VINOGRAPHY: a wine blog

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Gallo and Constellation Screwed by U.S. Tort Law

I'm sure I'm going to catch hell for this post from any number of quarters, but it needs to be said. Big wine companies are favorite punching bags for wine lovers that would never buy their products. Sometime's there's a good reason for this, like when they throw their weight around in the marketplace in ways that aren't exactly good for the industry. The bigger the company, the bigger the mistakes they can make as well. When they make mistakes, sometimes these companies can be hung out to dry simply because they have deep pockets. And that's exactly what seems... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 24, 2012 1:51 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News

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The States of Wine Shipping

'It will cost the economy thousands of jobs.' 'It will reduce tax revenues and destroy retailers.' 'It will result in an epidemic of teen drunk driving.' These were but a few of the vociferous arguments made on 5 January against a bill introduced to the New Jersey state legislature that merely proposed to allow New Jersey state wineries (of which there are now more than 40) to ship their wines to state residents, just like wineries in the neighbouring state of New York. The individuals offering these arguments were primarily representatives of the state's liquor wholesalers, who purportedly spent more... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 24, 2012 8:43 AM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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The Essence of Wine: Honey

Image © 2012 Leigh Beisch Sunshine, gathered from flowers by tiny apian efforts, forged into ambrosia that tasted of immortality to the Greeks and Egyptians. The alchemy of honey seems no less marvelous even to those that have braved the swarm to witness its creation. Like honey, wine serves to transmute the world's most basic elements into a form seductive and irresistible. When wines taste of honey they seem to taste of sunlight itself, a brightness that coats the mouth with a satin warmth and gently tugs at the heart like a summer breeze. The scents of honey wafting from... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 23, 2012 9:53 PM

Filed under: The Essence of Wine

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Book Review: Wine Wars by Mike Veseth

Review by Tim Patterson. A big part of wine's allure is that it is so many different things: a source of alcohol, a source of pleasure, a gateway for entry into the mystical, the erotic, the enlightened, the divine, the silly, and sometimes the idiotic. But for thousands of years, it has also been a commodity--and that's where this book comes in. Worrying about wine as a commodity seems uninspiring, even tawdry, compared, say, to worrying about the distinctive terroir of some patch of dirt in Alsace. But without the buying and selling, we'd all be home winemakers, wine production... continue reading

Posted by: Tim on January 21, 2012 1:56 PM

Filed under: Book Reviews

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Vinography Images: The Mustard

The Mustard RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY, CA: Flowering mustard growing between the grapevines signals the beginning of spring as seen in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California. INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location on your computer to save the image. Mac users can also just click the image to open the full size view and drag that to their desktops. To set the image as your desktop wallpaper, Mac users should follow these instructions, while PC users should follow these. PRINTS: Fine art prints... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 20, 2012 8:53 PM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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2008 Alta Maria Vineyards Pinot Noir, Santa Maria Valley

If I were doing now what I thought I would probably do with my life as a sophomore in college, I would be a photographer living in a tent or an old VW Bus somewhere, splitting my time between rock climbing and taking pictures of stuff that most people wouldn't give a second glance. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but I offer it as proof of how little sense I had of what path my life would take. James Ontiveros, on the other hand, was spending his sophomore year at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo going to classes... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 19, 2012 11:17 PM

Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews

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The Essence of Wine: Earth

Image © 2012 Leigh Beisch Earth. The first of the elements that the ancients held as the basis for all life. The source of all our sustenance. Wine has always been inextricably linked to the dirt, the root of terroir. That wine can sometimes taste or smell of earth should come as no surprise. Like walking through the spongy loam of a dark wet forest, scents of soil and mushroom, dust and mud often resonate with a dark bass note underneath other flavors and aromas. Flavors of earth are often borne on the textures of tannin, as if the very... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 17, 2012 10:23 PM

Filed under: The Essence of Wine

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Introducing The Essence of Wine

Many facets of wine contribute to its allure and mystery. But foremost among wine's most magical qualities must be the remarkable landscape of flavor and aroma to be found in the glass. That mere grape juice, given time and the workings of the microscopic kingdom, can yield flavors beyond description has doubtless played a central role in making wine mankind's most historically sacred fluid, beyond our own lifeblood. With eyes closed, a glass of wine can transport us not only to climes far removed, but also through time. These journeys are provoked by flavor. Our deep sense memories are drawn... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 17, 2012 10:22 PM

Filed under: The Essence of Wine

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Reflections on 8 Years of Wine Blogging

Eight years ago, I decided that instead of giving my friends the same advice over and over again about my favorite wines and restaurants, I would start a blog -- both so that I would have someplace to send them, and so that I could learn about what a blog was and how it worked. And that, as they say, was the first day of the rest of my life. I've been writing about wine almost every day since then, pausing only to go on my honeymoon, hang out with my new baby girl, and go fishing in Alaska this... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 14, 2012 11:41 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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Vinography Images: St. Emilion

St. Emilion BORDEAUX, FRANCE: The historical village of St. Emilion, located in the famed Bordeaux wine region, is viewed in this spring photo looking southeast. INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location on your computer to save the image. Mac users can also just click the image to open the full size view and drag that to their desktops. To set the image as your desktop wallpaper, Mac users should follow these instructions, while PC users should follow these. PRINTS: Fine art... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 13, 2012 8:21 PM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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Book Review: The Drops of God: Vol 1, by Tadashi Agi

I'm tickled by the idea of wine featuring prominently in popular entertainment. I think a lot of wine lovers got a kick out of Sideways. Regardless of what they thought of the movie overall, there were enough inside wine jokes and archetypal wine conversations that anyone who loved wine was able to at least smile knowingly. I found it delightful to watch people geeking out about wine and extolling the virtues of Pinot Noir on the big screen. A similar small delight is to be found in the pages of the newly translated Drops of God, by Tadashi Agi and... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 12, 2012 10:45 PM

Filed under: Book Reviews

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2012 Pinot Days Southern California Tasting: January 26-28, Los Angeles

Wine festivals in Southern California, and especially in Los Angeles, aren't particularly plentiful, for reasons I don't entirely understand. There are plenty of wine lovers in LA, but the large public wine events that make such frequent appearances in San Francisco, and increasingly in New York, just don't seem to make it down the West Coast. Three years ago, the Pinot Days Festival came to Los Angeles, and now every year SoCal Pinot lovers have a reason to celebrate. This year's Grand Tasting will offer the opportunity to taste more than 300 Pinot Noirs from about 100 different producers over... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 10, 2012 9:51 PM

Filed under: Wine Activities

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2008 Pheasant's Tears Rkatsiteli, Republic of Georgia

We don't know exactly where and when mankind first made wine in any significant quantity, but we believe that it was approximately 8000 years ago -- long before the rise of the Egyptian civilization. We're also fairly sure that these initial efforts to produce large quantities of fermented grape juice took place in the region currently occupied by the Republic of Georgia. These estimates of the time and location of mankind's earliest forays into oenology are based on the carbon dating of grape seeds found in the bottom of ancient clay amphorae, the remarkable progenitors of the world of wine... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 8, 2012 10:38 PM

Filed under: Orange Wines , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20

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Vinography Images: Nicole's Vineyard

Nicole's Vineyard RUSSIAN RIVER VALLEY, CA: Green grasses growing between the grapevines signals the start of spring as seen in Nicole's Vineyard in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, California. INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location on your computer to save the image. Mac users can also just click the image to open the full size view and drag that to their desktops. To set the image as your desktop wallpaper, Mac users should follow these instructions, while PC users should follow these. PRINTS:... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 6, 2012 11:48 PM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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Knock it Off: Things I'd Like to See Disappear From the Wine World in 2012

It's the beginning of a new year. Everyone's making lists. The most memorable wines of 2011. Predictions about what will happen in the wine world in 2012. Lists of new years wine resolutions. Actually, I wrote an article for Fine Cooking Magazine's last issue with five New Years wine resolutions. Mine were focused on exploring niches of the wine world that are generally ignored. Check it out if you're interested. It's an excellent magazine and is on newsstands now. But let's talk now about a different sort of list: the stuff that should go away. Here's the list of stuff... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 3, 2012 10:01 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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You Won Tickets to the ZAP Zinfandel Festival!

Thanks to everyone who submitted Zinfandel themed haiku poems as entries for a chance to win tickets to the ZAP Zinfandel tasting taking place on January 26-28, 2012 here in San Francisco. After assigning everyone a number and then using a true random number generator, I have picked the following six names "out of a hat" as winners. Each of the people below will receive two tickets to the grand tasting, courtesy of Vinography. I will send you each an e-mail, but you can pick up your tickets the day of the event at will call under the name you... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on January 2, 2012 9:31 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine Activities

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Happy New Year. I'm Not Recommending Any Sparkling Wine.

2011 comes to a close. If you're a wine consumer, and one that likes to read about wine, you've been bombarded for the last three weeks with recommendations for sparkling wine. I promise not to subject you to more of the same. In fact, I'm here to object to the fact that 98% of the writing about sparkling wine takes place in the few weeks that run up to New Year's Eve. OK, I'll admit that I haven't done a scientific study, but really, as someone who reads pretty much everything published on the internet with the word "wine" in... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on December 31, 2011 4:35 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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Vinography Images: Vineyard Snow

Vineyard Snow UKIAH VALLEY, CA: Rows of head-pruned zinfandel grapevines stand as winter sentinels in this Mendocino County photo taken at Eaglepoint Ranch. Happy New Year! INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location on your computer to save the image. Mac users can also just click the image to open the full size view and drag that to their desktops. To set the image as your desktop wallpaper, Mac users should follow these instructions, while PC users should follow these. PRINTS: Fine... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on December 30, 2011 10:35 AM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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And From Napa, a Huge Sigh of Relief

Warning: non-news ahead. The only reason I'm writing this article is because a couple of months ago, I did some speculating in my monthly column for Jancis Robinson about what would happen in Napa now that the reins for reviewing the region have been handed from Robert Parker to Antonio Galloni. The fact that Galloni's scores for Napa have just come out wouldn't ordinarily merit much attention from me, except for the fact that I had made some predictions about what might change as a result. My prediction was: nothing. And it turns out that's pretty much what happened. To... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on December 25, 2011 2:21 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News

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Dutton-Goldfield Winery, Russian River Valley: Some Current Releases

What's hot in the wine world tends to focus the most attention. The newest superstar winemaker. The hot new vineyard. The latest cult wine brand. The stratospheric auction results in Hong Kong. But in so many ways, these bright lights are not at all representative of the real world of wine -- a world in which farmers and winemakers (sometimes the same person) work day after day to produce something that not only fires their passion, but also pays their bills. For every winery that makes news, there are dozens or hundreds that never seem to get much of the... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on December 24, 2011 2:51 PM

Filed under: Boutique Wines , Wine Reviews

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