Archive for the ‘Wine News’ Category
I’ve mentioned this organization a number of times because I think it might be doing the most beneficial wine reporting in America right now. Appellation America is on a quest to define terroir has on the character of wines in various spots across America and Canada. This kind of work hasn’t really been done before except in private tastings and in anecdotal references. While I personally think terroir is much more than the soil and climate, I also believe that…
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…
The battles over direct shipment of wine across state borders has largely been a fight between wineries and wine wholesalers, the former wanting the right to ship wine direct while the latter hoping to stop it all together. What’s been missing from the discussion has been the voice of wine retailers. That’s likely to change with the creation of the Specialty Wine Retailers Association. The creation of a number of companies that rely on direct shipping, SWRA will work to…
Rodney Strong Died. Many of you may know the wine brand that carries his name. But there was a real, and very impressive, person behind the brand. Rodney strong was a very important person in the Sonoma wine industry; a promoter of the industry and the region. He started in wine in the late 1950s after a career as a Broadway dancer. He and his wife Charlotte, also a dancer, were a ubiquitous couple around Sonoma County and within the…
I’ve never actually met a "headline writer". I’ve met a professional obituary writer. But never a headline writer. It strikes me, however, that the headline writer might be the most important person in the media when it comes to establishing the conventional wisdom. Example 1: "Australians Lose Taste For Wine" Example 2: "Wine Sales Slip over Past Year" Same story, same media outlet. One true, one so completely off the target as to defy imagination. If you are browsing headlines,…
