Archive for the ‘Terroir’ Category
Marketers, like myself, get a lot of the blame for taking the authenticity out of wine and lowering the beverage to just one more product to be foisted upon the public with exaggerated claims and pretty pictures. There’s a lot of truth to that kind of accusation. However, the winemakers and grape growers in Mendocino have rightly determined that more marketing is just what the doctor ordered. The growers and winemakers of Mendocino County, located about 70 miles north of…
In its continued quest to deliver identity to North America’s varied appellations and the wines made from them, Appellation America has recently posted the results of two of its "Discovery Tastings": Spring Mountain District in the Napa Region and Yorkville Highlands in Mendocino County. For those unfamiliar with Appellation America’s Discovery Tastings, the organization brings together winemakers focused on the appellation under consideration to be guided through a tasting of the appellation’s wines The Discovery Tastings are undertaken blind (meaning…
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…
Early and productive morning. Got up at 5am…did some work, got the kids up, fed them, then headed off to take some spring morning shots of Bucklin’s Old Hill Ranch in Sonoma Valley for projects we are working on. It’s beautiful in the vineyard at 6:45. The sun is just coming up over the Mayacamus Range on the east side of Sonoma Valley. The Old Hill Ranch vineyard is just starting to leaf out. This is one of the best…
First, Georgia, the former Soviet satellite, sees Russia attempt to kill its wine industry by instituting a ban on importation of Georgian wine, and all for political reasons. Then, this headline comes out of Georgia: HAIL DESTROYS 80% OF VINEYARDS IN EASTERN GEORGIA What’s it take for a poor little Georgian winemaker to get a break? First it’s Mother Putin then Mother Nature out to get these guys. Eastern Georgia is the source of a significant percentage of the Georgian…
