What’s Hot Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay have become yesterday’s news and Malbec and Riesling have replaced them as the most popular wines. There are several reasons. For one thing, wine drinkers are becoming more knowledgeable about wine. Newspapers have food and wine sections, and websites – like Twisting Vines, offer wine reviews and suggestions for [...]
World’s Oldest Champagne In July, divers began salvaging the wreckage of the two-masted schooner Jönköpin that was sunk by the Germans off the Finnish coast in 1916. (Read about it here) What was the treasure they were seeking? 4400 bottles of 1907 Heidesieck Champagne “Goût Americain”, 67 large barrels of Cognac and 17 regular barrels [...]
It’s Not Just The Weather The 2010 growing season is now being called the worst-ever harvest. Sonoma seems to have gotten the worst of it. Because the fruit was on the vine longer than normal, and the rainy season has begun, a lot of the fruit has suffered from mold. Some vineyards have suffered 100 [...]
Not Just Any Blend The world of wine is changing and like everything else, we enjoy wine trends. I’ve recently noticed that blends are becoming more popular. There are different reasons. For one, they can be more cost effective to produce than varietals – something the industry is thinking about these days. But the main [...]
A Crazy Year for Wine Just like California and Oregon, the Washington State wine grape harvest has been delayed – by about 2 weeks. The harvest reports that have come in are all very positive. The cooler temps, and longer time on the vine have made for very flavorful fruit. While California growers worried about [...]
Continue reading about 2010 a Great Vintage Year for the West Coast
Wine Harvest Begins While California’s wine harvest is in high gear, the folks on the east coast are batting down the hatches in preparation of the pending hurricane. From South Coast Today: Earl Threatens a Rare Year Ripe for Pinot Noir September 02, 2010 WESTPORT — On a broiling morning under a cloudless sky, Bill [...]
Gallo’s Turning Leaf Gets Makeover From Financial Times: Napa Valley, the seat of California’s wine industry, is not exactly a fashion mecca. The pastoral towns dotted around the vineyards are more Buddhist than Burberry, more caps-’n’-culottes than Chanel. So slightly tipsy heads turned from cellars to catwalks when it was recently announced that Basso & [...]
2007 Titus Napa Valley Zinfandel A good Napa Valley zinfandel usually costs around $45 to $50. Since we are all watching our pennies, we’ve been enjoying more affordable wines from Paso Robles and Lodi. Well, to my surprise, I found a great Napa Valley zin that I can highly recommend. The Titus Vineyards is a [...]
Gallo Wine E. & J. Gallo is the largest winemaker in the world. Since 1964, we’ve known Gallo for it’s top selling ‘jug wine’ – Hearty Burgundy. According to Gallo spokeswoman, Kristina Kelly, “The wine was a favorite of winery founders Ernest and Julio Gallo because it was the kind of hearty red wine they [...]
Pinot Noir Giant Steps is a winery located in Australia’s Yarra Valley. With their first release in 2001, the company focused exclusively on the production of premium, terroir-driven, single vineyard wines. The name was taken from the first solo album by John Coltrane. The Innocent Bystander label came about when the Giant Steps team decided [...]
