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• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 23, 2016

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/23/2016

  The Wall Street Journal travels to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. "This DIY philosophy is part of the fabric of the Willamette Valley wine community, going back to its beginnings in the mid-1960s and early ’70s, when a group of vintners decided to try growing Pinot Noir in the inhospitable, rainy climate."

  The Los Angeles Times reports that Temecula in Southern California is searching for respect. "Now a core group of Temecula winemakers is determined to challenge the longstanding belief that the region is only good for bachelorette limo tasting tours and subpar wine."

  USA Today reports that global warming is helping French wine. "That's because warmer summers mean the fruit ripens quicker. So instead of October, the grapes can be harvested sometimes in September, which is more likely to be dry."

  The Seattle Times says that the future of Washington wine is in the hands of the next generation. "In the past 40 years, Washington wineries have been run by people who came from somewhere else or were working at Boeing or Microsoft."

  The Spectator on the no-nonsense greatness of Australian wine. "Any Australian who admits to not having convict ancestors loses caste."

  SFGate on Napa where modern American wine began. "Napa Valley has long been farm-land. It just wasn’t always vineyards. Once, its principal outputs were prunes and walnuts."

  Haaretzon what Israel must do to become a wine superpower. “Israelis are not big wine drinkers compared to people in the rest of the world, especially Europe and the United States,” he says."

  Punch explores off-dry Riesling. "But what if German winemakers stopped being so precise and made riesling that landed in the middle, with the best attributes of both dry and fruity wines?"

  
  
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• Winemaker Interviews

  

  How the Wente Chardonnay Clone Became America's Choice

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/21/2016

  Fifth generation winemaker Karl Wente on how a Chardonnay clone his family brought into the US in 1915 is responsible for 80% of America's Chardonnay plants. read more »

• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 21, 2016

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/21/2016

  Fortune asks with the Brangelina split, who gets the winery? "They reportedly paid $60 million to buy the Chateau Miraval estate in the south of France in 2012."

  The Wine Spectator reports that wine retailers are challenging direct shipping laws.

  Food & Wine recommends Bordeaux chateaus to visit.

  The Chicago Tribune on pairing wine with bacon.

  Decanter reveals the richest French chateau owners.

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• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 20, 2016

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/20/2016

  In the Sacramento Bee Warren Winiarski reflects on his career. "My first experience with wine was the wine my father made during Prohibition and continued to make afterwards for family use. …We used it for ceremonial purposes, on the sacred holidays as well as the secular holidays."

  The Week says you should be drinking orange wine. "And orange wine is glowing stronger than New York City's best Manhattanhenge, showing up on wine bar menus everywhere."

  Decanter celebrates the life of natural wine pioneer Stanko Radikon. "Stanko’s major innovation was to realise that the region’s indigenous Ribolla Gialla grape required different handling to fully express its potential."

  Winefolly on the lifecycle of a grapevine.

  W. Blake Gray reports that the US government has made a small smart move toward accurate alcohol levels on wine labels. "While all of Europe (and Argentina) requires the alcohol level listed on the bottle  to be within 0.5% of the actual alcohol level, the US allows it to be off by as much as 1.5%."

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• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 19, 2016

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/19/2016

  Eric Asimov's New  York Times Wine School wraps up Albariño and moves on to Oregon Pinot Noir.

  Bloomberg reports that the Aubrey McClendon wine auction raised $8.4M. "The collection included Bordeaux wines such as Chateau Mouton Rothschild and Chateau Margaux, as well as cabernets from the Napa Valley region of California, according to Hart Davis Hart Wine Co., which ran the auction at a Chicago restaurant on Saturday."

  Andrew Jefford in Decanter visits with Chris Howell of Cain. “The conceits that I accept are that mountain wines tend to have a stronger character; that they tend to age longer; that they are usually darker in colour and that they have more perceptible tannin.  I’d also say that they have a different character of ripeness: less overt, sometimes even with some ‘green’ aromatics, and with a palate of greater finesse.”

  The Drinks Business on the top five wine regions you didn't know existed.

  Winefolly on what you can tell about a wine by looking at its color.

  Jancis Robinson on German white's - anything but Riesling. "It had been some time since I had tasted a group of these wines en masse and I was delighted to note that the excessive oak that was for a while a common fault in these wines is now extremely rare in the exalted reaches of the Grosse Gewächse."

  The Washington Post on how Dusty Baker sees similarities in his team, wine and baseball. “People talk about the playoffs, but you have to get to the playoffs,” Baker said, unconsciously echoing the wine cliche that “wine is made in the vineyard.”

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• Grape Profile

  

  Cannonau: The Heart of Sardinia

  by Marco Salerno on 9/17/2016

  No matter how you say it -- Cannonau, Cannonao, Cannonadu, Canonao -- the grape is the heart of Sardinia.... read more »

• Winemaker Interviews

  

  Viviana Navarrete Winemaker at Viña Leyda

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/16/2016

  Viña Leyda has been described by Decanter Magazine as "one of Chile´s finest producers, exemplary for its consistently rewarding cool-climate wines that offer outstanding value for money and wonderful diversity." read more »

• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 15, 2016

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/15/2016

  The WSJ reports that in Russia patriotism now comes in a wine glass. “Russians are starting to realize the wealth of wines their own country has,” Russian wine critic Vladimir Tsapelik said while recently hosting a wine tasting at a leafy park on the banks of the Moscow River."

  SF Gate digs deeper into the Tim Duncan versus Charles Banks lawsuit. "And McGee points out the obvious: If Banks were in prison, “that would affect (his) ability to travel on behalf of the company and promote the brands.” To say nothing of the potential damages to Terroir’s reputation."

  Forbes discovers Mexican wine. " Vintners encourage getting creative instead of traditional. Sustainability is not only welcomed, but commonplace."

  Time reports that Ellen took Michelle Obama shopping for boxed wine.

  The Independent recommends some unusual wine holidays such as Thailand and Sweden.

  In Decanter Jane Anson says Americans are moving in on Piedmont. "We had many offers for Vietti, including from prestigious French brands, but we had watched Kyle Krause purchase several excellent individual pieces of vineyard land such as Mosconi and Bricco Ravera in Monforte d’Alba, and felt that he would respect our desire to keep Vietti focused on highest quality Barolo’."

  In Punch Jon Bonné asks can a wine list help narrow the gender gap? "As for California, while it’s otherwise a mostly progressive state, it still lags in developing a deep roster of female winemakers—at least of the sort with opportunities to make their own wines under their own names."

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• Feature

  

  Daniel Brunier On The State Of Châteauneuf-du-Pape

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/14/2016

  "We don't do filtration. We don't do fining. We don't use a selected yeast. We don't use selected bacteria. We don't use anything, so it's very natural wine." Daniel Brunier read more »

• Wine news

  

  Wine news September 14, 2016

  by Christopher Barnes on 9/14/2016

  The Washingtonian orders wine by the spoon at the Trump hotel. "Three of the offerings‚ 2008 and 2009 vintages, go for $15 to $20 per spoonful."

  The WSJ on Israeli wines. "Another stereotype that Ms. Flateman regularly deals with is that Israeli and kosher wine are one and the same, and yet only about a quarter of the wines made in Israel are kosher, she said."

  Eric Asimov in the New York Times on pairing wine with Indian food. "Reds from Languedoc-Roussillon, particularly those with grenache and carignan, can be very successful, he said, as can Rioja gran reservas with enough age to have mellowed the tannins."

  The Sacramento Bee on the rising stature of blended wines.

  Winefolly on why wine vintages matter. 

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