Mar 13, 2006
Jennifer Rosen of Scripps and the Rocky Mountain News has an interesting column today in which she comes to the defense of "corporate wine": "I’ve had it up to here with complaints about faceless corporate wines. It’s about time someone stood up for them." I want aware that corporate wine needed defending, but she does it well. Her point is that if wine is going to hit the mass market and become as ubiquitous as Coke then it needs to…
Mar 13, 2006
So, the European Union and the United States are happy wine couple. At least that’s the impression one gets from reading the AMAZING NUMBER of stories that ran last week and continue to appear this week about the signing of a bilateral "wine accord". In essence, the two parties have agreed to 1) the U.S will strict the use of certain names on wine bottles such as "Champagne", "Port" and "Sherry. 2) American wines made with winemaking practices outlawed in…
Mar 13, 2006
You’ve done it. You’re first vintage is about to be released. Sure it’s only one wine, but it’s one good wine and you’ve worked your rear off and spent a lot of time and coin on making it. You’re a vintner. All you have to do now is sell it. The question is: Do you send your wine out to the media for review and critiques? Randy Sloan, Napa Cabernet producer and owner of Match Vineyards, as well as proprietor…
Mar 10, 2006
I met yesterday with potential clients who had an interesting dilemma. They had just purchased a winery that had been around for about 10+ years. In recent years the brand wasn’t doing to well, a combination of factors had led it to reduce its production and have a good deal of older inventory on hand. The dilemma: Do they stay with the same name for the winery or do they change the name. What’s interesting about this question is that…
Mar 9, 2006
Here in California we have some experience with electricity blackouts. A few summers back we experienced rolling blackouts that played havoc with one of the largest economies on earth. While the interruptions caused problems for some in the wine industry, the problems were nothing compared to what South African Vintners are apparently facing. According to reports, South African vintners, along with the rest of the country, have been hit hard by backouts. However, coming at harvest time (now…it’s the southern…