Blog Index

Harvey Steiman

Rewriting the Rules

Posted: 01:17 PM ET, 04/09/08

America's chief wine regulator wants to make Swiss cheese of America's appellation system. This is not a good development.

Today's Los Angeles Times has a long interview with John Manfreda, head of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which makes and enforces wine regulations for the federal government, outlining his plans to overhaul the rules. Read more

Richard Betts

Viva Las Vegas

Posted: 05:51 PM ET, 04/08/08

It is not new news that Las Vegas has gone food-and-wine crazy. In the last decade or so, the town has managed to collect in its net the finest chefs, wines and wine talent in the world.

One might assume this is all an effort to offer world-class dining and yet another reason to visit Sin City. Read more

James Laube

Tasting Maynard James Keenan's New Releases

Posted: 04:18 PM ET, 04/08/08

I’m often at a loss trying to explain celebrity winemakers, since their wines rarely excite and more often are likely to disappoint.

I remember thinking that, upon reviewing one of Mick Fleetwood’s wines, that that particular rock star-turned-vintner had better not misplace his sticks. Read more

James Laube

Rewards of Tradition with Hanzell Chardonnay

Posted: 01:03 PM ET, 04/07/08

When Michael Terrien left Acacia to become winemaker at Hanzell Vineyards, he was forced to rethink winemaking. He went from a winery in Carneros that emphasized early drinking Chardonnays that were ready on release to one with a tradition of slow developing Chardonnays that aged exceptionally well. Read more

Harvey Steiman

Counting on the Details

Posted: 11:52 AM ET, 04/07/08

While out selling his own wines, Josh Bergström has found himself in some of America's best restaurants, either getting the wines on their lists or wining and dining customers. That's how he got behind the scenes at Le Bernardin in New York, and used some of what he saw there in designing the new Trisaetum winery in Oregon, including a room full of white boards. Read more

James Laube

An Amazing Grace Change of Heart

Posted: 01:53 PM ET, 04/04/08

A common winemaker adage is that their wines are like their children. There are no favorites. Each is unique. Each has its own personality and it’s impossible to choose one over the other.

Here’s my corollary counterpoint: Winemakers are far more complex than their wines. Read more

Bruce Sanderson

Taste Is Personal

Posted: 09:49 AM ET, 04/04/08

I attended a Burgundy dinner the other night, at a private club, where about 60 wine lovers enjoyed two white and three red Burgundies ranging from village to grand cru. All the wines were delicious and showing well. Read more

James Suckling

Thoughts on Brunello's Witch Hunt

Posted: 05:43 AM ET, 04/04/08

Everyone was talking about the growing Brunello di Montalcino scandal yesterday during the first day of Vinitaly, the annual wine fair in Verona, Italy. Italian newspapers and broadcast media were full of reports on Italy’s financial police, Guardia di Finanza, investigation into wine producers planting grape types other than Sangiovese in their vineyards. Read more

Harvey Steiman

Corks vs. Screw Caps: Let Us Reason Together

Posted: 02:23 PM ET, 04/03/08

In a tasting last weekend, Plumpjack Winery poured pairs of samples from its grand experiment in screw caps. Starting in 1997, the winery bottled half of its reserve Cabernet Sauvignon under the best corks they could buy, and the other half under Stelvin screw caps, in a joint study with the University of California at Davis. Read more

James Laube

Wrapping Up Our Chardonnay Tasting

Posted: 03:09 PM ET, 04/02/08

Whew. We’re finally finished tasting California Chardonnay for this year’s report. It’s been a long, occasionally grueling exercise, tasting some 425 new releases since last year, with most of the wines from 2006 along with a few stragglers from 2005. Read more

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