Home » 2009 » May (Page 3)
Archive for May, 2009
Schramsberg Vineyards in the Napa Valley makes sparkling wine that many believe is the rival of French Champagne. It has been served at White House dinners, and famously in 1972 President Richard Nixon took
Schramsberg's Blanc de Blancs to China for the "Toast to Peace" dinner with Premier Zhou Enlai. Unfortunately for everyone, the winery is now embroiled in a family feud that threatens to tear apart the wine dynasty. Considering the winery's historic connection to China, from its caves, which were hand-dug by Chinese immigrant laborers in 1880, to President Nixon in 1972, perhaps the Chinese can send some wine to help settle the dispute (and I don't mean sake). Labeled by some as the "new Chile" China is the sixth largest wine-producing country in the world.
Tagscalifornia wine, chinese wine, Napa Valley, Schramsberg Vineyards, sparkling wine, winemaking
Posted in Sparkling Wine
Wine is hotter than ever, in more ways than one. Sales are at an all time high, but at the same time alcohol levels are rising. Hot is winespeak for wine that is too high in alcohol and leaves a burning sensation in the back of the throat when swallowed. Back In the 1970s, red wines under 12 percent alcohol by volume were common. Today, Zinfandels higher than 16 percent are not unusual. Consumers seem to accept, even expect high-alcohol wines (many also believe this is due to the influence of wine critic Robert Parker). Is this a problem? Besides the effects of consuming more alcohol and calories in one serving, another consequence of high alcohol wine is often low acidity and a lack of structure, or in winespeak a flabby wine.
Click here for more information on the
high-alcohol wine trend and its effect on wine balance.
Tagshigh-alcohol wines, Robert Parker, Wine Tasting, wine terms
Posted in Robert Parker, Wine Tasting
Well, actually it's Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine. Last year, Paris helped launch Rich Prosecco at a "mega-party" in the Austrian Alps, and now she's featured in its advertising campaign wearing nothing but a coat of gold paint (no golden shower jokes please people). Italian winemakers certainly are not amused, much like France and Champagne, Italians claim the right to the name Prosecco. To add insult to injury, Rich Prosecco will be packaged in a can and mixed with fruit juice. What about the young, hip crowd the company is marketing to? A poll conducted at popsugar.com shows that out of almost 3,000 people, 77 percent think Prosecco in a can is about as tacky as Paris herself.
Tagschampagne in a can, Paris Hilton, Prosecco, Rich Prosecco, sparkling wine
Posted in Wine News
OK, let's turn Don Ho off (great New Years Eve party tune by the way). Tiny bubbles may make Don happy, but they make oenophiles pretty giddy too. An old adage about Champagne is, the smaller the bubbles, the finer the wine. The tiniest bubbles are the result of long aging, as well as the temperature of the aging cellar. The cooler the wine, the smaller the bubbles. Generally, really tiny bubbles are found in Champagnes known as prestige cuvees. A prestige cuvee is a wine manufacturer's best wine, and it is always given a special name.
Dom Perignon, for example, is the prestige cuvee of Moet and Chandon.
Click here for
further discussion of wine temperature.
TagsChampagne, Champagne bubbles, Dom Perignon, Moet and Chandon, prestige cuvee, sparkling wine, wine temperature
Posted in Champagne, Moet and Chandon
The following words are attributed to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine in one of 4th century poet Eubulus' works:
"Three kraters (shallow bowls used as wine cups) do I mix for the temperate: one to health, which they empty first, the second to love and pleasure, the third to sleep. When this bowl is drunk up, wise guests go home. The fourth bowl is ours no longer, but belongs to hubris, the fifth to uproar, the sixth to prancing about, the seventh to black eyes, the eighth brings the police, the ninth belongs to vomiting, and the tenth to insanity and the hurling of furniture."
Have a Safe and Happy Christmas!
TagsDionysus, Greek God of Wine, holiday wine
Posted in Uncategorized
Wine is known to protect against strokes, diabetes and dementia. So Roger Corder, professor of experimental therapeutics in London and author of "
The Red Wine Diet: Drink Wine Every Day and Live a Long and Healthy Life," performed tests to learn why. He found that procyanidins (protective anti-oxidants that improve blood-vessel function and prevent heart disease) are what make red wine so healthy. Made of Tannat grapes from the southwest of France, Madiran wine has been shown to have the highest procyanidin levels. Other beneficial grape varieties are Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon and Barolo.
Tagsanti-oxidants, dementia, diabetes, heart disease, Madiran wine, procyanidins, red wine diet, red wine health benefits, Roger Corder, strokes, Tannat grapes
Posted in Wine News
It usually starts right before Thanksgiving, there's a huge increase in demand for Champagne, not just in stores but in restaurants and bars. This increase in demand puts incredible pressure on Champagne prices. Avoid the price hike. If in December you're thirsting for a popular brand like
Veuve Clicquot, choose a high-volume, warehouse-style store. Distributors try to get a premium in December, but larger stores that have the space and the buying power buy in September or October, when they can take advantage of the lower cost. Smaller stores that don't have room to store the stuff and may not have the budget to buy in advance have to pay more and therefore charge more.
TagsChampagne, holiday wine, Veuve Clicquot, wine price, wine sales
Posted in Champagne, Wine Price and Sales
Who knew that a hippopotamus on a wine label symbolized something good to the consumer? Cute and colorful "critter labels" may seem more fitting for a box of "Animal Crackers," nevertheless, new table wines with animals on the label outsell all other new table wines by more than two to one. Yellow Tail wine is a perfect example. Yellow Tail from Australia (with a wallaby on the label) became the number one imported wine in the US in just two years.
Yellow Tail Shiraz is the best-selling red wine in America (not just imports but ALL red wine) and it took just five years.
Tagscritter labels, imported wine, wine labels, wine price, wine sales, Yellowtail Shiraz
Posted in Wine Price and Sales
That expensive case of Burgundy has been stunning so far, then all of a sudden, a bad bottle. Same wine, same case, it's inexplicable. Or, maybe you're drinking on a "Root Day." Every day is designated either a root, flower, fruit or leaf in
Maria and Matthias K Thun’s Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar (flower and fruit being best for wine tasting). This concept may cause some snickering, but biodynamics is taken very seriously in the vinyard these days. Many world-class estates such as Domaine Leroy in Burgundy, Michel Chapoutier in the Rhone have become committed biodynamic properties over the past decade. Click here for a more
indepth discussion of organic and biodynamic wine.
Tagsbiodynamic wine, Matthias Thun, organic wine, Sowing and Planting Calendar, Wine Tasting, winemaking
Posted in Wine Tasting
For the wine investor, absolutely! But for the wine drinker, it's much more complicated. Hugh Johnson (the world’s best-selling wine writer) declares in his 2008
Pocket Wine Book that, "Vintages used to be really crucial but the difference now is not so much in quality as reputation, because the most famous ones are traded up to ridiculous prices. The reasons people buy a particular wine are complex but have a lot to do with snobbism.
"If you sold a nonvintage bordeaux nobody would buy it. It would be just as good, but it would not have the romance and the interest.”
More Info on Bordeaux Wine Vintages and Their Effect on Pricing
TagsBordeaux Wine, hugh johnson, wine price, wine sales, wine vintage
Posted in Bordeaux Wine, Wine Price and Sales
