Category: Posts
To Hell with States’ Rights! – Part I
There are a number of states that make it next to impossible for a consumer to get wine direct-shipped to her. Most of these laws effectively protect the three-tiered system, that takes wine from the winery, to the distributor, to the retail establishment. And I would argue that there is a pretty strong lobby that seeks protectionism for its state-run wineries, and its distribution system.
Continue readingAnother Wine Byte 6: Even Wine Gets Stressed!
Bottle shock can result from a wine’s over-oxidation or if sulfur dioxide was added during the bottling process. The effect on the wine is a flatness of aroma and flavor, sometimes accompanied by an unpleasant odor. It can also occur when your wine becomes stressed from the excessive jostling of the bottles during shipping, especially if the bottles travel from Califonria Wine Country to parts south and southwest on a long circuitous journey in an un-air-conditioned brown truck in the middle of the summer. Most of the time, it is a temporary condition.
Continue readingWine and Food Blog Roundup
Wine, Writing and a Woman Named Lucinda
Despite being blessed with so much, I had lost “it”, and it was not coming back. The hole that it left was further eroded and grew like a sinkhole by seeing the country that I love attacked and then horribly botch everything that followed. Without straying too far into the political, I saw the American Dream seemingly following my music into the past. I love food and wine and writing about them. I love helping people become better at cooking, or encouraging them to try something new. I love the idea that I might be helping the neophyte wine drinker to enjoy it even more. Who knows? Maybe they think they lost it too, and I could be giving them what they need to be filled up some too.
Continue readingSocial Media, MOM2.0SUMMIT & Wine!
Social Media is not new. What is new, however, is the almost frenetic way the business community is jumping on the social media bandwagon to establish, build, market and sell its “brand” by gathering what really amounts to a huge electronic Rolodex of prospects and targets. Where the disconnect lies; and what successful businesses have known all along, it that the success of your venture depends on the relationships you build, not just the contacts you make and names you collect. And sometimes wine makes it easier!
Continue readingTwisted Oak Ferriere Vineyard Syrah 2002 Calaveras County
W.I.N.E. – A Very Fine Antidote for W.O.R.K.
If you should come into contact with W.O.R.K. put your jacket on and take two good friends to the nearest pub. Purchase the antidote known as Work-Isolator-Neutralizer-Extractor (W.I.N.E.). The quickest acting W.I.N.E. type is called Swift-Hitting-Infiltrator-Remover-All-Zones (SHIRAZ) but this is only available for those who can afford it. The next best equivalent is Cheapest-Available-System-Killer (C.A.S.K.) We found a more potent variant; the Zealous-Isolator-Neutralizer (Z.I.N.) that we found to be incredibly effective.
Continue readingAnaba: Earth, Wind and Wine in My Glass
Such is the ambiance of a Châteauneuf-du-Pape type blend from Anaba (pronounced Anń-ah-bah), the winery named after the winds of Sonoma Valley. This 2006 Coriol Red, Sonoma Valley is part of the Anaba inaugural releases of Chardonnay, Viognier, Pinot Noir and the red and a white Rhone-style blend, both named Coriol. The wines are handcrafted from Rhône and Burgundian grape varieties grown at their Carneros Estate vineyard and in selected vineyard properties throughout Sonoma County. All five of Anaba’s wines earned medals in the recent 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
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