May 26, 2009
I sat and had lunch today in the middle of a region of Sonoma that MUST obtain its own AVA status. The Petaluma Gap is, I think, everything and more that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) demands of an American Viticultural Area. For the record, the TTB demands that applicants for AVA status show that their region 1) locally known by the name specified, 2) that the boundaries of the proposed AVA have current or historical…
May 26, 2009
There are a few things that always leave me stopped in my tracks, mouth agape and oblivious to everything around me, leading often to being knocked back to consciousness by a jostle and the trailing sound of someone saying, "get out the way, asshole". Those things tend to be a beautiful woman and a striking and monumental piece of architecture. In places like Chicago, New York and Paris I can often be found on a corner, looking outward and upward,…
May 11, 2009
Over the past month or so I've been thinking quite a bit about the "Wine Media". I put that term in quotes for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it occurs to me that the "Wine Media" is today something very different than it was 20 years ago when I first began to pay close attention to it. Another person is paying attention to the "Wine Media" and is investigating a part of it. Tracy…
May 6, 2009
TIDBITS OF GREAT IMPORTANCE IT'S ABOUT TIME, TISH To me it seems a long time coming since his penchant for wit, excellent writing, his wine journalism background and is general deep knowledge of the wine industry makes him an excellent candidate for blogger status. Long time coming or not, it is very welcome news that W.R. Tish has finally launched a blog: THE WINE SKEWER: Bite Sized Comedy and Commentary from a Recovering Wine Critic. Known to his mother as William…
May 1, 2009
It has been done before, but I don't think it has been done quite as well nor made quite as accessible. Vinfolio's new Fine Wine Index breaks down and measures wine as an investment vehicle. The on-line fine wine retailer and collector's services resource is able to do this by virtue of their ownership of The Wine Price Files (a tally of wine auction and retail prices of thousands of wines going back years) and their current monitoring of the…