Hail Hits Brunello
Wednesday, August 27th, 2008Hail devastates Brunello crop - decanter.com
First the scandal and now this, it’s been a tough year in Montalcino.
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Original post by Craig Camp
Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Aug 26, Plan a California Wine Tour ~ Explore the California Wine Country!
Monday, August 25th, 2008Plan your own California Wine Tour with this guide to the California wineries, restaurants, and accommodations. Print free wine tasting coupons and winery maps for California wine regions.
Original post by Tom Wark
It Just Might Work!!
Monday, August 25th, 2008
It has been a battle. For no other reason than I have ties to the country and I love the language, I’ve been trying to convince my kids that they should take and learn French in High School. I finally convinced my daughter, who is not yet in High School. I got to her by appealing to her appreciation of beauty and foreign adventure.
The son has been a bit of a challenge, however. None of the arguments I’ve tried have been able to walk him back from his, "Why am I going to need French" response.
I think I found a new argument.
In the past I prevailed upon his affinity for wine. I’ve been tasting wine with my son from a very young age. He sniffs, tastes, swallows then tells me what he tasted and smelled. He’s pretty good at it. In fact, back in grade school when we started doing this he showed an affinity for putting words to flavors and aromas.
So I explained, "the world of wine is really based on a French vocabulary! The names of the grapes are french, son. And words like ‘Clos and Chateau’ are all over wine. You can’t really appreciate wine if you don’t understand its traditional language."
To which he responded, "I don’t need to read French to know if it’s red or white".
True. But what’s more important than his brilliant observation is that I haven’t done a good job teaching him the real pleasure in going beyond red and white. But that’s neither here nor there…for now.
Being as stubborn as he, I’ve not been willing to give up. I’m not willing quite yet to let him, at the mere age of 14, get away with winning an argument. So I’ve kept my mind open, looking for new and better arguments. I think I found one, of sorts.
Having lunched at Boulevard recently with a friend (it’s still a fabulous restaurant), and having consumed a nice Pastis and Barbera with my Salmon Carpaccio and Bavette of Kobi, I needed to use the restroom. Instructions given to me were, "through the door, through the next door, down the stairs, to the right, down hall."
When I got there I saw two doors labeled: "Hommes" and "Dames". No pictures!
I’m tempted to take my son to Boulevard, fill him up on Diet Pepsi, then send him to the restroom with the hopes that, having not known the difference between "hommes" and "dames" he’ll walk in on a crowd of dames adjusting themselves.
It just might work!
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 25, Plan a California Wine Tour ~ Explore the California Wine Country!
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Plan your own California Wine Tour with this guide to the California wineries, restaurants, and accommodations. Print free wine tasting coupons and winery maps for California wine regions.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 25, Plan a California Wine Tour ~ Explore the California Wine Country!
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Plan your own California Wine Tour with this guide to the California wineries, restaurants, and accommodations. Print free wine tasting coupons and winery maps for California wine regions.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 24, Top Wine Picks
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Discover top wine picks. What the best white wine and red wine purchases? Find the fine wine buys right here. Buy wine now.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 24, Wine Tasting Guide
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Wine tasting made easy with this wine tasting guide. Learn how to taste wine like the pros. Step by step instructions for tasting and appreciating wine.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 24, Windrose Romantic Cottages ~ Unique Sonoma Accommodations
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Windrose Romantic Cottages are unique Sonoma Accommodations that are the perfect romantic getaway. Visit the wine country and relax in these charming cottages near the town of Windsor.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 24, Discover Temecula Wineries
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Discover fine wines at the fantastic Temecula Wineries. Read reviews of the best temecula accommodations and best romantic restaurant. Learn about wineries in Temecula and access links to each.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 24, Temecula Weddings
Sunday, August 24th, 2008Temecula weddings enjoy the natural beauty of rolling hillls covered with vineyards. Plan a wedding in the Temecula Wine Country with information on Temecula wineries with wedding venues.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 23, Sunol Train Rides
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008Enjoy a scenic train ride on the Sunol train. Located near wineries in Sunol, Castro Valley, and Livermore this train trip is a fun way to spend an hour on a Sunday afternoon.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 23, Sonoma Weddings
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008Sonoma weddings enjoy beautiful scenic venues. Learn about the best wedding sites in Sonoma County. This gorgeous wine country offers many romantic settings for dream weddings.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 23, Seascape Resort for a Romantic Getaway
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008Plan a romantic getaway at Seascape Resort. These wine country accomodations in Santa Cruz County are sure to delight. Seascape Resort is the perfect getaway.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 23, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is the last seaside amusement park. Enjoy thrilling rides, a sunny beach, food, live entertainment and more. Free admission.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 23, San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market
Saturday, August 23rd, 2008Check out the San Luis Obispo Farmers Market. Its a festive, lively event that attracts visitors from throughout the state and beyond. This popular street fair & produce market held every Thursday
Original post by Tom Wark
Arrogance, Fraud & What’s To Come
Friday, August 22nd, 2008
Yeah, the Wine Spectator got used. Toward what purpose I’m not sure. But they did get used by granting an wine list award to a fictitious restaurant. The upshot is that the Awards will be more closely monitored. I’m not real up in arms over the “scandal”.
But that’s just me. As Steve Heimoff points out, “The reaction has been fast, furious and worldwide, with the weight of opinion running heavily against Wine Spectator.”
Not a surprise. Everyone appears to like to see the influential among us get a comeuppance. It seems that the degree of comeuppance that the powerful sometimes experience is exactly equal in weight and measure to how much more important we each feel we are for having observed the comeuppance. Human nature.
ARROGANCE IS PART OF THE GAME–EMBRACE IT
But, Steve struggles with an explanation for why the Wine Spectator is being pounced on so hard and why there appears to be so much ill feeling against the magazine. But he does have an idea:
“The one thing I can come up with, at least from my California point of
view, is that there’s a body of opinion in this State that Wine
Spectator is arrogant.”
Someone needs to say it: Any publication that takes on the task of critiquing and judging an activity that does not come off as somewhat arrogant probably isn’t doing a very good job. If you are a critic, if you are judging others works, if you are reviewing other’s products and you don’t possess a certain amount of natural arrogance that is greater than the average person, they you have no business being in that line of work. What would a wine review publication that didn’t possess arrogance sound like?
“This Cabernet was pretty good, somewhat enjoyable, and similar in nature to hundreds of other cabernets that are pretty good and somewhat enjoyable.”
Yea! Gimme more of that, would ya. Compelling!!!
THE REAL PROBLEM IS WHAT THE FRAUD WILL INSPIRE
The problem the Wine Spectator has within the wine industry, however, goes well beyond the proper arrogance it possess, but which many don’t like. There has, as long as I’ve been in this business, been a strong feeling among winemaker and marketers, that you can get better scores in the Wine Spectator if you advertise. This view always seems to be held by those that get 84-87 points. It’s also utterly ridiculous. I ran and crunched the numbers. It just ain’t so, but it does give further explanation as to why there appears to be, again as Steve Heimoff observes, “glee” among those who are witness to the magazine’s faux pas.
That said, if you really want to appreciate the impact of this episode and the way it has traveled outside the wine world and into the mainstream media, imagine what kind of actions it will breed. I will not be surprised to see this particular example of fraud inspire others to do something similar, but with a twist. If I were a wine reviewer or a wine magazine, I’d be on the look out for two wines labeled differently that are in fact the very same wine and looking for the reviewer to give two divergent scores. I’d be on the look out for the same thing if I ran a wine competition.
Original post by Tom Wark
Woman arrested for spiking baby’s bottle with wine (Lexington Herald-Leader)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Police in Louisville arrested a woman at the Kentucky State Fair after an officer saw her pour wine into her baby’s feeding bottle. WLKY-TV reported that 40-year-old Kathryn Bowen of Missouri was arrested Wednesday. Police said the officer saw Bowen buy wine at Freedom Hall, pour it into the baby bottle and give it to her 11-month-old daughter. The police report said Bowen told the …
Original post by Tim
Taste of Newport food and wine event in California, Sept. 19-21 (The Canadian Press via Yahoo! Canada News)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - The Taste of Newport food and wine event celebrates its 20th anniversary this year with tastings and performances Sept. 19-21 at Fashion Island.
Original post by Tim
Woman charged with giving wine to baby (UPI)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 21 (UPI) — A Missouri woman at the Kentucky State Fair has been arrested after allegedly giving wine to her infant child.
Original post by Tim
Missouri woman allegedly puts wine in baby’s bottle (The Kansas City Star)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Police in Louisville, Ky., have arrested a Missouri woman at the Kentucky State Fair after an officer saw her pour wine into her baby’s feeding bottle.
Original post by Tim
Mom arrested after filling baby’s bottle with wine at State Fair (Louisville Courier-Journal)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Police in Louisville arrested a woman at the Kentucky State Fair after an officer saw her pour wine into her baby’s feeding bottle.
Original post by Tim
Aug 21, Restaurant Mirepoix
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Restaurant Mirepoix offers delicious meals and great service in Windsor. This Sonoma County restaurant is a top choice for great meals in the Sonoma area.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 21, Oceano Dunes
Thursday, August 21st, 2008Oceano Dunes is the only coastal sand dunes open to off-highway vehicles. Oceano Dunes are located south of Pismo Beach in San Luis Obispo County. Bring your ATV or rent one and have a blast.
Original post by Tom Wark
NJ.com: Wine Forum (The Star-Ledger)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008401. Nero’s in Flemington? In one of her posts, the Wine Goddess mentions a wine bar called Nero’s in Flemington. Anyone hear about this place? Can’t find anything on line.
Original post by Tim
KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival 2008 (All About Jazz)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008St. Louis singers Jeanne Trevor (pictured), Kim Massie and Anita Rosamond will be among the featured entertainers for the third annual KMOX Jazz and Wine Festival to be held from 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Saturday, September 27 at Faust Park , 15185 Olive St. Rd. in Chesterfield.
Original post by Tim
Indians say “cheers” to booming local wine industry (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Thursday, August 21st, 2008They’re a nation of beer and whisky drinkers, but wine is fast becoming the tipple of choice for India’s growing ranks of young, affluent professionals who are quaffing down vintages and boosting the local industry.
Original post by Tim
Aug 21, Napa Wedding Locations
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Learn about Napa wedding locations in the California Wine Country. Winery weddings and other Napa wedding locations that will provide the romantic setting you want for your dream day wedding.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 21, Napa Valley Wine Train
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Experience the beauty of the Napa Valley aboard the elegant Napa Valley Wine Train. Enjoy wine, lunch, and dinner as you travel from Napa to St. Helena and back in this beautifully restored train.
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 21, Napa Valley Wine Tours to the Town of Napa
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Enjoy Napa Valley Wine Tours to city of Napa. Use our Napa winery guide to visit a Napa winery, Napa restaurant, and find Napa lodging. Enjoy Napa wine tasting!
Original post by Tom Wark
Aug 21, Napa Spas Where You Can Pamper Yourself
Wednesday, August 20th, 2008Napa spas are a great place to pamper yourself in the Napa Wine Country. Enjoy a variety of spa treatments in the gorgeous setting of the Napa Valley.
Original post by Tom Wark