Marketers, like myself, get a lot of the blame for taking the authenticity out of wine and lowering the beverage to just one more product to be foisted upon the public with exaggerated claims and pretty pictures. There’s a lot of truth to that kind of accusation. However, the winemakers and grape growers in Mendocino have rightly determined that more marketing is just what the doctor ordered. The growers and winemakers of Mendocino County, located about 70 miles north of…
In its continued quest to deliver identity to North America’s varied appellations and the wines made from them, Appellation America has recently posted the results of two of its "Discovery Tastings": Spring Mountain District in the Napa Region and Yorkville Highlands in Mendocino County. For those unfamiliar with Appellation America’s Discovery Tastings, the organization brings together winemakers focused on the appellation under consideration to be guided through a tasting of the appellation’s wines The Discovery Tastings are undertaken blind (meaning…
A wine that alludes to marijuana? Hell that’s nothing. When I was getting a B.A. at Humboldt State University I crossed paths (only saw, of course, never indulged) with Pot Tea, Pot-infused hard candy, Pot-Cakes and Brownies, Pot-laced wine, Pot-infused meatloaf and, in what was really a tribute to the quality of Humboldt horticulture, a large bud of Humboldt grown pot that would stick to the ceiling when tossed upward with force. Still, it’s nice to see some vintners have…
Today, in his absurdly good weekly newsletter "Vintage Experiences" (subscription only), Dan Berger has some very interesting thoughts on Napa Valley and the idea of "Wine Country." In short, Dan suggests that Napa Valley, with its informally high prices for wine and the "wine country" lifestyle, is becoming less and less and true wine country where consumers and visitors can count on an authentic, and affordable, experience. But deeper into his article he makes the most important point: Napa Valley’s…
