Apr 17, 2006
If there must be a HUGE national debt, I suppose it’s good that Wine Country gets some of that spending. Next weekend President Bush and what must be an amazingly large entourage, will roll into Napa Valley and completely take over the Meadowood Resort. That is to say, no one but the President and his people will be staying a the famed and very expensive Napa Valley Resort. I think they’ll like it. But what will it cost. Meadowood’s low-end…
Apr 3, 2006
I find myself, every day, becoming more and more anamoured with Sauvignon Blanc. And this goes for well aged Sauvignon Blanc too (let’s not get carried away: well aged usually means 6-10 years old) I was surprised to learn that of all the mainstream varietals, Sauvignon Blanc is one of the few that has never attained a perfect score from Robert Parker. I can’t speculate why this would be other than, simply, he’s never tasted a perfect example. I don’t…
Mar 29, 2006
When considering the apparent rise in global temperatures, wine types tend to ask, what will be come of my Bordeaux or Napa Cab or German Riesling as the temperatures continue to rise? There is a worry that these wines, forced to be produced with grapes asked to thrive in warmer temperatures will just not be the same.Decanter Magazine has an article concerning just his issue and how it was addressed at the recent World Conference on Global Warming and Wine…
Mar 27, 2006
Where ever there are hills and vines I think we can expect a movement to restrict exactly how vineyards are planted. We are seeing this scenario play out once again, this time in the Santa Cruz Mountains south of San Francisco and one of the most impressive growing regions in the state. Napa Valley and Sonoma County has already dealt with the issue of where and how vines can be planted on hillsides. The movement to preserve the hillsides as…
Mar 23, 2006
Yes, it’s true. Napa Valley’s Screaming Eagle winery has been sold. It is, perhaps the most iconic of California’s Cult Wineries and likely the inspiration for a number of new Napa Winery owners who both wanted the kind of prestige that this operation brought its owner and who also eyed the kind of cash it generated. Think about it: 500 cases of wine annually. $300 per bottle. That’s $1.8 Million. That’s some inspiration. There was a time, however, when Screaming…