Archive for the ‘Terroir’ Category
There exists a general, though tenuous, consensus among serious wine drinkers on the “Theory of Terroir”: Those natural elements of a vineyard site or region that combine to deliver a consistent character to a wine made from the vineyard’s grapes. While the French might put more emphasis on soil’s contribution to the character of the wine and Californians often point to climate, the question is rarely “who controls terroir”? The general consensus is “Mother Nature” controls terroir and her handy…
Colorado appears to be ready to pass a law allowing liberal direct shipping privlidges to in-state and out-of-state wineries. What You Need To Know About Colorado WineThe Wineman’s Take On Colorado Wine The Colorado Wine Fest: Get Ready
Many years ago I headed up a statistical study of the "Wine Spectator’s Palate". I looked at scores, appellations, price, etc. And this was before the days of the Internet when cut and paste made such inquiries much easier. However, the most interesting piece of information gleaned from the study, done around 1995, was that the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation wines reviewed by the Spectator received the highest average scores on an appellation by appellation basis. Today the SF Chronicle…
The annual pseudo-break that hits the wine country every winter is winding down. Each year, beginning sometime in December, things seem to slow down in wine country. As with the pace of just about everything else in an agricultural community, it’s a slow down associated with the dictates of mother nature. The "slow down" arrives after the grapes are off the vine and once they are in barrel and tank, fermenting. The "season" is over. The results of tinkering in…
I had the opportunity today to sit in on a tasting of Carneros Pinot Noir and Chardonnay organized by Appellation America at Bouchaine Vineyards. The idea behind the tasting is important: Do Carneros Pinot Noir and Chardonnays posses any defining characteristics that make them uniquely "Carneros"? Twenty two Pinot Noirs from the 2003 vintage were examined along with nineteen Chardonnays. After tasting through the Pinots, all of which were very good wines, I couldn’t get one question out of my…
