1999 von Schubert Maximim Grunhauser Abtsburg Riesling Spatlese. It’s around 8% alcohol. It’s a beautiful, somewhat exotic,…