Mar 24, 2006
Six or seven years ago Wark Communications was retained to do some PR work for the Paso Robles Vintners and Growers Association. I recall my trip down to the region to take it all in and get the lay of the land. The first time visitor is struck first by the dynamic differences between west and east Paso Robles: East is flatlands, West is all hills. It was like two different regions under one name. Mary Baker of Dover Canyon…
Mar 16, 2006
I was thumbing through wine magazines looking for inspiration for wording to describe a couple wines that need describing in promotional materials and I started wondering: What is it like and what mind set over takes a person who writes reviews for a living? Imagine having to write review after review after review of different wines. It can’t be easy. How many ways are there to describe a wine? Well, I came across this review in one publication and I…
Mar 16, 2006
How often is your Pinot Noir NOT Pinot Noir? How often is it blended with Syrah or some other body and color enhancer? Consider this tidbit from Jordan MacKay’s "Noir Taboo" article in the latest issue of Wine & Spirits Magazine: "…2005 Pinot Noir sales are up 73 percent from the previous year. Yet the growth of Pinot bearing acreage is for the most part flat." Clearly there is lot of "Pinot Noir" being made that just isn’t 100% Pinot…
Mar 15, 2006
First it was Jon Bonne of MSNBC.com with his "Amuse Bouche" Blog. Then came Mark Fisher of the Dayton Daily News with his "Uncorked" blog. Now, it’s Mr. Eric Asimov of the New York Times with a new Blog called "The Pour". I think we can now officially say the "mainstream media" has discovered wine blogs. And this is a good thing. There is an inherent bias against wine blogs that comes from the notion that they and those behind…
Mar 15, 2006
OK…Let’s see there’s 1. Cabernet Sauvignon 2. Merlot 3. Zinfandel 4. Pinot Noir 5. Viognier 6. Chenin Blanc 7. Chardonnay 8. Pinot Blanc 9. Alicante Bouschet 10. Petit Verdot 11. Cabernet Franc 12. Gewurztraminer 13. Sauvignon Blanc.. ….How many is that…..13? Hmmm… 87 to go to get into the Century Club:::::::::Sigh::::::::::: I was only made aware of the Century Club when its founder, Steve De Long of DeLong Wine e-mailed me to let me know that Jennifer Rosen, the wine…