What is all the buzz about? We asked ourselves that question a number of years ago when our curiosity about Santa Barbara County wines was piqued. We asked that same question publicly, and however rhetorically, earlier this year in our very first newsletter and web posting. At year's end, we look back at our growth and momentum. But this project is meant to be a journey of learning and growth. So now, with the growing company of subscribers to our newsletter and visitors to the web site, we look to what will come next - both for redwinebuzz.com and for Central Coast wine.

Since our first issue we have grow in readership, subscription and presence. Our seemingly banal question has taken us to vineyards and tasting rooms up and down the Central Coast. We have met with growers and wine makers, hearing their thoughts, opinions and philosophies. We have tasted current line ups and sampled wines from the barrels (see more). All this is done, so that we can better inform and advise you about central coast wines. We carefully sample wines and tell you about them in detail. We have worked long and hard on developing a point system that will convey the wine’s character and attributes but not pass judgment by indicating one wine to be superior to another. We hope you have enjoyed our more flowery descriptions of the wines we present after objectively reporting to you the aromas, flavors, mouthfeel and alcohol, acids and astringency of a wine. There will be more to come soon as we have a record number of new releases to taste and write about for January. Read Whole Story

Producers and consumers have been searching for ways to enjoy one or two servings of wine without opening (and potentially wasting) a bottle of wine. Box wine has risen in quality in recent years but while technological advances have allowed these containers to preserve freshness for relatively long periods, the quality of these wines (in general) is nowhere near that of bottled premium wines. Even single serving boxes resembling kid’s juice boxes leave one waxing nostalgic for a glass of day-old premium wine.

There is no pleasure in pouring a glass of wine from a bottle opened and re-corked the previous evening, only to find the wine oxidized. Enter the niche market: There are multitudes of solutions of making that precious bottle last longer. From complicated to simple, these preservations systems aim to do one ting: reduce contact between wine and oxygen. Vacuum systems remove air from the bottle, but there are questions about how complete the vacuum is (according to VacuVin, their product removes some 75% to 85% of the air in the bottle). Furthermore, as some opponents of the vacuum method point out, a vacuum may also suck out the aromatic compounds from the wine. The other alternative is to flood the bottle with inert gas: usually Argon or a blend of Argon and other gasses. These are heavier than air and settle in a protective blanket on the surface of the wine without chemically interacting with it. Read Whole Story