One of the more interesting consequences of the proliferation of new wine writers on blogs and elsewhere over the past 10 years is a return to the focus of the “Star Winemaker”. The 1980’s and 1990’s saw the rise of the individual winemaker, a personality of sorts (such as it can be in the world of wine). That media and industry focus on the “star winemaker” started to wane a bit by 2,000, with the ground and terroir pushing aside…

The Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of American (WSWA) have never been well acquainted with the concept of shame. This is not surprising, since this particular idea usually doesn’t arise among those who tend to believe in their own entitlement. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that at its upcoming annual convention in April, the WSWA has announced it will “honor” a man who perhaps more than any other epitomizes the idea of “Wholesaler Entitlement” and who had demonstrated the extraordinary…

It’s actually been years since I came across someone who honestly wanted to argue the position that the French make better wine than Americans. In fact, the this recent encounter took me by surprise. But, I am happy to say, the discussion, seeming nonsensical at first, clarified something for me: The French will never have the capacity to produce the kind of interesting wines as Americans can produce. “American wine is like fruit juice. It’s all varietal. It’s all about…