Allors! Wine is not a criminal product!
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Labels advising against drinking wine during pregnancy have been around for years, but a new proposal has French wine producers seeing red.
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Tapping into Trendy Rosé
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There is nothing wrong and everything right about having rosé all year long. Even if you live in a location that has cold winters, there is a place at the table for well-made rosé!
Read More100 Years Old and Forever Young
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A centenary celebration for a whisky that is much younger than its bottle indicates - and that’s not a bad thing. Here’s a story of a surprising discovery - a fresh bit of the distant past for whisky lovers.
Read MoreWe've Lost a Giant
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Legendary importer and, more importantly, wine influencer, Robert Haas passed away March 19.
Read MoreA New Style from Down Under
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If your perception of shiraz is big, full-bodied and high in alcohol, many producers in the Southern Hemisphere beg to differ. Here's one that is a game-changer.
Read MoreWho's Buying?
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Who's buying wine today, and what does that have to do with what we have available to drink? A new study explores the question and comes up with a surprising answer.
Read MoreOver a Barrel
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When does "Barrel Aged" no longer mean "aged in a barrel?" We may be about to find out if Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn has a say in the matter. At the moment, they have consumers over a barrel.
Read MoreThe Fires of Wine Country
/This has been a heartbreaking season - in the Southeastern US where I live, four hurricanes in less than six weeks have caused widespread damage along the Gulf Coast, South Florida and Puerto Rico. And now, California's top wine regions are on fire.
California is often the victim of forest fires when dry weather and high winds dramatically increase the risk of conflagration. This year's fires are particularly difficult because they are destroying not only wilderness areas but heavily populated areas as well. The news changes by the hour but as I write this on Tuesday afternoon, 15 people are reported dead and more than 150 are missing in the fires that have destroyed more than 1500 structures, and more than 25000 acres (10,000 hectares). A Wednesday update puts the number of dead at 21, the number of structures (homes and businesses) destroyed at more than 2,000 and the number of affected acres at 125,000 (50,000 hectares).
We know for sure that two wineries have been completely destroyed - Signorello Estate and Paradise Ridge Winery. Because so many people were forced to evacuate, often with only half an hour's notice, and because the fires are still burning, blocking many parts of Napa and Sonoma counties, there hasn't been a full assessment yet of the damage. We'll have bad news trickling in for days I expect.
To give you an idea of what is happening, here are two photos: on the top is the Jackson Family's Mount Veeder Vineyard a couple of weeks ago, and below that, how it looked last night.
Photo Credit: Jackson Family wines
Photo Credit: Jackson Family Wines
As the news is breaking quickly in California, here are two recent reports that I recommend checking out:
Click here to read a story in the Tuesday of The Drinks Business
And click here for the latest from Wine Spectator
I've spoken with many friends in the area; my friends are safe, but not a one of them has been untouched by the fires and many of them have close colleagues and acquaintances who have lost their homes in the blazes. It will be a long time recuperating from this disaster I'm afraid.
It's the Bee's Knees!
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With the advent of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, we are looking forward not only harvest but also the change in aromas and flavors the new season brings. It's time for a transition cocktail, one that recalls the warmth of summer sun but also heralds some warming floral and spice tones. I have just the thing!
Read MoreTasting with the Bloggers
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This year's annual Winebloggers Conference will be in Santa Rosa, California November 9-12. I've joined the program to give two seminars to attendees, focusing on two rising star DO's (Denominations of Origin) in Spain: Cariñena and Rías Baixas. If you write about wine now or hope to write about wine, this conference is a great opportunity. Details are in today's blog post.
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