August 2012
And other issues about tasting wines fairly and well
Posted: Aug 30, 2012 2:05pm ET
Back in the tasting room after a hiatus of several weeks, I am wrestling with whether my approach to tasting notes helps readers or makes wine seem too la-di-da for them.
Some fairly well-known wine writers have weighed in on the subject recently, the general thrust of their criticism being that it’s a fool’s errand to try to paint a detailed picture of a wine. Specific descriptors only turn off potential wine drinkers.
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Makeover of wines and package just might restore the label’s cachet
Posted: Aug 13, 2012 1:28pm ET
Remember Rosemount? In the early 1990s, when it was the flagship of Australia’s wine armada, Rosemount Shiraz introduced the notion that Australian wines could deliver the sort of flavors and textures that we Americans wanted. And then, well, there’s no getting around it: Rosemount screwed up.
Revamped and reimagined, the label has returned with a new look and a new wine style that aims to erase all the mistakes. A visit from winemaker Matt Koch laid it all out for me. My take? It’s clear that a lot of thought has gone into how to put better wines in the bottle, designed to appeal to today’s wine drinkers the way the earlier wines did.
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