VINOGRAPHY: a wine blog
Wine and food adventures in San Francisco and around the world
~ May 2008 Archives ~
Book Review: To Cork or Not To Cork by George Taber
There's only one thing, you might say, that stands between a thirsty wine lover and her wine. And luckily, that obstacle is usually easily overcome with one or more variations on a twist of a wrist. Corks, screwcaps, crowncaps, glass stoppers, plastic corks, synthetic corks, agglomerated corks, the list goes on and on. 20 billion of them are used each year, and these closures which seal our precious bottles of wine are given very little thought by most wine drinkers. Indeed, we only tend to notice them when they are unexpected -- a screwcap when we were thinking about cork,... continue reading 
- Posted by: Alder on May 31, 2008 6:54 PM
- Filed under: Book Reviews
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Marin County Pinot Noir Tasting: June 14th, Larkspur
Most of the major appellations of California tend to have their own large tastings, where members of the public have an opportunity to sample a broad range of wines from a specific area. These tastings, as I am fond of reminding you readers, are by far the best way to educate your palate and to learn both what you like and do not like, but also who you like and do not like when it comes to California wine. These tastings are the best places to discover your next favorite wine. This particular wine tasting may be a chance to... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 28, 2008 10:15 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities
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Slovenian Wine: A New Frontier for White Wine Lovers
The wine world increasingly sorts out into two camps, those who believe increasing globalization is good for the wine industry, and those who believe that it ruins everything good about wine. Never mind that it is most certainly happening and impossible to stop. Those who regularly follow my ramblings know that I think globalization is the best thing to happen to wine since someone figured out that stainless steel tanks made for good fermentations. Leaving aside all the petty and ridiculous arguments about the homogenization of wine, which I think are bollocks, I offer the simplest and most compelling reason... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 27, 2008 8:05 AM
- Filed under: Orange Wines , Ramblings and Rants , White Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (12) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Movia, Slovenia: Current Releases
Visitors to the far Northeast of Italy, in the shadows of the Austrian Alps, quickly realize that they are not really in Italy, no matter what the maps say. Traveling to the east of Venice and north of Trieste puts one in the midst of a a patchwork quilt of languages, geography, and political affiliations. One town will speak perfect Italian, and you'll find risotto on every table and then a few kilometers away, another town will speak German and serve you knockwurst. Such diversity is actually quite entertaining and makes for a really interesting variety of food and, as... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 26, 2008 9:18 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Orange Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (6) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
How Much Longer Must French Wine Suffer?
There are stupid, corrupt, and morally righteous politicians everywhere. Americans need look no farther than their own legislators for proof of that. Just ask the folks in Illinois, who, thanks to some heavy lobbying by the state's liquor wholesalers with hefty donations to key representatives, will no longer be able to buy wine from anyone outside of their state on June 1st. But no matter how much it sucks to be a wine lover in Chicago right now, the folks there are certainly in better shape than the French, who continue to suffer under the most asinine set of laws... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 24, 2008 10:10 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants
- Comments (6) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Golden Glass Tasting: June 8th, San Francisco
There aren't many "secret" public wine tastings in San Francisco, but for several years, the Golden Glass tasting was about as close as you could get to a "wine insiders" tasting. Historically under-promoted, and generally not well attended, this tasting was often considered by some of my wine friends to be the single best public wine tasting in San Francisco. It may well still be. However, this year's Golden Glass tasting is taking a different approach to its wines. In past years this event, which is a fundraiser for Slow Food USA, has focused almost exclusively on small Italian wine... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 22, 2008 9:43 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities
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2004 Chateau du Rouet "Cuvee Belle Poule" Blanc, Cotes de Provence, France
I drink wine from as many different countries as I can, as often as I can. I firmly believe that the only way I keep learning anything as a wine lover will be through continued exploration. There are times, though, when searching out new countries, grape varieties, and appellations just takes too much energy. At times like these, usually after a long week, I just want a nice meal and a good glass of wine to go with it. Like most people in these situations of part-exhaustion, I tend to stick to the predictable -- the least risky choice that... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 21, 2008 10:47 PM
- Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20
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Book Review: Biodynamic Wine, Demystified by Nicholas Joly
Review by Tim Patterson. Biodynamic grapegrowing and winemaking have gotten a great deal of press in recent years, far out of proportion to the planted acreage involved. Much like the coverage for the adventures of Britney Spears--also wildly outstripping the extent of her creative resume--biodynamics write-ups have tended toward the sensational, even the salacious, emphasizing the ritual usage of cow dung and excursions into pop astrology. At the same time, there is no denying that the international Who's Who of biodynamic growers and winemakers turns out some mighty tasty wine--Chapoutier in the Rhone, Zind Humbrecht and Ostertag in Alsace, Domaine... continue reading
- Posted by: Tim on May 18, 2008 3:53 PM
- Filed under: Book Reviews
- Comments (7) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Wine & Spirits Hot Picks Tasting: May 22, Los Angeles
The American wine industry is pretty excited these days. Sales are up, and the demographics are looking good: the youngest generation of alcohol consumers (known as the "Millennials") are much more interested in wine than any other generation before them, and there are a lot of them -- almost as many as the Baby Boomers. In many ways, the Millennial generation has caused the wine industry to finally realize there's a market in younger wine drinkers, a group that has long been ignored by both the wine media and most wine producers. While the beer and hard liquor industries... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 17, 2008 9:56 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
The Passing of a Legend: Robert Mondavi 1913-2008
Today the United States lost one of its living legends, as Robert Mondavi died today at the age of 94. It's hard to overstate the impact that Robert Mondavi had on the wine world. His name itself was, and still is, one of the most well known brands in America. His family's (and his own) success in the wine business was a prototypical example of the American dream. Robert Mondavi moved to Napa in 1930's to work in the post-prohibition wine industry of the region, having grown up making wine with his father and brothers in Lodi, California, before attending... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 16, 2008 9:26 PM
- Filed under: Wine News
- Comments (2) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
We Interrupt This Blog to Bring You: Vinography Jr.
I wrote this post in advance, knowing that I'd probably have to throw it up here at the last minute and sprint. Things might be a little erratic around here for the next couple of weeks, thanks to a new addition to the Vinography family. See what happens when you drink wine? Let this be a lesson to you. A few good nights with a few good bottles, and nine months later? Pop. Just like a cork. So we're off to the hospital with a bottle of Krug, and you probably won't see a post here for a few days... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 13, 2008 12:28 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants
- Comments (57) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival: May 16-18, Philo, CA
California Pinot Noir lovers take note. Wine lovers with a free weekend, listen up. It's Spring, and the wine events are coming fast and furious. It seems like every week there's a new wine tasting to go to. But some are more worth paying attention to than others. Anderson Valley is known for two things in California, and not coincidentally, it has more or less two major wine tasting events per year. The first, the International Alsace Varietals festival took place a few months ago, and I was sadly prevented from attending. The second is the annual Pinot Noir Festival,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 12, 2008 9:04 PM
- Filed under: Wine Activities
- Comments (7) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Meteor Vineyard, Napa: Debut Releases
Barry Schuler may know a thing or two about running multi-billion dollar technology companies, but what he really wants to talk about, given the chance, is food and wine. The former CEO of AOL, Schuler often gets credited along with Steve Case (who preceded Schuler as CEO) for the company's success in the late Nineties. But while his colleagues and most of America's top technology executives were returning home at the end of their long days to comfortable suburbs near major metropolitan areas, at the end of the week Schuler was making his way back to Napa, California. Schuler may... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 11, 2008 7:24 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Undiscovered Wines , Wine Reviews
- Comments (1) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Book Review: Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie MacLean
Review by Jessica Yadegaran Do readers really care about active yeasts and secondary fermentation? Or do they long to understand wine's seductions, and its otherworldly sense of place? Do they care about a region's production, or would they rather hear how a glass of juice resembles a curvy redhead, and why it makes them feel the way it does? You know, drunk. This is among Natalie MacLean's first points in Red, White, and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. A descendent of Celtic alcohol-lovers and livers, MacLean, a sommelier, writes first and foremost from a sensual... continue reading
- Posted by: Jessica on May 9, 2008 6:45 PM
- Filed under: Book Reviews
- Comments (5) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Vinography Images: Water Droplet
Water Droplet "Taking interesting pictures in vineyards isn't easy. While many are surely picturesque, there is a lot of sameness in them -- row after row of vines -- and that repetition makes it easy to overlook little details like this that can be quite beautiful" -- Alder Yarrow INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking (Mac users, click and hold) 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 and drag it to your desktop.... continue reading
- Posted by: Michael on May 8, 2008 9:33 PM
- Filed under: Vinography Images
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1990 Trimbach "Cuvee Frederic Emile" Riesling, Alsace
I can remember a time when the word "Alsace" only brought to mind dim memories of my 5th grade class discussion on some valley that people were fighting about in one of those big wars. In those days I definitely couldn't spell Gewurztraminer, and I had only tried one or two of them. Perhaps you'd call me a late bloomer when it came to Alsatian wine, but bloom I eventually did, and now I'm a quiet, but fierce devotee of what I believe to be some of the most individualistic wines on the planet. Alsace has always been an... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 7, 2008 9:20 PM
- Filed under: Older Vintages , White Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (5) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Yeast: Part of Wine's Terroir or Its Mortal Enemy?
I'd like to point you readers to an interesting post by Clark Smith, at his GrapeCrafter blog, about Natural Winemaking (yes, capitalized) and the role of yeasts in the winemaking process. Clark spent some time recently at a wine industry event where panelists and the audience discussed the definition of what Natural Winemaking actually is. It comes as no surprise to me that the group couldn't achieve consensus around a concept that remains, as far as I am concerned, a broken metaphor (vinegar is natural, wine requires technological intervention). One particular sticking point arose out of a discussion surrounding the... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 5, 2008 9:20 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants
- Comments (23) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Does Napa's Best Cabernet Live in Oakville?: A Recent Tasting
While often referred to as a single "place" when it comes to wine, Napa is hardly a single monolithic growing region. Each of its 14 established AVAs (American Viticultural Areas) lays claim to a separate identity, characterized by geology, microclimate, and different histories of production. The Oakville AVA has one of the most storied of such histories. It is home to the famed To Kalon Vineyard, purchased by H.W. Crabb in 1868, shortly after the installation of a railroad stop made the tiny village of Oakville spring to life. In 1876 Crabb's neighbor John Benson bottled his inaugural vintage of... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 4, 2008 11:08 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (2) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
2005 Piña Napa Valley "D'Adamo Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa
If one were to speculate on the wine market as a savvy investor might in the small-cap stock market, the game would be the same: follow people you know with good track records. In the wine world, we'd also have to include a corollary about betting on great vineyard sites, but leaving aside the raw materials, it's clear that most good wines don't happen by accident. They're made by talented people. Finding talented people in Napa isn't hard at first. There are a lot of them, many of whom have big brand names. When they start working for a winery,... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 2, 2008 11:48 PM
- Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews
- Comments (4) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
Screaming Eagle Snubs The Wine Trade
The danger of a post such as this will be the fact that some of you, and perhaps the people concerned, will believe that I am simply whining. But let me assure you, though I am slightly disappointed, I am far more astonished at what seems to me to be a level of rudeness and arrogance that is thankfully rare in the wine world. Monday afternoon, April 28th, the Oakville Winegrowers Association put on a tasting of wines grown and made in Napa's Oakville AVA (American Viticultural Area) for the trade and the media. Such tastings are quite rare for... continue reading
- Posted by: Alder on May 1, 2008 11:59 PM
- Filed under: Ramblings and Rants
- Comments (60) - TrackBacks (0) - Permalink
But Wait, There's More!
This page only has the last sixty entries in this category. If you're interested in digging farther into my archives, you'll want to use the complete list of archives to access my articles by month.
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April 2013
Most Recent Entries
Book Review: To Cork or Not To Cork by George Taber Marin County Pinot Noir Tasting: June 14th, Larkspur Slovenian Wine: A New Frontier for White Wine Lovers Movia, Slovenia: Current Releases How Much Longer Must French Wine Suffer? Golden Glass Tasting: June 8th, San Francisco 2004 Chateau du Rouet "Cuvee Belle Poule" Blanc, Cotes de Provence, France Book Review: Biodynamic Wine, Demystified by Nicholas Joly Wine & Spirits Hot Picks Tasting: May 22, Los Angeles The Passing of a Legend: Robert Mondavi 1913-2008
Favorite Posts From the Archives
Masuizumi Junmai Daiginjo, Toyama Prefecture Wine.Com Gives Retailers (and Consumers) the Finger 1961 Hospices de Beaune Emile Chandesais, Burgundy Wine Over Time The Better Half of My Palate 1999 Királyudvar "Lapis" Tokaji Furmint, Hungary What's Allowed in Your Wine and Winemaking Why Community Tasting Notes Sites Will Fail Appreciating Wine in Context The Soul vs. The Market 1989 Fiorano Botte 48 Semillion,Italy
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Required Reading for Wine Lovers
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