By Jim Boyce Bottled wine imports have risen steadily, year after year, with France and Australia long the top two sources and Spain, Italy, Chile and the United States rounding out the “big six” that account for ~90% of the market. (For more details on the 2011 stats, see here). The world of (...) [China wine blog: Grape Wall of China, a nonprofit site with wine makers, distributors, academics, writers, consultants and consumers as contributors] From "the times they are a changing" département Somewhere in the last few days, here at Millésime Bio 2012, the subject of Gravner came up. Millésime Bio is a three day expo of organic and bio-dynamic wineries from France, Italy, Spain and all the rest who showed up. Pretty impressive showing for (...) [On the Wine Trail in Italy] California had its second small vintage in a row in 2011. Italy had its smallest wine grape crop in 60 years. Australia is still battling drought; yields are way down. The crop in Spain is smaller than normal. So forget about vintage ratings: the way to characterize 2011 wines from most of the (...) Old World Charm, New World Adventure – The Wines of Alamosa Wine Cellars The other day, after tasting a set of three wines from Alamosa Wine Cellars, I was reading in my Sotherby’s Wine Encyclopedia… “While Spain can claim a 3,000 year history of wine, the diversity of its wine areas and styles did (...) Wineries hoping to seduce drinkers with a sweet tooth have it easy: They can blast their grapes with fungicide, and apparently that will not only simplify farming, but might help sell the wine. Five Spanish scientists published a study last summer that might have gone unnoticed if not for the (...) Brazil has real cowboys and plenty of livestock farming; it's the vineyard in the background that's unusual I'm pawing through wine bottles at a party. People around me are clinking glasses, smiling, chatting in French and Portuguese and Spanish, but I'm grimly grabbing one bottle after (...) Choosing my 25 Great Wine Bargains of 2011 was even more difficult than selecting the 50 Great Wines of 2011. Are inexpensive wines getting better? Certainly the past decade has seen marked improvement in the under-$20 category in wines we see from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Argentina and, to a (...) A Vintage Wine List Circa 1956 Fancy a flagon of Safari Burgundy from South Africa or a “very full” Algerian Burgundy? Maybe a Spanish Sauternes is more your tipple? The most expensive still wine on the list is a Berncasteler Estate Wine, 1955 vintage yours for 18/6 a full bottle. That’s 18/6 in (...) [[Spittoon] Full Postings] ~ By Jim Boyce Beijing restaurant Modo has taken the bull by the horns and stuck an all-Spanish lineup into its two enomatic machines. Modo will rotate about 50 wines through the 16 slots over the next few months. To the best of my knowledge, this Sanlitun-based restaurant was the first to use (...) [China wine blog: Grape Wall of China, a nonprofit site with wine makers, distributors, academics, writers, consultants and consumers as contributors] Jay Miller is out at Wine Advocate. Claiming innocence in a payola scandal that has rifled through the rolling hills of Spain and the wine community as a whole, Mr. Miller has stepped down from his role as editor of Spain, South America, and the Pacific Northwest. It’s a fascinating story of (...) [Grapes and Grains: Wine, Beer, Spirits and NYC Events] After so much discussion of the Parker-Miller-Campo imbroglio (see a thorough recap from Monday here), it’s refreshing to read about the wines of Spain again without thinking of “no pay – no Jay.” The new book, The Finest Wines of Rioja and Northwestern Spain, made me do just that. Up-to-date, with (...) For the past two days, representatives of the Wine Advocate have been trying to convince the media that Jay Miller's departure has nothing to do with the pay-for-play scandal still emerging in Spain. OK, I'm convinced. Jay Miller quit on his own, months before the scandal broke. Stipulated. But (...) In a posting on eRobertParker.com, Robert Parker has announced that Jay Miller will no longer be writing for The Wine Advocate. Parker says: “After several months of consideration, Big Jay, who has done such a thorough and professional job of bringing emerging wine regions such as Spain, South (...) Any article with the headline Time to sex up wine is going to get my attention! That’s how Lewis Perdue’s Wine Industry Insight Daily News Fetch put it last week, in reporting on an article in Harpers’ on a Spanish M.W., Pancho Campo, who told a Hong Kong [where else?] audience that “wine’s image (...) [STEVE HEIMOFF| WINE BLOG ] My super good friend Michael Nieves was in town last night for the epic Jayhawks show and he generously let me be a plus one (he’s Mark Olson’s manager, not to mention my band Nous Non Plus’s licensing agent). Before we hit the Paramount theater for the show, we shared an awesome bottle of Marqués (...) |
Vino de Mesa (VDM)
