Jul 13, 2017
In 1966 Bob Dylan Released Blonde On Blonde, the Beach Boys released Pet Sounds, and the Beatles released Revolver. It’s arguable that no three albums together had more influence on the history of Rock n Roll. And it all happened in one year. It was a seminal year for Rock n Roll and one we can look back on it and, again, make the case that it was the pinnacle of the Rock genre. I wonder if 2017 might, in…
May 15, 2017
Today, the silos that once kept the beer, wine, spirits and cider categories separate entities have been smashed to pieces. Not only do we see wineries making cider, brewers making cider, wineries making spirits and spirit producers making beer, we see them all borrowing from one another marketing concepts and branding ideas. And this is not just limited to the artisan or craft alcohol producers. As larger companies pick off craft producers of wine, beer, spirits, and cider, they too…
Mar 2, 2017
Though in its infancy and surely with a long way to go before true legitimacy, the rising Cannabis industry appears to have its eyes set on becoming part of the artisan tourist industry that wineries invented and are far down the road to perfecting. One question that needs answering is this: Does the wine industry need the cannabis industry or does the cannabis industry need the wine industry? This is just one of the questions that will be explored at the…
Jan 12, 2017
The 2015 Pinots From Oregon An extremely early vintage that should be fascinating to taste. I’m looking forward to an array of differently styled Pinots from Oregon that should be hitting he market this year. The “Is the Natural Wine Fad Over Yet?” Stories We are about on schedule for many consumers and those in the wine media and wine trade to start asking out loud, “is this ‘Natural Wine’ fad finally done with?’ ” When the stories do come,…
Dec 30, 2016
There are many ways to reflect on the year (2016) in wine. No doubt, those various views will be explored as the year comes to an end and as 2016 data sets of various types become available in the new year. One data set always available is Google Trends, a tool that allow us to measure relative interest in Internet search terms. By comparing search terms we can look at the relative interest in those terms over the past year….