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Wine Ebooks:
| | The Complete Grape Growers Guide. |  | | A Complete Guide For Growing Grapes. Converts Very Well At A Reasonable Price! Growing Grapes And Making Wine Is A Very Popular Topic Right Now.
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| | Fool-Proof Wine Values. | | | Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
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| | Making Wine From Home. | | | A Fun And Very Informative Book On Home Wine Making. The De Facto Standard For All Home Wine Enthusiasts With Recipes, Advice And Tricks.
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Blogs & Sites:
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| [04/28/2007, 19:15] | Wine, Whisky & All That Jazz | | | This cool combo of fine wines and classic jazz is one of Toronto?s premier events. Energy Savings Group Wine, Whisky & All That Jazz is set for Wed., June 20 at the Liberty Grand. Recapture the golden age of jazz... | | | |
| [05/16/2008, 23:28] | Wine Friday, May 16 | | | I had a pleasant breakfast this morning with Marco Oberto of Ciabot Berton, traditionalist wine producer from Piemonte. We tasted a bottle of his 2003 "Vigna Capalot" Langhe Nebbiolo; his old-school, fermented-in-cement Barolo 2003 won't be ready to drink for at least a few more years. Light in color, this real-deal Nebbiolo has lots of stuffing, clean-flavored yet full of woodland fruit, impressive structure and a relatively long finish. The oak is under control; the wine spends about a year in Slovenian botti (medium-sized barrels). Right now it seems just... | | | |
| [05/12/2008, 21:12] | Creating Value for the Wine Industry | | I’m in the process of closing down Wine Life Today the social bookmarking service and making it into my personal blog so that I can dedicate my time to creating real change and real value for the entire wine industry. WLT is a two year old project that had a decent amount of success and even generated some advertising revenue which is cool. But I never intended it to be a revenue source as much as it was a learning experience. I LOVE the wine community and I spend tremendous amounts of time creating and learning from my creations/experiences. So I always thought that creating things for the wine world would be the best of all worlds - I could meet more and more people in the wine world all while having my creative outlet. Recently, OpenWine Consortium, a brainchild of mine that was inspired by the need of some industry friends I met through my other creations (this blog and WLT), has emerged as an unmitigated success. With really no marketing whatsoever, it has garnered attention across all corners of the world, been written up in Wines & Vines magazine, signed up nearly 1000 members in less than three months, and really become something I can spend GOBS of time working on. Its special, it fills a need that the industry has, and most of all, its something I’m very proud of but believe it can be so much more. I believe OpenWine Consortium is 10 times more useful at 1000 then it was at 100 in terms of affecting change in the industry. Real business connections are being made, value is being created through the exchange of expertise and advice, and new ideas are being spawned just through the interaction. Guess what…I also believe that is OWC were 10,000 people is would be 100 times more useful and would create 100 time the value it does today. So I’m setting a goal for myself and the OWC community. The industry needs this site to be at 10,000 members from every corner of the globe to make it an invaluable place to be on the Internet if you are in the wine trade. This goal is SOOOO doable its rediculous. There are tens of thousand of wine brands and just an un-Godly number of service businesses that work with those brands and ALL the employees/owners/proprietors of all these businesses can benefit from the OWC community - the interaction, the community, the technology exchange. So that is my goal today. I’m very proud that we’ve gained 1000 members. But I’m going to dedicate the time and effort needed to really move the needle in the industry and I hope others in the community who see the value will do the same. I’ll start with something simple - a Logo that others can get behind. Some good friends have put time into creating a logo and I"ll get it out there soon. Look for the preview here. What are some other things I can do? Partnerships with others in the trade, training to properly use OWC as a tool for trade associations, implementing the changes that the membership wants to see on the network. Me and about 1000 of my industry friends should be able to make a difference so lets see where this takes us! Cheers! (almost makes me want to say "To infinity and beyond!"…but I’ll refrain)  | | | |
| [03/24/2008, 09:53] | March 24, 2008. New Zealand Wineries Part 3 - Woollaston | |  This one is not exactly a small winery and definitely a bit more flashy than many others. Woollaston Estates was formed in 2000 - with some creative passion. You can see that in the design of the winery building itself as well as the myriad pieces of art and sculptures around. This one is worth going to just to check out the architecture. While I cannot say that I was impressed with most of their offerings - one did stand out to me and that was their Pinot Noir. Vines are still young but there is a balance here which I find lacking in many others. This is one of the better Pinot if not the best I tried on this trip.
Looking at a design of their winery it seems to be designed around letting gravity lead the flow through the winemaking process . This can only mean it was designed around the careful handling of Pinot Noir. To me, you can taste a big difference in quality between the Pinot and their other wines. It was as if the other wines were intended for bulk sale in order to finance the winery and perfecting the Pinot.
2007 Nelson Pinot Noir. Black cherries, some depth might be due to clay soil with "good/smooth" tannins and a decent finish. 89 points
Winery schematic : http://www.woollaston.co.nz/winery/interactive-map
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| [05/12/2008, 03:15] | Valle Reale Montepulciano D'Abruzzo 2005 Wine Review (NW) | | 
Tasting notes: Rich nose of crushed blackberry, spice, and a layer of dusty earth Dense, fruity core Moderate tannins on finish with raspberry, cocoa, spice, and pepper Very nice wine! This wine costs $20 and is a step up from the delicious and simple "Vigne Nuove" label that prices in around $12. It's slightly more dense and structured, showing darker fruit flavors and more spice. I rarely see this wine and should have grabbed more. The Montepulciano D'Abruzzo wines are common now, but almost exclusively just the entry level bottlings. It's unusual to see the next step up, such as this. Hope you find one. And raise a glass! | | | |
| [09/11/2007, 08:23] | Weekend in Macau | | | I scraped myself up and out of Hong Kong to go grab the ferry to Macau. I later found out that helicopters are also available and a lot faster, although the boat trip wasn?t that bad, lasting only an hour. The ferries leave from Hong Kong every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, and [...] | | | |
| [03/12/2008, 18:49] | The Barrel of Monkeys' New Clothes | | I have been pointing out for years that the hardest thing about judging wine is remaining objective. I have shared my own techniques for eliminating variables, which include always using the same glass, and tasting in the same order. Now Stanford University has published a report that illustrates exactly what i have been trying to stress. It is easier to fool ourselves than we think.
The report demonstrates that telling someone the cost of a wine influences their perception of it. This is very similar to telling someone to not think about a barrel of monkeys. Plant the perception, put people in a position where they defer their own opinions to an expert or a supposed fact, and you can make them believe almost anything. This is exactly why I keep my eyes open for wine quackery.
I recently gave a series of lectures at the International Restaurant (and Nightclub and Hotel) Show in Las Vegas (a hello and thank you to al that attended). The show floor was awash new and wonderful gadgets, ideas and do-das. Not to mention half naked women pouring every kind of booze imaginable.
Among the eye and literal candy there were several vendors demonstrating their "wine enhancement" products. The ones I am going to harp on here are not those that rely on unknown metaphysical forces, if I haven't convinced you yet to ignore those, then you deserve them. No, this time I am going after the devices that help wine to aerate.
I have already debunked the expensive crystal glasses in an earlier blog, but even then I wondered how well known wine personalities could be so enamored of them as to lend their endorsement to the product packaging.
The earlier glasses and the aerating products at the show did indeed make a difference to the wine. A slight difference, and one that is easy duplicated without the cost and mess, by simply swirling the wine in your glass.
So why then do these products continue to sell? Or even more to the point why were the reps at the show so surprised that they couldn't win me over when so many others had been praising their products?
The parable of the Emperor's New Clothes is so important to our society that it has become part of our social consciousness, far outliving Hans Christian Anderson. In the story we are told that only those who are worthy can see the clothes. Since everyone wants to be worthy, they all claim to see the clothes, and even convince themselves of fine details that don't exist.
Tasting wine is an odd pursuit in that each of us to some degree doubts our abilities. We almost always ask others of their impressions, and the response can not help but taint our experience, in the barrel of monkeys tradition.
Hand someone a taste of wine and tell them it is worth a great deal of money, and they will think better of the wine. That is the crux of the Sanford research. Tell them your product has greatly improved the wine and when they do taste that there is a slight difference, they will elevate that difference in their minds in an attempt to be worthy of "seeing the Emperor's clothes."
This is human nature, and it is exactly why people have been selling snake oil since the dawn of time. The moral of my lesson is to trust your own abilities and sense of taste. Stand up for what you taste in wine, and don't worry if no one else ever tastes what you do. It is all subjective, and your opinion is exactly as valuable as mine (I just have a better chance of telling you how it stacks up to other wines of the class or value).
You don't need to run out and buy the latest gizmo to enjoy wine. Just open a few bottles and have fun with the contents therein. Take the money you saved on not buying that gadget and buy a bottle of wine you have never tried before. Good or bad, the education you get from that wine will almost certainly be a better value than the myriad wine enhancers that keep popping up.
The rep who was so dismayed that someone didn't find their product earth shattering left me with this retort: "Why then do so many wineries buy our product? They wouldn't buy something that doesn't work!" It is hard for me, but I will refrain from a lesson in logic and simply point out what my regular readers already know. Not everything that a winery does, or any other human endeavor does, works. | | | |
| [05/08/2008, 19:10] | Fixing Stupid Laws | | The somewhat recent revelation that it is technically illegal for home winemakers in California to hold public tastings and even competitions of their wines is one of those instances where a truly out-dated law of little or no value, previously unnoticed, comes to light and makes folks chuckle, shake their heads and get on with getting rid of it for the sake bringing laws and rules into line with reality and good sense. The move to change the law licketty split is under way. Family Winemakers of California and State Senator Pat Wiggins have joined forces to introduce SB 607, a law that would allow winemaking competition among amateur winemakers. It's an easy fix to a pretty stupid law and both FWC and Senator Wiggins should be commended for moving it forward. Changing stupid laws like this is not always so easy, however, Take for example the CA law that makes it a crime for a an out-of-state retailer to ship wine to a CA resident. This one went into effect in 2005 and was supported by Family Winemakers of California, The California Wine Institute, The California Association of Wine Grapegrowers, Napa Valley Vintners and a number of wineries. The bill was opposed by a number of CA retailers who realized that not only was the law unconstitutional as it discriminated against out-of-state retailers, but that it would encourage other states to lock out CA retailers from shipping to their state residents. There has been no enthusiasm by California's winery organizations, Free the Grapes, or any politicians to change this other example of a stupid law, though they all are well aware of the law. One wonders if it will be "discovered" in a few decades and quickly reversed by legislation because it no longer has any value, rhyme or reason. It turns out this law is actually on hold because retailers sued the state of CA and were able to get an agreement from the state not to enforce it until the end of 2008. However, that time is quickly approaching. One hopes that consumers, wine organizations and politicians will feel an equal urgency to fix one more stupid law when it comes to light.
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| [04/20/2008, 07:14] | IACP: Sardinia & Something I Actually Buy From Napa | | | Today was the Culinary Showcase of IACP. Like any trade show, you have your big ass sponsors whose money subsidizes the whole shebang and get to fete the attendees, thus solidifying their market share, and you get little gems like… Gourmet Sardinia: These products make my heart race. Imported by chef Elfisio Farris who wrote the [...] | | | |
| [05/07/2008, 17:18] | Interview with Ed Lehrman of Vine Connections: First Installment | | 
Following the theme of my last post about Americans? increasing awareness of the quality wines that many artisan producers of Argentina are exporting, I?m pleased to post the first installment of my interview with Ed Lehrman of Vine Connections. Along with his business partner, Nick Ramkowsky, they formed a company that not only imports the wines of artisan Mendoza producers, but selectively forges meaningful, long term relationships with them. As Ed Lehrman explains in the interview, this type of involvement encompasses much more than shipping and distribution, extending into representation, consulting, label design and many other crucial aspects which in the end, bring American consumers the types of genuine artisan wines that multinationals couldn?t even conceive of delivering.
Based out of Sausalito, CA, Vine Connections has been at the forefront of the changing of the guard, in terms of tastes, that I described in my last post. Their portfolio includes excellent California, New Zealand and Japanese Saké producers, alongside the wines of star Mendoza winemakers Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky, along with others to look out for, such as Mapema, Tikal and La Posta del Viñatero. If you really want to know what Argentines really like to have at the table and moreover, the breadth that Argentine wines are capable of achieving, I encourage you to explore the types of artisan producers that Vine Connections represents and whose work, over the coming years, will ultimately triumph over the characterless, corporate-backed South American wines saturating our shelves.
I would like to thank Ed Lehrman for taking the time to provide his in-depth responses concerning Vine Connections, its vision and inspiration. Our conversation unfolded over e-mail:
*What is the vision behind your company and what were some of the key experiences that led you and your business partner to get started?
- My partner, Nick Ramkowsky, and I have both been in the wine business since 1986 (we started very young), and we could have done any number of things together. Nick was a small California distributor at the time, and I had just sold my direct-to-consumer wine business where he had been one of my suppliers. A fateful trip together in May of 1999 launched us into the importing/national sale & marketing business. We spent about a week in Mendoza on that trip tasting wines from bottle, barrel, tanks?you name it?and we met some incredible winery owners and winemakers. By the end of the week, we were looking at each other and asking, ?How does the 5th largest wine producer in the world hide incredible wines like these from the US?? It seemed like this must be the opportunity of a lifetime for wine guys like us to lead the charge in introducing Argentine wine to the US, and in a way that they would be fully appreciated for their quality and authenticity, and not just their price. As an aside, of the first 12 wines we imported from Argentina, the LEAST EXPENSIVE wine was $22 retail! So in fact, Vine Connections was originally formed in order to be an Argentine wine importer.
*Compared to other importers, what is the depth of Vine Connection's involvement with the producers its represents? (in terms of consulting, marketing, other assistance, etc.)
- It is hard to speak about other importers, since some do quite a lot and some just taste and buy. As for us, we take the approach that we are the winery?s own sales & marketing department and they can use us for as little or as much as they need. That may mean writing back label copy, helping with label design, or determining whether a new blended wine is even a good idea to add to their portfolio.
For all of our wineries, we do the copywriting for all printed materials since we can communicate their stories in English more effectively, and along the same lines, we handle most press relations since we are here and readily available. And I guess the most valuable thing we do would be called ?consulting? since we offer our advice on many topics based on our 40 years of working in the U.S. wine biz.
*How does your company forge relationships with producers? In this vein, what is the process like for you when considering an addition to your portfolio? Do the producers come towards you in the way of trade events, do you travel to areas to scout, so to speak, or some combination thereof?
- We are very careful in this regard since our objective as an importer is to build brands and not just sell wine. That requires long-term relationships, so besides tasting backwards and forwards through a winery?s production, we spend as much as time as we can with the owners and the winemakers to see whether there is a good fit for working closely together. When we meet people who already think they know it all about winemaking, marketing, etc., we politely walk away no matter the wine quality. Our initial screen is the wines?they have to be particularly good since that is what we are known for importing. Then we start talking about their philosophies, their dreams, their business objectives, and where we should all eat dinner together (a meal with a potential supplier is always a good way to gain more insight).
This process means that while we have run into some wines that we like, we have sometimes been unwilling to take the winery on. The most common stumbling block for us seems to be that the winery lacks a strong winemaking philosophy, and often because they have abdicated this cornerstone to a consulting winemaker (and most often to foreign winemakers). As time has passed, we have pretty much settled into the idea of only representing wineries owned by Argentines and with Argentine winemakers since the winemaking vision is usually clearer and more grounded in expressing what makes Mendoza so special compared to other regions.
From the first moment that we meet a winery team, it usually takes about 18 months before we come to an agreement, do the ground work, and then start selling the wines in the U.S. It seems to work--we have never lost an Argentine winery and every brand that we represent has achieved a significant level of success.
I wish I could say that finding these producers followed a particular recipe, but in truth, all of our brands have come to us via different sources. The key is to have your radar on all the time so that the best ones don?t slip by accidentally.
*You represent Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky's Dominio del Plata Winery?how did that relationship come about and how far back do you go?
- Well, if it weren?t for the ?dynamic duo? of Mendoza, we may never have been Argentine wine importers. We met them on our first trip to Mendoza in 1999, and they were so obviously talented and knowledgeable that they got us thinking a lot about the possibilities. We also formed a trusting relationship so quickly that it became obvious that we would work together, and together push forward a common vision of making Argentine wine part of the daily American fine wine conversation. That seems like an ominous task looking back now?we had no company yet and they were renting a very small winery at the time?but at the time it just seemed like destiny. | | | |
| [05/14/2008, 02:54] | Chateau Guiraud-Cheval Blanc 2005 wine review by (PB) | | This Bordeaux Cotes De Bourg wine is another 05 value. It has a black cherry hue with tight fruit of black cherry and some raspberry notes with minerals and steel.
In the mouth this wine is sweet with some tannic structure, bready notes but needs to open. With breathing it is a tad hot but nice flavors and body with good structure and a good food wine. Buy this wine and two more to lay down for another year and reap the rewards. All this for only $14 so raise a glass to a great vintage! | | | |
| [05/03/2008, 12:58] | test | | | test | | | |
| [11/25/2006, 15:17] | | | 
Preparations for Christmas.
Santiago of Chile prepares itself to receive the Christmas.
While hurried wayfarers travel the Plaza of Weapon, a group of workers raised in nets, prepare a gigantic tree.
It will be finished in a few days more and be be almost so high as the centenary Cathedral, Satiago's former relic. | | | |
| [07/06/2007, 18:15] | Tennessee Hypocrisy | | | As many of you know, one of the rallying cries of the anti-wine-shipping crowd has been "Protect Our Minors!" In 2003, when the Federal Trade Commission first presented its study on the anti-commerce nature of shipping bans, the Tennessean published an article supporting open shipping laws. But the article also conceded that: "Whether Tennessee will follow suit is questionable, in large part because the state's politically powerful liquor wholesalers lobby has long supported the ban. John Jones, the chairman of the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, is another in favor of the current ban and is doubtful it will go away anytime... | | | |
| [04/18/2008, 18:15] | | | yesterday i started my grappa infusion. i bought a pound of not-exactly-plums-not-quite-prunes yesterday and cut them in half and shoved them into my silver medal award winning grappa that was super cheap at bevmo.
so i'm hoping for a simple plum-infused grappa. i figure even though it should realistically take about a week to infuse, i'm thinking of leaving the plums indefinitely so that the infusion gets stronger the older the grappa gets. the grappa is also ice cold so the infusion process will be a little retarded at first and get better as time goes on.
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| [05/01/2008, 02:56] | 01 May - Now for Subscribers only | | | Latest specials at 1stChoice and Dan Murphy, initial prices on Penfolds St henri 2004 and more prices on Petaluma Coonawarra 2005. | | | |
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A magnificent Malbec! It picked up a trophy at the inaugural Wines of Argentina Awards held in Mendoza in 2007, having wowed the international panel of judges - included among them wine expert Jancis Robinson, who gave it an impressive 17 out of 20. This mulberry and spice-flavoured red wine was made by Herve Fabre, who was originally involved in the Bordeaux wine trade, before he and his wife fell in love with Argentina and moved there to establish a boutique winery. Herve's experience in producing top quality wines shines through in this tremendously rich, silky-smooth wine. Ripe blackberry and bramble aromas merge seamlessly with spicy oak and vanilla flavours. Full bodied, yet seriously smooth and warming. This 89 Parker point wine is sure to survive for many years to come. Definitely a wine to enjoy with fine food ... try it with rare roast beef or a juicy steak.
Price: 11.99 GBP
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"Wonderfully succulent, rich berry fruit with hints of spice box." (Parker). A must-have wine from this superb estate, once provider of the second wine of Cos d'Estournel. "Blackberries ... herbs ... hints of spices." (Wine Spectator)
Price: 19.15 GBP
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Enjoy six bottles of "the world's finest dry white wine" (Scotland on Sunday)
Price: 36.99 GBP
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"Sauvignon Blanc continues to go from strength to strength" says Hapers wine magazine ...
Price: 36.99 GBP
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Six bottles of Saint-Emilion 2005 " The greatest vintage in living memory"(Wine and Spirits magazine
Price: 56.99 GBP
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Enjoy the diverse flavours of "the world's finest dry white wine" (Scotland on Sunday)
Price: 69.98 GBP
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