June 2009
Posted: Jun 30, 2009 1:51pm ET
If you gave five different winemakers the same grapes from the same vineyard, you’d end up with five different wines (or in this case six, since one winemaker made two bottlings). And you would expect that all of the wines would achieve a consistent level of quality and offer a thread of continuity, or expression of the site, in keeping with the theory of terroir.
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Posted: Jun 26, 2009 1:56pm ET
In talking about wine styles, and why and when they change, I usually turn to the analogies of popular music or fashion. I ask people to walk into their closet and examine their wardrobe, and think about when and why they bought a shirt or jacket, and which are their favorite items, or the ones they never wear.
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Posted: Jun 24, 2009 1:22pm ET
We’re shifting our tasting focus in California from Pinot Noir to Cabernet Sauvignon and I’m tasting some of the same difficulties with the 2006 Cabernet vintage that existed with the 2006 Pinot Noirs.
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Posted: Jun 23, 2009 12:01pm ET
Robert Young was 16 years old when he took over the family ranch in Sonoma's Alexander Valley following his father's death. Wine drinkers associate his name with brilliant Chardonnays produced by Chateau St.
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Posted: Jun 22, 2009 1:31pm ET
I enjoyed many fine wines with good friends while on vacation last week. But the biggest wine surprise came when one of my friends brought a wine I had given him perhaps 25 years ago. First a little background.
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Posted: Jun 9, 2009 5:31am ET
If you want to appreciate how drastically the wine market has shifted in recent months, consider this scenario, which is based on a true story. (The name of the winery and wine have been withheld). Winery X sells more than a hundred cases of its new vintage of Chardonnay for $65 and the wine earns one of the highest marks of the vintage.
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Posted: Jun 3, 2009 4:44pm ET
Scores of drained magnums were left standing on bars and tables, looking like empty magnums do. Lonely and deserted. The food stations at Charlie Palmer ’s Dry Creek Kitchen , at the Healdsburg Hotel, had been cleared save for a few dessert plates.
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