Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
“Wine descriptions are more pompous than helpful, and most of them fail to help consumers understand the taste of the wine.” Such is the conclusion of a new survey of English wine drinkers published in Harpers Wine & Spirits Trade Review. It’s nothing new is it. We’ve been hearing about the pretentiousness of wine descriptions for ages. What’s notable is that this latest reiteration of a theme speaks to the utility of wine descriptions. The article goes on to say:…
What’s wrong with a little poetry with your wine review; a little metaphor in your wine rating? Hopefully, nothing. Is there any form of product review or critique of art that comes closer to poetry than the traditional wine review. I don’t think so. And I was struck by this revelation (one that should have occurred to me long ago) yesterday while listening to an interview with and TED Talk by former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins in which “the…
Is technology, the emergence of the Millennial wine drinker and changing attitudes toward wine fundamentally altering the world of wine criticism and wine buying in such a way that we are seeing a wholesale change in the way we understand, buy and appreciate wine? This would be the topic at hand in a number of articles issued of late by some very astute writers and observers of the American wine industry. If I am to believe many of them, this…
What would be the impact on wine lovers if the inebriation qualities of wine were eliminated, while the alcohol remained in the drink? Put another way, what if the amount of wine you drank no longer determine how drunk you got? This is the tantalizing and fascinating question that arises from a news report that a pill is being developed that, upon being taken, would instantly sober up a person who has been drinking. Due to the fact that wine…
It was Antonio Galloni’s announced departure from the Wine Advocate yesterday that raised the question, “what makes for a good wine critic”? The question arose from the fact that with Mr. Galloni’s departure, the venerable Wine Advocate again needs a new California Reviewer. I offered the following recipe for a good wine critic when I responded to a colleague and told him that the Wine Advocate is looking for “someone who knows CA up and down as well as its…
