In the late 1980’s before the Walla Walla Valley appellation blossomed into more than 100 wineries farming over 1,800 acres of vineyards in a particularly dry region blessed with extended growing seasons, pioneers Gary Figgins and Rick Small slipped onto my developing list of world class winemakers. I made sure their releases beat regular paths […]
Special Wine Alert: 2008 Brewer-Clifton Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir
Tonight, a couple of colleagues and I hosted dinner at Sushi Den in Denver for Chris Mygatt, President of Coldwell Banker Residential in Colorado. Chris was a great dinner companion, and shared some of the really progressive activities he has been orchestrating in concert with the 1100 Colorado Coldwell agents. It is possible to get […]
Open Offer to Taste My (Malcolm's) 1982 Vieux Chateau Certan
I consider myself “wine fortunate”, acquiring wine and friends over the years that fuel hedonistic and intellectual wine passions. One of those friends is Malcolm. I don’t see Malcolm regularly, yet each year for the last 15 we manage to find opportunities to get really silly and drink ridiculously excellent wine together. It was great to see […]
Putting Simple Wines to Tests of Age and Environment
Ever wonder what would happen subjecting simple wines, intended for immediate drinking pleasure, to extended aging terms in unsuitable environments? It’s a risky wager and not a fully recommended strategy, even with careful wine selection and pristine cellaring conditions. While vinous curiosity has driven some oddball aging decisions in the hopes of padding my stash with more bottles showing advanced flavor and aroma nuances, (you can read more about when wine is ready to drink in this post at Palate […]
Wine Makers and Mortgage Makers Reverse Greedy Paths
I recoiled and pushed away the crystal stemware wondering if some savory syrup was masquerading as wine, and that maybe its destiny was to spread like jam on slices of peanut butter slathered Wonder Bread. This sensory collision with high alcohol and unrestrained ripeness was triggered a few years back cracking open a 2005 Mollydooker The Boxer screw top, a wine Robert Parker awarded 95 points to […]
Wine Sales Stink and The World is Not Flat
In Silicon Valley Bank’s recently released Preliminary Findings Report (you won’t get a recap of all the details here, save a few, so click on the link and download the PDF if you are so inclined) which precedes their more exhaustive Spring 2010-2011 Annual State of the Wine Industry Report, the Bank’s opening salvo declared; The […]
15 Wines in Simple Format Unlock Path To Wine Apprecation
Hosting less experienced wine drinkers to easily replicated and structured tasting formats appeals to my ritual instincts for making wine more accessible to more people. On the one hand, it’s a refreshing personal break from the usual “club” and a way to strip away the bravado and bias brought to tasting tables by hardened wine aficionados. On the other hand, it is a chance for me […]
Declaring Mencia King
My love affair with the Mencia grape is officially out of control. Tasting through more of these wines at Toro (which is by the way Ken Oringer’s restaurant serving very serious food in a relaxed but energy charged atmosphere…sitting on my top ten all-time list for “simply delicious” and a winning choice for Beantown foodie indulgence) convinced me that my first […]
Reconnecting with Cotes du Ventoux in New Hampshire
With the 2006 in distribution and the 2007 releasing, stumbling across the 2005 Chateau Pesquie Terrasses at a local New Hampshire State Liquor store last week was a pleasant surprise. I grabbed the remaining 4 bottles on sale at $10.99, ignoring the half dozen 04s and asked for more 05. With the New Hampshire State Commission selling the 04, 05, […]
Gallo for a Nickel or Dime? A Cleansing Period for the Wine Industry at Any Price
The blogosphere has been glowing garnet with empirical proof that the US wine industry haphazardly exposed their flanks to foreign importers with business plans to dominate the value segments of the domestic US fine wine market (recent WineZag post). The industry continued to plant, expand, and gear up for the $50-$125 dead zone in today’s market. Not all the competitive imported value wines were sweet, […]