Docking.

A press release commenting on this year’s cork harvest caught my eye today. It reads very much like a grape harvest or vintage report. Yet, I could not help but think that, just like with wine grapes, while the harvest may be exceptional, individual corks can still be spoiled.

I have nothing against cork. Yes, it is a let down when I open a highly-anticipated wine only to find TCA gushing out of the bottle. That happens only in a small portion of cases. (more…)

Does latitude matter?

As wine growing culture in a particular region evolves, it sometimes becomes apparent that what has been grown for a long time is just not going to cut it anymore. The interplay between climate (rainfall and temperatures), soil, a variety’s productivity, the character of its fruit does not always yield a desired quality level in the finished wine.

So, through the initiative of individual growers, as part of an organized effort or by official mandate, different cultivars are brought in to a particular region with the hopes of elevating the quality of a regions wines. This is the essence of Cépage améliorateur. (more…)

Pink Hummer.

Ask wine consumers how pink wine is made and you’ll get anything from a vacant stare or a disinterested shoulder shrug to some good hypotheses. The most prominent (and, honestly, most logical) is that pink wine is made by blending varying proportions of white and red wines.

Whether they are the product of bleeding, limited skin contact or blending, these pink wines seem to be perceived as marginal, throw-away products. The red-headed (…) step children of the wine world.

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Pontiac Aztek.

It appears that GM has filed for bankruptcy and will be undergoing reorganization in the very near future. While every industry is different, each is subject to the same rules of economics and the marketplace. Additionally, applying too universal of a business template to a particular product or industry results in very common problems. Those problems tend not to be restricted to any particular industry or product.

In CNN’s coverage of the impending GM bankruptcy, a summary called “GM’s junk heap” was published last week. Reading it, I could not help but see parallels between GM’s flops and a considerable number of wines in the shelves today.

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Wine Closures

Last Friday, I posted about an informal tasting of wines finished with alternative closures at a MW seminar in Yountville. Given how many people seem to be interested in this topic, I’m seizing the spotlight opportunity to expand on the original post.

The tasting and the original article seemed innocuous to me because it didn’t seem to cover any new ground. I thought that, given the widespread use of synthetic closures in wine production, most people in the business would know a lot about synthetic corks, screw caps and glass stoppers, and that my 263-word blurb with very little commentary would not garner any interest. (more…)

This past Friday, Jeff Lefevere wrote an interesting post about wine bloggers and wine samples. He makes some excellent points fleshing out the nature and utility of wine blogging to wine producers, marketers and consumers.

Jeff also makes the contention that wineries should send out wine samples in half bottles. I recognize that this has economic appeal, on the surface, but I must disagree with him. (more…)

Closures

Today, Winebusiness.com reported on an unusual tasting which took place in Yountville, CA three days ago. During a Maters of Wine seminar, participants blindly tasted four 2004 Washington sauvignon blancs - all finished with a different closure.

The point of the exercise seems to have been to correctly identify the type of closure used in each bottling and to select a group favorite. The participants were not given a list of choices, so it can be said that they were not suggested to make guesses or change their answers. (more…)