Welcome to my weekly roundup of the wine stories that I find of interest on the web. I post them to my magazine on Flipboard, but for those of you who aren’t Flipboard inclined, here’s everything I’ve strained out of the wine-related muck for the week.
One of California’s most influential modern wineries, Dirty & Rowdy, is ending after 11 years
Creative differences, it seems. End of an era.
How Cabernet Franc Is Wowing Argentina’s Winemakers
Yes, indeed, there is more there than Malbec.
Why Does It Cost So Much to Ship a Box of Wine?
A good answer to a maddening question.
An ode to Palomino: still wines made from old vine Palomino offer a new narrative for this ‘neutral’ industrialised yet historic grape variety
Not just for Sherry anymore.
Peter Liem on Champagne: dosage, growers versus houses, and viticulture
Few people know more than Peter.
The Cheap Wine That Turned Americans on to Fine Wine
An important piece of history to know.
How to Taste the Fermentation Vessel in Your Wine
Or not taste, as the case may be.
Prosecco protesters rise up against ‘ruthless expansion’ of Italian winemakers
This is an awful story.
France faces lowest recorded wine output following frost and disease
So is this.
Fires, frost, and floods: Europe’s winegrowers brace for the worst harvest in memory
The question is, how often are we gonna see headlines like this one?
Extreme weather causes 60% drop in Champagne crop for 2021
Among those hit hardest.
Timber Supply Issues Are Causing Headaches for the Wine Industry
Could be a serious problem.
Most significant changes to Sherry regulations for 50 years announced
That’s some progress.
Through 3 Whites, the Art of Blending Wines
Eric on the virtues of melange.
How This Master Sommelier Became a Game-Changing Napa Valley CEO
I didn’t know his whole story. What a journey!
Chinese actress Zhao Wei, owner of Bordeaux estates, cancelled in China
And worst of all, no one knows where she is.
How Anderson Valley’s Roederer Estate is dealing with the drought
Plan B, and Planc C.
Farmworker shortage raises worries grapes will go unpicked
COVID effects continue to play out.
The Oregon Winemakers Going Rogue with Biodynamic Bubbles and Global Grapes
Nice profiles of some interesting names.
What Becky Wasserman Taught Us About Burgundy—and Humanity
Nice remembrance and celebration.
Down The Rabbit Hole
And out the other side.
By the Bottle: Carmen Castorina
Another hidden figure.
Slow winemaking on the Sonoma Coast
A nice profile of Matt Courtney
Enabling one’s favorite predispositions
An interview with Jay McInerney
Australian wine update
Jancis sheds light on present difficulties.
Wine’s ‘Gender-Split’
And problems with polling.
Turning the Tables on Deborah Parker Wong
Q&A with the editor of Slow Food’s Slow Wine Guide.
The new fine wine
You mean the newly expensive wines that collectors want?
Going Viral: Covid Saves Chinese Wine
Local interest booms, says Jim Boyce.
Will the wildfires create an insurance desert in California North Coast?
It’s a serious problem.
Science and Culture: Wildfires pose a burning problem for wines and winemakers
A deep dive on smoke taint.
