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Wine Ebooks:
| | The Complete Grape Growers Guide. |  | | A Complete Guide For Growing Grapes. Converts Very Well At A Reasonable Price! Growing Grapes And Making Wine Is A Very Popular Topic Right Now.
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| | Fool-Proof Wine Values. | | | Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
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| | Making Wine From Home. | | | A Fun And Very Informative Book On Home Wine Making. The De Facto Standard For All Home Wine Enthusiasts With Recipes, Advice And Tricks.
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[09/22/2008, 00:46]
San Francisco's FallFest 2008: October 11, San Francisco | | It seems like every major city has dozens of food and wine festivals every year. San Francisco, compared to many urban centers, tends to be more selective in what it puts on, however. And that's a good thing, because I've certainly been to enough crappy food and wine events with lousy food and wine (and too little of either) to last my lifetime. Honestly, the first time I attended FallFest in San Francisco, I expected it to be yet another mediocre  attempt at a gourmet food and wine festival. But I was more than pleasantly surprised that first year, and have continued to be impressed every year since. It is a top notch event worthy of a city of foodies. The organizers (San Francisco Magazine, among others) have consistently produced an event with excellent food, fantastic wine, great logistics, and an excellent atmosphere. You can see my coverage of 2005's event to get an idea of what I'm talking about. If you enjoy food and wine, and have an afternoon to kill on Saturday, October 11th, FallFest is a nice way to spend a few hours, and certainly worth the $85* ticket, especially if you arrive early and hungry. The event includes the typical wine and food fair setup -- lots of booths handing out free wine and free food, along with cooking demonstrations. Some of the folks cooking at the event include The Ritz Carlton, Bocadillos, Fifth Floor, RNM, Spruce, and Sent Sovi. Those pouring will include JC Cellars, Fort Ross Vineyards, Medlock Ames, Saddleback Cellars, Yorkville Cellars, and more. This year the event features the theme of Eat Local, which means that most of the food will be sourced within 3 hours of San Francisco, and that this will also be the theme of the demonstrations and lectures that take place throughout the event. And like all good events of this type, the proceeds benefit charity. In this case, Meals on Wheels San Francisco. San Francisco FallFest 2008
Saturday, October 11, 2008
12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM
Justin Herman Plaza, Embarcadero Center
Market Street @ The Embarcadero
San Francisco, CA Tickets cost $95 in advance, $110 at the door; they can be ordered online at the event web site. The event will likely sell out, as it does every year. *SPECIAL NOTE: Vinography readers can get $10 off the ticket price by using promotional code VNGRPHY at checkout. Some advice for those attending: when it's sunny it gets quite hot in the plaza. Bring sunscreen and a hat and drink lots of water. Or, of course, it could be foggy and cold as hell. But that has actually never happened at this event, so if we all cross our collective fingers.... Embarcadero Center can be easily reached by all Bay Area public transportation options, including Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), Muni bus, underground Muni, ferry, cable car or the F-Line streetcar. For those who want to drive, underground garages are located in One, Two, Three, and Four Embarcadero Center. | | | |
[10/13/2008, 09:22]
NV Kestrel Lady In Red | |  I'm in the mood for red blends lately, so I tried out the NV Kestrel Lady In Red from the Yakima and Columbia Valleys of Washington State. $14, 13.8% abv. 48% Cabernet Sauvignon, 39.5% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 2.5% Sangiovese. No idea if this was inspired by Chris de Burgh's classic song, but if you want to dance, give it half a chance. Sort of a Zinfandel nose with lots of spice and stewed fruit and, after breathing, some pleasant vegetal qualities. Raspberry and cocoa flavors with medium tannins. Overall some excellent structure and balance for an inexpensive, non-vintage blend.
Served with mini burgers made from a 50/50 mix of ground buffalo and ground beef, topped with grilled red onions and sherry vinegar and colby cheese. Sliders are pretty trendy now, but they're convenient for casually feeding a group of friends. They cook quickly, and eating one, two, or three is an easier fit for how hungry you are versus one or two full-sized burgers. | | | |
[11/29/2007, 18:19]
Ohm Shanti | | I somehow weaseled my way into a Vegan cooking class this weekend to give a talk about organic wines. Shameless self/company promotion? Why do you ask!  SO, if you have nothing to do between 1:30 and 3 on Sunday, December 2nd, feel free to register to learn how to cook all sorts of yumminess (which is, apparently, a heavily-used wine descriptor) sans animals or animal by-products. I don't claim to be vegan (as the mountain of cheese in my belly can attest) but I do agree with the principles of it all.
Anys. Come to Shakti Yoga Studio at 220 Lexington Ave this Sunday to hear me and to get your vegan feedbag on. I think it's $20 per person. Call 716 884 YOGA to register. I'll be the one with a cork in my hand stinking of butter. | | | |
[05/12/2008, 17:55]
Interview with Ed Lehrman of Vine Connections: Second Installment | | 
*What an unusual mix in terms of the international producers you represent?why Argentina, New Zealand and Japan?
- Not really if you consider that Argentina and Japan (Ginjo sake), and to some extent New Zealand, share the same common elements?there are great wines and sake being produced by highly talented winemakers and tojis (master brewers), and they are not getting recognized yet. The quality is already in the bottle?so why should these sell less or get less respect than wine from more obvious regions? We always say that we are really a ?national education company? since we usually explain more than we sell. Our job is to get people to taste these wines and premium sake, and the stuff inside the bottles takes care of the rest. At the heart of this idea is also the notion that in the end, it?s the people you work with who make the difference between mediocre and ?wow!?. We have been lucky, fortunate, and smart (maybe a little of each) to meet and represent some of the top talent in these regions:
Susana Balbo?Crios de Susana Balbo, Susana Balbo signature wines, Nosotros (with Pedro below)
Pedro Marchevsky ? BenMarco
Pepe Galante & Mariano di Paola ? mapema
Luis Reginato ? Luca, Tikal, La Posta
Roberto de la Mota - Mendel
Jose & Pepe Reginato ? Reginato sparkling wines
Guy Davis ? Davis Family Vineyards (Russian River, CA) and Gusto (NZ SB)
13 Master Brewers from all over Japan?each as talented as anyone we have met.
*As someone who deals so closely with Argentine producers, what types of obstacles, limitations and concerns have any of them expressed to you in terms of being able to export and promote their products abroad?
- Well, I want to stay out of trouble here since I travel to Argentina a lot, but let me just say that the Argentine government has historically been more of a hindrance than a help for wine exports. As an example, and hard to believe, they actually tax EXPORTS! Perhaps the bigger obstacle for Argentine wineries is that the economic and political situation is relatively unstable, and when you are in an industry that measures commitment and success over a decade or longer due to capital investment requirements, it is hard to deal with a system that usually looks out only 2-3 years at a time.
*In your eyes, what sets apart these Argentine producers you represent? What do their wines bring to the table of American wine consumers that large-yield, often conglomerate-backed wines simply cannot?
- I alluded to this a bit above when talking about who we represent and why. I think there are three main things that set our producers apart:
1) Our wineries are owned by and have Argentine winemakers who have lived in this unique climate and region for their entire lives. For us, that means that the wines that they make TASTE like Argentine wines, not like some random wine from somewhere in the world. And as talented as some of the flying/foreign winemakers are who are working in Mendoza, I have yet to taste a wine from them that thrills me the way our producers? wines do at the dinner table. And I taste everything from down there.
2) As good as they already are, they are still always trying to learn how to improve their wines, and in today?s wine world, that?s the only way you stay on top. It shows.
3) Obsessive attention to detail seems like an abused phrase, but in winemaking it is crucial and not as common as you would think. Our winemakers are also our close friends and in Argentina that is taken pretty seriously. They make sure that every step is done with the utmost care because they would never want to look their friends in the eye and say, ?uhh..I?m sorry but this wine is just ok because we weren?t really paying close attention when we made it.? Large wineries may be able to solve #1 above, but #2 and #3 are far harder to come by, and that?s probably as true in the US as it is in Argentina.
*Looking ahead?are there any regions Vine Connections is looking to expand its portfolio toward, and why?
- We made a strategic decision a few years ago that we would remain specialists in Argentine wine and Japanese sake. Some importers have gone in the opposite direction and are happy to sell one of everything from anywhere, but we?re just not built that way as people. We started as leaders in both of these categories and we feel the only way to stay out in front is to specialize. That?s why we spend almost a month per year in Mendoza and visit Japan for at least 2 weeks every year. It?s our own ?attention to detail? mantra, and we try to stick to it so that we can look our customers in they eye and say every time, ?This is really great Argentine wine and Ginjo sake?. Every time.
- Fortunately, we won?t be bored since there still plenty of regions and microclimates still left to discover in Argentina.
*Given the nature of the market here in the United States, what advice would you give to consumers who would like be aware of, as well as actually see, a dramatic increase in availability of premium Argentine wines such as those crafted by your producers?
- American consumers have helped their own cause a lot already by being very open to trying wines like Malbec, Bonarda, and Torrontes. I think they will help themselves even further by continuing to experiment with wines at many different prices, not just the ?great values? under $15. Nick and I firmly believe that well-made Argentine wines offer incredible value and over-deliver at all price points. A $12 wine is worth more like $16, and a $30 wine is worth more like $40 when compared to other wine regions of the world. And, of course, you can support quality-focused companies like Vine Connections by paying attention to the importer name or logo (like our compass) that appear on every bottle. As with other wine regions, a good wine importer can be your best friend when you haven?t tried a particular wine yet and would like some assurance that you are going to enjoy it?especially when spending more than $15 or so. | | | |
[10/14/2008, 08:44]
Wine Collectors Eye Cellars for Liquidity | | Sad sign of the times: collectors are resorting to selling their precious wine in order to raise capital. Lisa Baertlein (reuters.com) writes: 
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Wine cellars have been taking a hit from the global credit crisis and it isn't because the owners of rare bottles are drinking more -- it's because they have been selling to raise cash.
The selling started with mortgage brokers and has moved to Wall Street as owners turn their collections of coveted vintages into liquid assets.
"People need money. Even richer people need money sometimes," Vinfolio.com founder and Chief Executive Stephen Bachmann told Reuters on Monday.
In the last few weeks, private collectors submitted offers to sell $10 million worth of wine to Vinfolio, a San Francisco-based company that buys and sells wine online. Normally the company has about $6 million offered to it.
» Full Story Tags: melgab, wine, collection, recession, funds, south-africa, South Africa | | WorldWine Tags: melgab, wine, collection, recession, funds, south-africa, South Africa, | | | |
[10/15/2008, 16:52]
Yat?s an emerging chain to watch, trade mag says | |  Restaurant & Institutions magazine profiles 10 emerging restaurant chains to watch in a recent article, and first on their list is Indianapolis-based Yat?s.
Yat?s already made the transition to ?Indianapolis-based? when it opened its satellite locations in West Lafayette and Chicago?s Loop. The company plans to open nine more of its Cajun-Creole restaurants in Chicago, which would bring its total number of locations to 15.
Yat?s was founded in 2001 by Joe Vuskovich, who previously ran multiunit restaurants in New Orleans then operated a wholesale food company. The restaurants cater to young urban professionals and students with flavorful entrées priced in the $4.50 - $6.50 range. | | | |
[01/13/2008, 13:36]
Kopaonik Restaurants | | Kopaonik is the largest Serbian ski resort. It is a popular place for domestic skiers and is becoming increasingly popular with foreign visitors. Although “Kopaonik” is actually a large mountain, the term usually refers to the area around the “Grand” hotel and the apartment complex “Sun?ani Vrhovi”. The area is small but contains quite a few hotels and private houses. It’s self contained, with shops, banks, a post office, etc. Apart from the restaurants in hotels, there are a few good restaurants around. In this article I’ll write about the restaurants I’ve visited this year, it might help you make the right choice (I didn’t have any tips at all…). 
Etno club “Sunce” This restaurant is located at the end of a quiet cool-de-sac, in the woods, a 5 minute walk from the Grand hotel. It looks very small from the outside, but it’s quite a spacious place. The atmosphere is great, fairly traditional, with two open fire places, a mixture of smaller and larger tables, a nice blend of loudness and privacy. The music wasn’t great, but that’s the easiest thing to change  . The food was excellent and so was the service. They offer mainly Serbian dishes, if you’re not sure what to choose from the menu, the waiters will help you with their recommendations, you can trust them. The wine list includes wines from some of the better Serbian cellars, such as Radovanovi? and Aleksandrovi? (Topola). Go for Aleksandrovi?’s red or white Triumph, they are some of the best wines Serbia has to offer. Overall, it’s a great place, I’ll be back. Food quality 5/5
Atmosphere 5/5
Service: 5/5
Price 3/5 (moderate, but excellent value)
Wine list 3/5 (Radovanovi?, Aleksandrovi?) Na?a ku?a This place reminds me of modern pubs-restaurants in Ireland. It has a large bar area in the center, with large tables around, a couple of two seater tables in the corner for some extra privacy and a cosy open fire in the front. Both the interior of the restaurant and the furniture are made of light coloured wood, and there are stripes of small red lights throughout. There’s also a big video beam that mainly shows snow scenes during the day. It is a place frequented by the younger crowd and is open quite late into the nigth (until 3am). They have a small but well-chosen menu (which is also extremely well designed) and it’s obvious they put a lot of effort to make it a bit different from other restaurants in the vicinty. The chef is excellent, and the food is great, so give “Na?a Ku?a” a try if you get tired from the Serbian cousine and are looking for some European tastes. It is one of the more expensive restaurants, with a full dinner for two with a bottle of wine and a dessert producing a bill of around 50 euros. The wine choice is not great, but they do have a few wines apart from the regular choice, we recommend the wines from the Terra Lazarica range. Food quality 5/5
Atmosphere 4/5 (nice mix of modern and traditional, younger crowd)
Service: 4/5
Price 2/5 (expensive)
Wine list 2/5 Etno ku?a Studenica If you’re on a lower budget looking for good quality Serbian food you should visit the etno restaurant Studenica. Pick one of the two tables on the far left to avoid looking at the interior of the kitchen and to avoid the local crowd on the right side. The place is clean, the food was great and the waiter was top-notch, but the problem with this place is that it has too much light, it is visited by the local crowd and generally the level of privacy is quite low. Food quality 4/5
Atmosphere 2/5
Service: 4/5
Price 4/5 (relatively cheap, good value)
Wine list 1/5 Zvrk This is a very popular restaurant located at the center of ski activities (the “baby slope”, ski lifts Karaman Greben and Pan?i?ev Vrh), just besides the Grand hotel. The restaurant has two levels, the upper one being more packed and colorful, the lower one containing a large center-located open fire place. This fire creates a very tempting smell outside the restaurant, which is the main reason you probably won’t resist getting into it. In general, it’s not a bad place, but there are much better choices around… Food quality: 2/5
Atmosphere: 4/5
Service: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Wine list: 1/5 (just the very basic Serbian wines) Technorati Tags: Kopaonik, Serbia, Serbian Cousine, Restaurants Serbia | | WorldWine Tags: Kopaonik, Serbia, Serbian Cousine, Restaurants Serbia, | | | |
[10/15/2008, 07:15]
The Joy of Selling | |  Last month at the Illuminati estate in Abruzzo, I had lunch with my people. No, they weren?t Sicilian or Calabrese cousins. They weren?t my co-workers or clients meeting me in Italy. It was much more visceral than that, almost tribal in the connection. I was invited to have lunch with a wine sales team, guys who sell to wine shops and restaurants in Rome.
 Over the years I've had many meals at Illuminati. In the early days we had meals on the second floor of the old house, sometimes outside. If it was cold we?d invade the dining room. As the winery grew and the Illuminati family redesigned the old stable on the main floor, we settled into the space they called the Luperia, a space with a kitchen and an open hearth. And a larger dining room. Many great memories exist in this room, but I had never sat down to eat with my own regiment. And during those years, friend and cellar master, Agostino, has opened many a bottle for us to enjoy. We?ve grown into the job together.
 I was really excited about this meal. I was prepared to pick the brains of rookie and veteran alike. Who would know better the travails of selling wine than a salesman from Rome? What kind of kickbacks did the Roman restaurateur demand? How did one go about getting control of the wine list or selling a wine from Abruzzo to a Sardegnan? I was hoping for all mysteries to be revealed.
 Dino Illuminati, the patriarch of the estate, motioned for me to sit next to him. Lunch is serious business for Dino and he didn?t want anyone to get too near him with idle chat. He wants to eat and drink first. I know the drill. When Dino and I sit down we both go after food and wine pretty well much in the same way. Except Dino has a capacity that I will never be able to match.
 One of the older veterans sat across from me. He reminded me of one of the salesmen back home. This gent had a peaceful air about him, he was the elder statesman; he grew up in Amatrice in northern Lazio.
 I asked him how his route was. Was it competitive? Cutthroat? Was it hard to collect money? Did you get resistance with all the new wines coming out? What about the prejudices of owners from one region against the wines of another region (i.e. Piedmont vs. Tuscan). I was surprised to be reminded that they don?t go around tasting wine, sampling as we call it. Now they just carry their list, with maybe some Gambero Rosso review (very big in Rome) and the price list. Pretty cut and dry. Rome was a city that was prepared for all comers, and has been this way for hundreds if not thousands of years. Anything goes.
I was looking for their ?hook?. How did they catch the big fish? Figuring Rome would be like NY or LA or Houston, there was always the particular technique that worked for the peculiarity of the particular city.
 He was a thoughtful guy. And we were starting to drink pretty well by then. The big slurpy purple stuff they make in Abruzzo that they call ?Montepulciano in purezza.? All the while the young salesmen would come over to him and bear hug him or jostle him around. You could tell these guys liked working with each other; there was camaraderie among them.
 ?Alfonso, what really works best is the rapport we build with our customers. Trust, time and relationship.? Ah, the ?R? word. So the secret was, there is no secret; daily treading, pressing the flesh, and being reliable. Showing up. Building trust. Just like almost everywhere else.
 Look at these people. They?re having fun. They?re enjoying their lives. They?re enjoying each other.
 I told some stupid story, trying to be funny, about a sales experience here in The States, but I don?t think the experience translated so well to their frame of reference. No matter, platters of grilled lamb, sausage and pork were pulling up to the table and we soon were diverted to the main course.
 Dino, me and Spinelli, back in 1985
The Luperia is a wellspring for me. I come back here to re-connect with those souls who are manifestations of the timeless energy that travels through the vine. Daniele Spinelli was one of the early winemakers I came to admire. I loved hanging out with him. When we would sit down to eat, as the night progressed, and as we went into red wine, the stuff he made, his head, shaped appropriately like a grape, would turn redder and redder. My Italian would get better and he would bestow his bodhisattva-blessing on me as a way to replenish me for another year. And send me back out to the outer regions to spread the word. It worked. And we came back every year or so, like pilgrims.
 Luigi, me, Stefano and Claudio
Now, Dino isn?t so hands on. Spinelli passed away in 1992. But the next generation is upon us and there are more of them. As it is in the streets of Rome, so it is in the vineyards of Abruzzo. This is something that has been happening for hundreds of years and will continue, hopefully, for many hundreds more.
 After lunch we went outside for espresso and cigars and fresh air, what a combo, eh? The sales crew had to get back to Rome. It was only three hours we?d had to sit down and break bread, but in that time I felt like a huge gift had been dropped in my lap; An afternoon with my selling tribe; with the young ones, the veterans, the crazy ones, the calm ones. Its not a closed brotherhood but it is a deep connection, to capture what is growing right out there in the land and transform it to wine and take it to Rome and NY and Austin and try and share with all those folks in those places these amazing miracles in bottles. Not just wine, but the lives, of Spinelli and Spinozzi and Illuminati and you and me and anyone that wants in on this.
This is the joy of selling. This is why I am on the wine trail in Italy and anywhere else the road takes me.
 Thumbs up from a couple of Romans? I'll take that as a good sign.
| | | |
[07/23/2008, 06:23]
Why Adwords doesn?t work for Social Media? | | | So the topic came up today in the Twitter-sphere - Adwords, social networks (Facebook in particular), and their success (or lack thereof). I think its been talked about in the blogosphere or in conversations at various tech conferences but its worth repeating. For all intents and purposes, it boils down to what Adwords was intended for and the way it works versus the evolution of the web today. A few years back (eons in Internet time), the Internet was a super efficient way to find things - information, places, stuff to buy, etc. etc. etc. Google came along with a great way to search through HUGE amounts of data, create Google PageRank to make “authorities”, and basically try to get you results that most closely meet what you’re looking thus avoiding a huge number of porn links when searching on children’s bedtime stories. The algorithm they devised was evolutionary (not revolutionary, one of the most overused terms in high tech) and it worked extremely well. As time went on, since the dominant behavior on the Internet was “searching”, using the information gathered and the search algorithm Google created they devised an ultra -efficient way to advertise. They already knew that you were searching (because Google is a search engine after all) and they knew what you were searching for and therefore Google could simply place paid ads next to your search result that would turn up sponsors who had stuff related to your search. This was brilliant in its simplicity because it was (and this is the key) ADDITIVE to your current behavior. VALUE ADD - simple, straight forward, and very very effective. Google later expanded this to allow you or I to put ads on our site that would reflect something related to the information on the page upon which you placed the ads. Again, effective, but not as clearly value add because people on your site may not have necessarily been in “search mode”. They may just have been reading out of interest. But since the Internet was still basically viewed as a giant repository for information and “stuff” that you sifted through, “search mode” is what people generally were still in and it masked the few times people weren’t in “search mode”. Now, with the advent (or rise) of social media, behaviors are changing. “Search mode” is still a dominant behavior but not what it once was. See, social media (blogs, networks, Twitter, etc. etc.) make the Internet more and more a place to “socialize”. Behavior changes from “searching for something” to “killing time” or “marketing” or “making connections”. Lets call this “hanging out” mode. Now if you’re on a social network, you most certainly are not in a “search mode”. So then, what happens if Google indexes my Profile page and serves up an Ad related to the content there? The answer? Who the hell cares! Why is that? Because if I’m on Facebook or OpenWine Consortium or any other social network, I’m probably not “Searching” but doing some sort of “socializing” (BS’ing, networking, hooking up, whatever) - I’m in “hang out” mode. Indexing my page and serving up ads related to keywords and content is NOT additive to the social media experience or the current behavior so this ad will be ignored. Even blogs, which are chock full of information, don’t see much return on Adwords because while they do typically report or inform they, more often then not, are sparking conversation or continuing conversation. Unless the blog is specifically reviewing something, in which case a few ads on where to buy that something may work, contextual ads are ineffective. This inefficiency in the original model was masked by the fact that predominant behavior was searching. Now with the behavior being socializing, Adwords and the searching optimization are only slightly more useful than putting up a static add. Even Google admits that it hasn’t solved the social network advertising/monetizing behavior. Net-net: Save your money. Buying keywords is NOT social media marketing. Now, Google is looking to create a sort of “FriendRank”, in a recent patent application. They call it “Network Node Ad Targeting” and they intend to use a person’s social map to determine the number and quality of connections they have (and therefore their influence) and pay those influencers to allow advertisers the serve ads to their friends. Interesting, but we’ll see how it plays out. I’m sure they’ll be takers, but I’ll be awefully pissed if a friend or other contact is the source of ads I recieve! Still not a value-add unless the friend somehow has the ability to control the ads that get served and influence what goes to our friends (i.e. some sort recommendation and reputation system). Reading this patent, I don’t think it cuts it at all. Cheers!  | | | |
[12/14/2007, 20:35]
Dulka Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 | |  Dulka is one of the most famous wine producing families in the town of Sremski Karlovci, near Novi Sad in Vojvodina. They produce wine since 1920 and have won a handful of awards at the Novi Sad agricultural fair throughout the years. Apart from producing wine, this familiy also produces bermet and brandies of highest qualities.
They have just recently started growing Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2005 is their second vintage. However, this wine is quite rich in both aroma and taste, much richer and deeper than other pure Cabernets around. The color is dark ruby red, the nose rich, so reminiscent of forests and the flavours are those of forest fruit and chocolate. It’s a good wine, can be enjoyed on it’s own. Score: 8/10
Price: 540 RSD (?6.5)
Retailer: Rodi? MB, Airport City, Belgrade Technorati Tags: Wine, Serbian Wine, Vojvodina, Sremski Karlovci, Novi Sad, Bermet | | WorldWine Tags: Wine, Serbian Wine, Vojvodina, Sremski Karlovci, Novi Sad, Bermet, | | | |
[10/09/2008, 12:24]
Champagne corks, chaos and butterfly wings | | | by Martin Field I was reflecting one night, over an aged cognac, on chaos theory. Popularised by the notion that the gentle motion of a butterfly?s wings in, say, Noosa, may very well cause a typhoon in, say, the Philippines. Extraordinary, I thought, and hard to believe, but then again all things are possible. How does one separate theory from fact? I wondered. By scientific experimentation, I answered myself readily. So, just a moment ago, I popped the cork of a bottle of champagne. I do not take responsibility for the consequences of this action but, wherever you are in the world, I say to you: ?Do you notice a slight freshening of the breeze? Did the dogs just start to bark? ?Be very afraid!? | | | |
[06/08/2008, 00:34]
Working on the Road | | As you may have noticed, Enotheque has been missing some updates for some time now. At the moment, I'm on the road at a very challenging but rewarding consulting job. The days are long and the nights seem all too short, resting only in brief moments before it's time to attend to the task at hand again.
I'll bring back some good posts with recommendations, interesting regions, values and interviews soon enough. For the time being, enjoy the other subscriptions of your Google Reader, since nobody is ever truly caught up with it anyway.
Cheers, salud, and we'll catch up soon.
Francisco | | | |
[09/19/2008, 00:00]
Didier Dagueneau dies | | | Acclaimed Pouilly Fumé producer, Didier Dagueneau, has tragically died at the age of 52 in a plane crash... | | | |
[10/13/2008, 11:00]
John Haeger and Pinot Noir | | 
Every fan of Pinot Noir will undoubtedly know the name of John Haeger. As author of the highly acclaimed “North American Pinot Noir,” John literally wrote the book on the fascinating history and evolution of Burgundy’s illustrious grape variety here in the United States. John’s academic approach to both the research and the writing created an instant hit and a must-have treatise for most wine lovers. But, more than anything, it was destined to become THE book for domestic Pinot fanatics. Of course, its appearance at booksellers just months before release of the movie “Sideways” didn’t hurt sales either. Now, four years later John Haeger has written another wine book, “Pacific Pinot Noir.” Since, as he notes, “96% of North America’s Pinot Noir comes from an area I call the Pacific Pinot Zone,” it was only natural for him to focus on an area extending from mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon to Santa Barbara in California and extending up to thirty miles inland. Pinot Noir’s rise in popularity over the last several years owes much to the different personalities of the grape itself. Join us as we talk with author and lecturer John Haeger about Pinot Noir, and discover its unique place in the world of wine. For more info on John Haeger: |
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