Archive for the ‘Wine Business’ Category
I’m every bit as strident as Representative Thompson, Bo Barrett of Montelena and others in Napa Valley when it comes to the idea that American Viticultural Area designations we see on labels really should have integrity! If the wine label’s appellation says "Oakville" or "Anderson Valley" then the grapes that went into the wine damn well should have come from Oakville or Anderson Valley. Toward that end, there is a move to designate the area in and around the town…
I think I’ve mentioned before just how much I enjoyed it when Wark Communications was working with Roshambo Winery. I truly got an education. It is rare to find a winery that in addition to being committed to making unique and fine wines, are also committed, naturally, to doing things differently. Roshambo does do things differently. As is almost always the case, this difference is purely a result of the disposition of those who run the joint. Naomi Brilliant and…
I was watching a little television this weekend. For some reason, I kept coming across Clooney in a variety of different roles and it occurred to me that Wine needs George Clooney…or at least a Clooneyesque replacement. Guys like George Clooney. Well, they like what George Clooney portrays. First, he always gets the girl. He is, in fact, the only guy on my wife’s laminated card and I suspect he’s on just about every over 35 married woman’s laminated card….
I’m always somewhat gratified and curious when internal wine industry debates spill over into the general media and into the laps of the average consumer. Such is the case with this Reuters article examining Alice Feiring’s concerns for and criticisms of the 100 point rating system, the dominance of Robert Parker’s palate, the "internationalization" of wine styles and her view of the general shitty condition of most expensive California wines. I have a hard time stepping back and trying to…
Isn’t it true that many bloggers embrace the idea that what they are doing is somewhat rebellious? Subversive? We very much like the idea that bloggers are the "alternative" to the "mainstream press" or "mainstream gatekeepers"; that, in the case of wine blogging, for instance, they are democratizing access to the way wine is presented in the culture. There is a good deal of truth to these assumptions. I don’t spend any time questioning the notion that the explosion in…
