Oct 22, 2012
Ted Lemon knows what he wants from his wines. Characteristics that are pure reflections of the physical environment that make up the individual vineyards where he sources grapes. He want’s the terroir to show through. This desire is at the top of his list when it comes to the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnay’s he produces under the Littorai label. What surely makes him happy is that he is successful in this pursuit. However, what struck me as I tasted through…
Oct 10, 2012
Here in the belly of the beast, members of the Napa wine trade tend to slowly nod their heads and wear a knowing smile when discussing the benefits and allure of direct to consumer sales. Margins. “Life Time Value of Customers”. Brand Ambassadors. Freedom from FOB sales. It is, as we say, “all good”. When basking in the glow of the implication of full margin sales, It’s sometimes easy to forget who the real lovers of direct sales are: The…
Oct 5, 2012
“Few people believe that the Bulzonis were acting with intent to defraud. Rather, they were searching for an appealing way to describe wines that were not precisely organic.” Well, how about calling it “Wine”? Not since Jeremy Parzen at the Do Bianchi blog broke the story in July has there been any reporting in the English language media about the Italian government’s crackdown this summer on a Italian wine store that advertised selling “natural wine”. Now Wine Searcher has published…
Oct 2, 2012
Today is a big day for political junkies and wine lovers. The punditry and blogosphere all seem to agree that this first presidential debate of the 2012 general election campaign is not just the most important, but could decide the 2012 election. Here’s what America’s wine lover should be watching for . Can Obama Defend his Biggest Achievement: ObamaWine The right side of the wine drinking spectrum has made repeal of ObamaWine their number one goal since the president pushed…
Sep 27, 2012
Long time wine writer, critic and industry observer Dan Berger is excited. Very excited: “what we are seeing now, and will see for the next year or so, is a plethora of Cabs of many hues that are (a) truer to varietal type, and (B) are better structured than we have seen for 15 years or more.” He’s talking about the 2010 Cabernets from California producers that are just not hitting the shelves and that are reflections of cooler 2010…