Latest News

• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 19, 2017

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/19/2017

  Bon Appetit asks should you be decanting your wine? "Decanting these wines aerates them and lets them to breath, smoothing out bolder characteristics and flavors and allowing volatile compounds to blow off."

  The Washingtonian on 10 things to know about French wine. "Carignan and Piquepoul are two examples of grapes you probably don’t know as well that you should seek out and try!"

  Reuters reports on wine fraudster Rudy Kurniawan losing his appeal. "The Manhattan judge said he would not second-guess the lawyers' "strategic decision" not to demand hearings, and that holding them would not have mattered because authorities had probable cause to believe Kurniawan was selling "rare and expensive" counterfeit Burgundy wines at auction."

  The Fresno Bee explores wine weed. "California, after all, is the country’s only state where it’s legal to infuse weed with wine."

  The Daily Mail on how to read a wine list like an expert. "If in doubt, remember the rule – whatever grows together goes together. If you are enjoying an Italian dish – like a pizza or a tomato-based sauce, for example – then an Italian wine is a pretty-safe bet."

  Decanter on how a long lost wine grape can help in the fight against climate change. "It’s thought that Tardif’s late ripening qualities might give winemakers more options when faced with higher temperatures that are expected this century due to climate change."

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• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 18, 2017

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/18/2017

  CNBC on why more people are drinking more good wine out of cans or boxes. "Isle added that the canned wine trend is environmentally sound. "Ecologically, it's friendlier. It's more recyclable. Lower carbon footprint because it's much lighter to ship than glass."

  The Washington Post explores Chilean wine. "Tired of making wines in the international style, the De Martinos scoured the country looking for amphorae, the terra cotta vessels the Spanish used to age their wines."

  The Guardian asks does wine have a language problem. "Now, if you cast your eyes down a wine list, you’re never more than a few words from “mineral”, a “great minerality” or some allusion to rocks, stones or salts."

  The Chicago Tribune explores New York wine. "Wine styles aside, three regions stand out among the rest: Finger Lakes, Hudson River and Long Island."

  Jancis Robinson on changes with non vintage Champagne. "Several recent tastings illustrated to me just how varied non-vintage champagne is from year to year."

  In Decanter Andrew Jeffords chats with Gaja Gaja. “I have been working with my father for 12 years now.  He has always been very proud and protected the dream of being different.  That’s the one thing he is telling me every day: ‘Be different’."

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• Social Media

  

  Wine Twitter Feuds

  by The Editors on 9/17/2017

  The world of wine writing is full of big characters and strong opinions which via the outlet of social media can lead to the occasional friction. Here are some of the recent exchanges from wine scribes Levi Dalton and Jamie Goode. read more »

• Grapes

  

  Forget Rosé, How About A Glass Of Verdejo Instead

  by Peter Zusman on 9/15/2017

  Summer is not gone just yet. And the proof is the amount of rosé that is still flying off the shelves. But what if you are tired of the pink stuff, and you are hankering for another option. Well how about... read more »

• Producer Profile

  

  Rozak Vintners

  by Barbara Sturgis on 9/15/2017

  Profiling Rozak Vintners of California's Santa Rita Hills. read more »
• 

  Wine of the Cévennes: Le Cigalois

  by Edward Marchese on 9/15/2017

  La Terrasses Cèvenoles, a cooperative started in 1951, in the foothills of the southern range of these mountains, where the Mediterranean climate makes for a good growing region, produces a rosé and a red. Both are tank fermented and aged. read more »

• Winemaker Interviews

  

  Ivica Matošević On The Majesty of Istrian Malvasia

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/15/2017

  "My grandmother was born in Austria. My father was born in Italy. I was born in Yugoslavia, my daughter in Croatia, but we never moved from here." Ivica Matošević on Croatia's complicated history read more »

• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 15, 2017

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/15/2017

  Eater reports that wine bar and magazine Noble Rot is starting a wine import company. "To have Roulot — one of the top, very sought-after producers in Burgundy — is like working with Radiohead,” he added. (Keeling, who formerly worked at Universal Music, is credited with discovering the band Coldplay.)"

  The Guardian on wine marketing tools. "Virgin, whose slightly too slick slogan is “Life’s too short for boring wine”, has certainly taken this message to heart, stocking a range of wines from a McLaren Vale-based project called 50S at between £12.99 and £16.99 a bottle, which is a fair bit more than the going rate for shiraz."

  Forbes on Corsican wine. "n the 19th century, the phylloxera aphid decimated Corsican vineyards. They were then abandoned during two world wars when men left the island to fight. In the 1960’s a viticulture renaissance of sorts began when Algerian colonialists moved to the island, importing winemaking techniques and vines such as Grenache and Carignan (in the mid 20thcentury, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco made the majority of the world's internationally traded wines)."

  Refinery 29 on Shake Shack launching a wine milkshake. " Seeing as Jack and Karen are the real MVPs, it's only fitting that when NBC and Shake Shack recently teamed up to create two new themed milkshakes in honor of the forthcoming reboot, the Jack & Karen Shake got the most exciting ingredient, wine!"

  New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov visits Oregon. "Collectively speaking, nowhere else does the level of quality seem so high, the perspectives so diverse or the experimentation so fierce as it is in Oregon right now."

  Decanter visits the excellent Brunello estate Salicutti and the amazing Francesco Leanza. "Over time, Leanza planted four hectares of vineyards. He has farmed organically from day one and was the first in Montalcino to be certified."

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• Column

  

  Kistler, Dutton-Goldfield, Patz & Hall – Thirsty Yet? Here’s What They Have in Common

  by Dorothy J. Gaiter on 9/14/2017

  "What particularly impressed us is that the wines, tasted back-to-back, had the same vision – just look at those notes again. We often find that it is the mark of a good winery, when you can taste a consistent vision across different grape varieties." Dorothy J. Gaiter on Dutton-Goldfield read more »

• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 14, 2017

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/14/2017

  WTOP reports on women winemakers in Virginia. "Charlottesville’s Blenheim Vineyards, owned by Dave Matthews, is run by an all-female team, headed up by winemaker Kirsty Harmon. Lori Corcoran, of Corcoran Vineyards, is another notable name in the game."

  Forbes says Canada is a great place for a wine vacation. "Ontario is the largest wine producer in Canada and within the province, Niagara is the most diverse viticultural area, known for producing the highest quality wines."

  The Star Tribune on hybrids and the wine industry in Minnesota. "Still, Marquette and Itasca have spawned the most excitement, not just here but throughout the Midwest, New England and Canada. A year after its release, more than 40,000 vines of Itasca have been sold in 2017, said Matt Clark, another grape breeder and an assistant professor in the U’s Department of Horticultural Science and Extension."

  The Sacramento Bee explains the popularity of Italian wine in the US. “Italian wine isn’t meant to be drunk alone. It’s made for food,” Cernilli says."

  Decanter looks at English Pinot Noir. "It’s the second most planted variety in the country, with 323ha as of 2016, accounting for almost one quarter of total plantings (as a comparison Pinot is 38% of plantings in Champagne)."

  In Punch Jon Bonné on the future of California wine. "And it resurfaced an uncertainty that I’ve been feeling for a while: that the initial rush of energy that defined the New California has passed. For the first time in a long time, I’m struggling to see how California wine’s next chapter will take shape."

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