Blog Index

James Laube

Price of Corks Doesn't Guarantee Superior Quality

Posted: 01:50 PM ET, 04/17/08

In conversations about corks with winemakers, one refrain I often hear is that if a winery buys more expensive corks, it gets superior quality.

I’ve also heard from winemakers, and cork manufacturers, that the incidence of TCA-tainted corks (which impart a musty, moldy flavor to wine) is just as high for the most expensive corks as for the least expensive. Read more

James Molesworth

3:1, Burgundy to Rhône

Posted: 09:37 AM ET, 04/17/08

Those who know me know that I, like my colleague Bruce Sanderson, was weaned on Burgundy. It was the region that I tasted in depth before I even realized I had a career in the wine business. It’s had a soft spot in my heart ever since.

It also still holds a prominent place in my cellar, as I continue to buy the wines of a few producers—Dominique Laurent, Marquis d’Angerville, François Raveneau, Louis Carillon. Read more

James Laube

Vines, Wines, Values and Videos

Posted: 01:45 PM ET, 04/15/08

Yesterday was video day in Napa and Sonoma. Gloria Maroti Frazee, director of education for Wine Spectator School, spent the day with some of our staff, working on features that will run online in conjunction with the magazine stories.

We talked about a pair of Chardonnays that represent the varietal at its stylistic opposites, so to speak. Read more

James Suckling

Ten Years After ...

Posted: 01:07 PM ET, 04/15/08

To celebrate my ten years living in Italy, I did some major partying this weekend, with friends as well as wine producers in Tuscany. It’s been ten great years, but that’s another column.

On Sunday, we drank a number of 1998s, including Fanti Brunello di Montalcino, Petrolo Galatrona, Ornellaia, Roberto Voerzio Barolo Vecchie Vite dei Capalot e delle Brunate Riserva, and Le Bon Pasteur. Read more

Harvey Steiman

Hip to Spit, Indeed

Posted: 12:10 PM ET, 04/15/08

The Washington wine folks are actively courting the young generation of wine drinkers by gearing their events to twenty- and thirty-somethings. The Washington Wine Commission, charged with promoting the state's vinous products, has been winning them over by replacing a lot of the old pomp and circumstance with more modern, higher-energy stuff. Read more

James Laube

Wine Pricing Could Stand a Correction

Posted: 01:43 PM ET, 04/11/08

Perhaps the easiest target for wine critics is wine pricing. Most of us have come to believe and appreciate that the market rules of supply and demand account for much of what is charged for wine, whether it’s sold from a mailing list or restaurant. Read more

Harvey Steiman

Don't Count Out Syrah

Posted: 12:58 PM ET, 04/11/08

I keep hearing that Syrah is "dead in the water," that American enophiles are no longer excited about the wines made from this grape. Washington wineries, by all rights, should be ramping up production because their Syrahs are so good, but several vintners told me recently that they are staying the course because, "Syrah isn't selling. Read more

James Suckling

Brunello and Shakespeare

Posted: 12:55 PM ET, 04/11/08

In recent days, wine producers and government officials in Tuscany have been meeting behind closed doors. They are trying to decide what to do about “Brunellopoli” – the highly publicized investigation swirling around Italy’s famous red, Brunello di Montalcino. Read more

James Molesworth

The Buzz on the Loire

Posted: 10:30 AM ET, 04/11/08

I’ve been decompressing following my recent trip through Chile and Argentina, hence the quiet blog. Earlier this week, I stopped in at the Loire Valley Wine Bureau’s Road Show, a traveling tasting for those in the trade. I usually never attend trade tastings—they’re typically crowded and noisy and are more for schmoozing than seriously evaluating wines. Read more

James Laube

What Makes or Breaks a Great Wine

Posted: 06:39 PM ET, 04/09/08

I woke up this morning to an empty, sediment-stained bottle of 1957 La Tâche on the kitchen table, bottle number 00010 of 18,848 bottles. That means it came from the first case of that fabled wine, of which some 1,570 12-packs were produced.

I purposefully left the bottle out as a reminder—not of how wonderful this wine was last night but of a few observations about what constitutes a great wine from last night’s dinner and round-table discussion of old wines at Ad Hoc in Yountville. Read more

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