Archive for the ‘Wine News’ Category
Back in the day, Family Winemakers of California was a fairly radical organization relative to the other winery associations that existed in the United States. This radical posture was due in large part to the leaders of the organization (Brice Jones (Sonoma Cutrer), Bill MacIver (Matanzas Creek Winery), Patrick Campbell, Laurel Glen), all huge advocates for the concerns of small wineries and family farmers. In fact, the birth of Family Winemakers of California came after an exodus of small and…
You know that whole battle between distributors of wine and wineries? That one that has the wineries wanting to be able to ship and sell their wine direct to customers while the distributors don’t want any direct sales to happen? That one? It’s over. Between last year’s supreme court victory, the number of states that have given in and allowed direct shipping and the seemingly ongoing self mutilation the distributors have engaged in as they try to convince us that…
Wow…talk about the power of the wine critic. It’s one thing to bestow a wine with a score of 75 points or one star and leave for the consumer to decide after that. It’s an altogether different thing to ban the sale of wine in an entire country because there’s something about its color, aroma or taste you don’t like. That appears to be the case in Russia where the all powerful "Rospotrebnadzor", that country’s consumer rights and sanitation department,…
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill that would have recognized Zinfandel as "The Historic Wine of California". What a GirlyMan!! Well, maybe that’s not fair. Let’s at least see what he had to say in his veto message: "To name only one of the many of the varietals produced in California as thehistoric wine fails to recognize the many world class varietals produced in the State.With California’s unique micro climates, diverse geography, outstanding soils, andindustrious growers, farmworkers and vintners who…
How far behind the curve are French wine producers in terms of tapping into the larger American wine market? There are some pretty basic principles of this national market that need to be understood if you want to sell any significant amount of wine: 1. Price it under $152. Put the name of the grape (variety) on the label3. Make the label attractive and easy to read Pretty basic stuff. Yet, here comes an announcement from a French producer that…
