All Entries in the "Grapevine" Category
Grapevine
This week I present Report #2 in my periodic series I refer to as “What ever happened to ______?” The subject matter of my weekly columns typically has a natural and logical beginning and conclusion. However, there have been occasions in which the storyline has been in a state of flux. Whether reporting on an [...]
Grapevine
At a recent tasting event I hosted, the subject of wine ratings, wine reviews and wine descriptions arose. One of the guests was unsure whether to rely on the ratings and comments of so-called wine experts. This is a subject that I’ve been ruminating over for a number of months myself. Is evaluating wine a [...]
Grapevine
The United States system of democracy has been a model for countries worldwide for the last two centuries. During that period our Constitution has held up remarkably well. In place since 1789, there have been only 27 amendments, the first 10 of which are the Bill of Rights, ratified in 1791. Over the last 222 [...]
Grapevine: When Life Imitates Art, it Can Be Heart-wrenching
In my column two weeks ago I measured the variations in the life cycle of one of my favorite wines, the 1989 Chateau Pichon-Longueville Baron, from the French Bordeaux region. I posited that fine wine has a life cycle similar to human development, starting out awkwardly, then beginning to mature and develop unique characteristics, ultimately [...]
Grapevine: Closure(?) on the Mystery of the Shipwrecked Champagne
In the course of my musings and meanderings the last five-plus years of penning this column, I’ve had the occasion to report on a multitude of subjects around the mesmerizing world of wine. Oftentimes educational (wine regions, grape varietals), on other occasions self-exploring (pairing wine with music, linking my enjoyment of wines to life events) [...]
Grapevine: An Anecdotal Tale of Life Passages and Maturation
Fine wine has a life cycle similar to human development, starting out awkwardly, then beginning to mature and develop unique characteristics, ultimately reaching full maturity and peaking in sophistication and complexity. A number of years ago, I set a goal to try to better understand the progression of fine wine over its life, which is [...]
Grapevine: Man vs Nature and the Shifting Balance of Nature
Modern man is at the top of his homo sapiens game. Since we first stood upright, we have been subject to the constant whim and temperament of Mother Nature. Throughout our evolutionary lifecycle, our efforts to master and control nature have come in fits and starts, with successes and failures coming in long waves of [...]
Grapevine: Advocating for Change at The Wine Advocate
Deciphering the hodgepodge of wine ratings has perennially been fraught with skepticism over the independence of wine critics. Over the last 35 years, the one critic who has risen above these distractions to objectivity is Robert Parker. Publishing critiques through his newsletter The Wine Advocate, he has consistently voiced his opinions with an aura of [...]
You Heard it Through the Grapevine: Unraveling the Meaning Behind the Ratings Codes
So many good wines, so little time to drink them all. With the flood of new wines hitting the market each month, we all could use a filtering mechanism to assist us as we rush through our daily lives, bombarded with emails, Google Alerts and wine critics’ proclamations. Certainly, these filters exist–abundantly–but then a sub [...]
Grapevine: A Major Shift in French Drinking Traditions
The French have a long tradition of fine food and wine, enjoyed in an atmosphere of camaraderie and conviviality. Generation after generation enjoyed a joie de vivre. Generation after generation enjoyed a diet rich in classic French cooking, steeped in a tradition of butter and cream, foie gras and local cheeses. Generation after generation consumed [...]
You heard it through THE GRAPEVINE
Governments around the world are still wallowing in one of the deepest and prolonged economic downturns in modern history. Each country has its own unique set of socio-political and economic considerations, but cost cutting is at–or near–the top of every government’s priority list for a sustained recovery. Leaders and legislators alike are under significant stress [...]
You heard it through THE GRAPEVINE
If you’ve been following this column recently you know that the United States has recently become the world leader in per capita wine consumption. We consume 13 bottles of wine (2.4 gallons; one glass per week) per year. If you read the wine media, the perception is that folks are spending a tidy sum on [...]
Grapevine:The American Wine Economy is Alive and Well in 2013
As the United States economy continues to slowly emerge from the Great Recession in fits and starts, the beginning of 2013 seems like an appropriate juncture to step back and assess the state of the wine industry. Prior to the recession, the strong economy fostered a rising demand for high-end wines (priced $50 and higher) [...]
Grapevine: The Winner of the Super Bowl Food and Drink Challenge
We’re in the middle of that period of football wasteland. No home team to root for in the postseason with friends, and no built-in reason to quaff our favorite wine or beer as we veg out on our favorite reclining chair. Super Bowl XLVII, regardless of the long gridiron tradition that precedes it, is as [...]
From Sartorial to Satirical: Wall Street Professionals and Their Wines
My Sunday morning ritual is to read the weekend newspapers. (some digital, some print; I’m still transitioning to the 21st Century). Two of my favorite sections are Off Duty and Review in the Wall Street Journal. This week I came across an article entitled “Secrets of the Banker’s Suit.” It analyzed the buying habits of [...]
Grapevine: Following in the Footsteps of the Ancients
Last week’s column focused on one theme with two seemingly disparate viewpoints: Ancient civilizations freely diluted their wines with water, but modern civilizations disdain its use. However, it seems to me that ancient traditions are always lurking in the background, ready to lurch to the forefront of modern sensibilities and remind us of the wisdom [...]
Altered States of Wine? Please Say It Isn’t So
Wine is a natural gift that exemplifies the beauty and wonder of the balance of nature. As a fruit of the gods, it evolves through its interdependencies with the land – and man. It is often said that 90 percent of a wine is made in the vineyard and 10 percent in the winery, a [...]
Grapevine: A High Price to Pay for World Class Wine
Italian wines have a long reputation for high quality and craftsmanship. The best wine regions and winemakers have consistently produced wines that have retained their superior reputation. Notably, there are two regions whose wines are as revered today by wine connoisseurs as they were nearly 200 years ago. In Piedmont, Barolo wines are often referred [...]
Grapevine: The Intrepid Wine Bargain Explorer, Hard at Work
In recent columns I’ve been focusing on the changing environment for purchasing wine. Certainly, patronizing your local wine shop is a tried and true source of finding a wine suitable to a meal and/or your palate. In addition, you are supporting a local small business in its fight against big box competitors, be they brick [...]
Grapevine: Alternative Sources for Your Next Wine Purchase
More wines, from more wineries, from more regions have been introduced into the market in the last five years – and for the most part, they’re all palatable. Until recently, most of these wines were marketed through three traditional channels: wineries sold to wholesalers (distributors or importers) who in turn were the exclusive source for [...]
Grapevine: The Slowly Changing Landscape for Selling Wine
The proliferation of wines has escalated to a fever pitch over the last five years. The pipeline for offering and delivering these wines has radically changed over the last five years as well. In the past, local wine shops were the primary source for wines. Over time, bonds were created between merchant and consumer–mutually satisfactory [...]
Grapevine: On the Lookout For The Next Hot Wine Regions
Over the last 10 years more wines have been introduced into the United States than ever before, and at a high level of quality. Wines from centuries-old wine cultures around the world and wines from new wine regions that didn’t exist a quarter-century ago have reached our shores with great proliferation. Much of this is [...]
Grapevine: Being One With Nature: A Diet For All The Right Reasons
I’ve been trying to be more conscious about a healthy diet. I’ve cut back on meat protein, highly processed foods and bleached-flour-based breads. I’m evolving toward a vegetarian diet, although I still have a chicken recipe on my plate weekly and I can’t resist a Friday night sausage pizza. Animal fat and processed flour seems [...]
Grapevine: The 2012 Harvest Report- Bane or Blessing?
As a wine writer there are seasonal events that I anticipate as signs of change and a new order. In the doldrums of winter, I look forward to the release of many new wines in February and March. I anxiously seek wines of the new vintage, each a testament to the constant change occurring in [...]
Grapevine: Bountiful Career Opportunities in Bountiful Vineyards
In previous columns I’ve been exploring the landscape of the wine regions of the world, seeking out women winemakers and assessing their impact on the current state of the industry. Thus far, having travelled the virtual vineyards and wineries of the United States, Italy and France, my reports have attempted to identify the changing role [...]
Home Guru: A Toast to Landlords and Tenants: Should They Ever Meet?
Ah, landlords, you gotta love ‘em. And tenants love ‘em, too. Considering some of the horror stories we hear, witnessed by the number of landlord/tenant dispute advisory websites, should they ever meet? Mostly, it would seem that landlords and tenants have every reason to love, or at least like, each other, especially in today’s rental [...]
Home Guru: My Crazy Theory About Predicting the Housing Recovery
One of my favorite quotes ever is that of John Kenneth Galbraith, the great economist who said, “The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology respectable.” Well, here’s a theory for projecting the housing/economic forecast that may have you scratching your head. I predict that the economy and housing in particular will rebound [...]
Grapevine: Women Winemakers’ Progress in Modern Day France
The origins of winemaking have been traced back nearly 8,000 years. As societies evolved and advanced over this continuum, the face of the wine industry has remained remarkably static in one regard: the role of women winemakers and winery owners. A common thread throughout wine’s history is the dominant role of men in the vineyard [...]
Grapevine: A Centuries-old Winemaking Dilemma for European Women
Last week, I discussed the changing role of women in the American wine industry. Significant strides have been made in the last quarter century by women winemakers who have been given the opportunity to ply their trade. These women have been able to penetrate the wine industry based on their proven skill and talent. However, [...]
Grapevine: The Paradoxical World of America’s Women Winemakers
The profile and style of popular wines have been similar for centuries: a certain balance of fruit and acidity, a strong tannic backbone and an ethereal olfactory impression. However, in the last few decades that profile has seen subtle, sometimes even radical, refinements in the hands of the world’s winemakers. In American wineries, where the [...]
