wine sooth

Blind games.

Steve Heimoff, today, wrote an interesting post about the importance of tasting blind. The core of his argument is that it eliminates taster bias and it levels the playing field.

I disagree vehemently. In short, blind tasting is a fun exercise and can make for an entertaining party game.

I believe tasting blind, while eliminating “cues” of reputation (from the label), relies primarily on the taster’s preferences. The idea of leveling the field disregards regional variation. This notion represents very misguided thinking which can only contribute to the much-decried homogenization and loss of diversity in wine. (more…)

You have to show your work.

The wine bloggosphere is revisiting the “wine-scoring-is-bad” theme lately. Even the OWC has seen an intense debate over the meaning (or meaninglessness) of numerical wine rating - in which I was very active.

The main arguments in the anti-numbers and anti-objectivity debate are: 1) the 100-point system is meaningless and gives a false sense of accuracy, 2) wine is so subjective that one cannot establish a standardized numerical system and 3) wine is an aesthetic thing, and as a work of art, its quality cannot be captured with a number.

While I do not categorically disagree with all of these three arguments (I disagree with some more than I do with others), there are profound misconceptions underlying the thinking that drives those three arguments. (more…)

First North American Wine Bloggers Conference

Day 1 - Summary

First and foremost let me say that I have been to a good number of conferences (academic and professional), but this one is really packed with value - events, food, speakers, sponsors and goodies like a conference tote, trips and vineyard walks. Logistically, this event has been doing very well with minimal delays and glitches (none of the latter, actually).

It was a busy day, today. We arrived at 2:30 and hit the ground running. Grip and grins were interspersed with scheduled business. We missed the Kick Ranch Vineyard tasting and lunch. Our plans did not allow us to arrive earlier. (more…)

First North American Wine Bloggers Conference

WHERE’S THE WINE?!?!

Following a brief introduction by Joel Vincent of OpenWine Consortium and Alan Wright of Zephyr Wine Adventures, our table #9 (of16) is still waiting for the the wine which will be fodder for our live blogging exercise.

Apparently, there are 15 producers pouring wines. Since we’re pretty much in the center of the room, we may be in a watershed area.

“Winemakers rotate!” resounds over the PA.

Rocks and Windows

Blogging is being touted as the next medium of mass communication. A grassroots voice that will change the world. But why blog? Why change the world? What do we want out of blogging?

The North American Wine Bloggers Conference (this weekend) will attempt to answer those questions - at least in the context of wine writing. The conference will include four key seminars (actually, moderated discussions) which will explore the most burning issues on wine bloggers’ minds.

Tom Wark of Fermentation and Alder Yarrow of Vinography will lead a discussion entitled: “Increasing Visitors to Your Blog”. Philip James from Snooth and Joel Vincent from the OWC will lead: “Making Money from Your Blog”. Tracy Rickman and Steve Heimoff will co-moderate the “Wine Blogger Credibility” discussion. Jason Korman from Stormhoek, Evan Cover from Cruvee, Joel Vincent and Paul Mabray from Inertia will lead the “Beyond Blogging” discussion. “Blogging for Your Wine Business” will be led by Jason Korman from Stormhoek and Steve Bachmann from Vinfolio. “Wine Industry & Blogger Interaction” will be moderated by Tim Elliot of Winecast as well as representatives from Schlumberger Winery and Robert Larsen from Rodney Strong. (more…)

OpenWine Consortium Logo.

In just over half a year, the OpenWine Consortium has gathered 2000 members. They have been bloggers, writers, marketers, growers, producers, importers and exporters, retailers and wine enthusiasts. They have organized into diverse groups focused on interest, region, pursuit and wine industry sector. As one of the community’s administrators, it has been very exciting for me to be part of that growth.

The OWC now has members on every continent. This global, online network with administrators in North America and the European Union has reached people from different sectors of the wine industry. People located on opposite sides of the globe can now interact in a meaningful way. (more…)

Yeast gone wild.

Complexity and Terroir.

The major contention of the proponents of uninoculated fermentation is that this route bestows a greater complexity to the wine. Some have suggested that certain, “regional” strains or cultures can also impart a regional distinction. S. Cerevisiae is subject to great variation (vineyard to vineyard and even tank to tank). Mortimer’s work indicated that there were multiple distinct strains within individual wineries. So it is not unreasonable to implicate yeasts as contributory factors in a wine’s distinctiveness. (more…)