Alive and Kicking – Zinfandel
It’s seems like to have been quite a while since Zinfandel held sway in the wine spotlight. There once was a time when Zin was all the rage. Then, to paraphrase Casey Stengel: ‘it’s too popular; nobody goes there anymore.’ Now, with the rise of Pinot Noir, the ambivalence of Cabernet, and the somewhat concurrent...
From Chile to California
In 1978, a young Alex Guarachi boarded a plane from Chile to California with the goal of becoming a professional soccer player. Sidelined by an injury in college, a soccer career was no longer an option, and Alex had to set his sights elsewhere. Alex hails from Santiago, Chile. One of eight children, wine, some...
The Wines of António Mendes Lopes
When someone talks about the wines from Portugal, most of us naturally assume that we are talking about Port, the fortified wine from the Douro Valley region. Well, there are more to the wines of Portugal than merely Port. In fact, there are a whole host of non-fortified wines, made from some 39 varieties of...
2012 Wine Controversies
There is absolutely no way that wine people (aka, wine geeks) all agree on aspects of wine miscellanea. Wine descriptors, cork vs. screw cap, pricing, etc, etc. Join us as we talk with Todd French from WineBerserkers.com, probably the hottest place on the internet to discuss wine. We think you’ll find plenty of controversy, and...
A Day in the Sun at the 2011 World of Pinot Noir
One of the high points for us at World of Pinot Noir, is the time we get to spend with winemakers. Join us as we sit down with some familiar and maybe not so familiar winemaking names in the “World of Pinot Noir,” as we hear about their beginnings, their processes, their passions, and their...
Antonio Galloni on Wine
When we last spoke with Antonio Galloni, he was happily covering the Italian wine scene for Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate among other projects, and had just contributed to Parker’s new book “Parker’s Wine Bargains: The World’s Best Wine Values Under $25.″ So, what’s new with Antonio since then? Plenty! In early 2011, Parker realigned...
Alcohol and Balance – 2011 World of Pinot Noir Seminar
Alcohol and Balance – could there be a more controversial issue for today’s wine geeks? Well, thankfully, the 2011 World of Pinot Noir held a seminar on this very contentious topic. Joining N.Y. Times columnist Eric Asimov as moderator, was an illustrious (and, we might add “balanced”) group of panel members: Jim Clendenen (Au Bon...
Wine Mojo – 2011 Hospice du Rhone
Another eagerly awaited seminar from the 2011 HdR was this in-depth look at the Central Coast wines of Joey Tensley (Tensley Wines) and the Sonoma County wines of Morgan Twain-Peterson (Bedrock Wine Co.). Many of the attendees were probably already familiar with Tensley’s wines, but this was a chance to get the seemingly taciturn winemaker...
Conversation with Louis-Fabrice Latour, President of Maison Louis Latour
Louis-Fabrice Latour is the seventh generation to run the family-owned Louis Latour business, taking over as President in 1999. Born in Beaune in 1964, he is the son of Louis Latour, current Chairman of Maison Louis Latour. Louis-Fabrice is president of the association of Burgundy négociants and president of the French national wine and spirit...
2011 Hospice du Rhone Seminar – The Rhone Valley
The first seminar from the 2011 Hospice du Rhone, was designed as an introduction to the Rhone Valley at large, the 2nd largest wine producing region in France. As with an introduction to anything, there is no way to fully cover the Rhone Valley in a single seminar. Thus, three producers were selected to discuss...
The Rigorous Life of a Wine Critic: Josh Raynolds
As the Assistant Editor of Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar (IWC) and a contributor to winophilia.com, Tanzer’s online wine magazine, Josh is a very busy guy. He has been responsible for the IWC’s annual reviews of the wines of California’s Sonoma Valley and Central Coast, Oregon, Chile, Spain, France’s Loire Valley, Champagne, Mâcon, Beaujolais, Rhône...
Lot Series with Cameron Hughes
Cameron Hughes makes a “lot” of wine. Growing up in Modesto, California, wine was never far from Cameron’s line of sight. In fact, his entry into the wine business could have easily been considered a foregone conclusion. His father, Steve Hughes invited him to work one summer in support of his direct-marketing team at his...
