Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog

The Wine Lover's Media Feast

It should be clear to anyone who has paid close attention to the wine media over the past decade that the amount of good, entertaining and useful information available to consumers and the trade has exploded in quantity. Interestingly, it is on the Internet, not the print media, where the vast majority of that exploding information is coming from.

This makes the evolution of the wine media different in no way from the rest of the media. There is a slow but gradual transformation from pulp to electrons when it comes to the publishing and entertainment world. While the innovative ways by which we can find, view, publish and share information has multiplied exponentially on the Internet, I can think of not a single innovation that has come to the print publishing world over the past decade. Why there is a stagnation of the print world is a question answered by the explosion of innovation in the Internet world: simply, no money is being invested to make magazines and books and newspapers better information delivery vehicles.

What’s interesting about the wine media is two fold: who is delivering the information now on the Internet and the lack of an Internet-based wine media hero.

CITIZEN WINE WRITERS
The vast amount of new wine voices on the Internet belong to “citizen wine writers and critics”, people largely unschooled in writing or journalism and many of which are only hobbyists. Yet, in so many cases, many of them found on blogs and in wine forums, these voices are extraordinarily articulate and insightful.

We tend to think of the “wine expert” as someone who has written a book or who writes in a magazine or newsletter or perhaps someone who is a sommelier or a high profile retail personality. We’ve been culturally schooled to do this because the number of venues where we were able to witness wine expertise were limited. Hence, the number of experts was necessarily limited.   You have to wonder just how many potentially blockbuster voices and thinkers on wine never saw the light of day because they simply didn’t want to pursue wine beyond their own obsessive imbibing or because there was no place for them to show off their talent to a large number of people.

Well, this last factor has changed, hasn’t it? Today, it’s easy as pie to create your own venue (read: blog) on the Internet. And with a little bit of work, you can grow the size of your audience. This is exactly what has happened on the Internet.

In wine forums and on numerous wine blog, as well as at ambitious wine informational websites, there people who have a very unique take on wine and a talent for communicating that are telling their story. And people are listening.  The number of wine blogs on the net approach 300. They have been growing at very fast clip. However, more important is that the number of people investing their time in a read of the Internet wine media is expanding at a pace far outpacing that set by the ever increasing number of wine blogs. There’s an audience out there that wants something more.

WHERE IS THE DOMINATING WINE WEB SITE?
The second interesting thing about the Internet wine media is that there is no dominating web site, a site that is a “must read”.  We’ve yet to see a “Daily Kos”, a “Defamer”, a “Slate” a “NationalReview.com” or even a simple Yahoo-like wine media aggregation site emerge from the pack. Now, perhaps this is a function of the fact that wine, unlike politics and gossip, doesn’t attract a very large pool of interest among Americans. But even among the wine obsessed, there is no single site that dominates the wine-online-world. This strikes me as a “ground floor”-type opportunity rather than an indication of little potential.

For example, if I want to find the most compelling wine info on the net, I have to do a number of Google searches, read a series of RSS feeds over at Bloglines as well as just get lucky. It’s not easy to do. Why isn’t there a site that does this for me and the rest of the wine-obsessed?

Why has no enterprising palate-master not started an on-line reviewing project this is heavily promoted and marketed to draw an audience.  Clearly reliable wine critics are in demand. Hell, a huge portion of the marketing of wines depends upon them. Am I to believed that there is no room for a new critic to step up and gain fame and following? The Internet would be the perfect place for this?

Why has nothing like the old “Winetoday.com”, the only truly journalistically serious wine website ever, emerged? Why is there no Internet-only, Wine Spectator/WineNews/Wine&Spirits-like publication around? The New York Times eventually closed down WineToday.com. But not because the newsgathering format and original reviews and high caliber talent approach didn’t succeed qualitatively. It did. I’m sure it shut down due to the expense and the fact that it probably never made much money. Still, am I too believe that such a venture could not be realized for a profit on the Internet?

The question is why hasn’t a site that does all these things appeared? I can tell you this: it’s not a question of the talent pool. Rather, it’s one of those things you’ll look at one day and say, “Damn, I thought of that…why didn’t I do it back then.”

I’m not suggesting we count out pulp any time soon. After all, the wine magazines and newspapers still retain the best wine journalists and writers in the world. Why would you give up this? You wouldn’t.

Yet, as it becomes more and more apparent that getting our media fix is easiest by using the Internet, more and more of the existing pulp-based talent will move to the Internet to join the new, citizen wine writers that will by then have morphed into professional wine communicators.  Maybe the switch to the Internet will be a reaction to successful publishing ventures in this medium. Or perhaps the success of blogs will convince a serious publisher/wine writer that their money is best invested building a website than buying paper and ink. CA Wine and WineReviewOnline are just two reflections of this thinking.

A CONSUMER'S FEAST
It is a veritable feast for the wine-loving media consumer right now. As someone who works with, watches and consumes the wine media, this transformation has been fascinating and continues to hold my interest.  Much of the blogging here on FERMENTATION reflects that interest and will continue to. The rise of the Citizen Wine Critic and the potential for a new kind of successful wine media is now an important part of the history of wine in America. We’ve always told that story partially in the context of how Americans have taken (or not taken) to wine drinking. How we learn about wine has always been part of that chapter of the story. The new chapter currently unfolding is inescapably connected to the story of the rise of the Internet media.

10 Things I've Learned About Wine Blogging

10 Things I've learned About Wine Blogging

1. The more you post the more readers you will have.

2. If you can't show an interest in your peers' blogs, why would they show an interest in yours?

3. The greatest luxury for a blogger is having an editor (wish I had one).

4. HTML and style sheets aren't as difficult to learn as you think, but they are very hard to master.

5. Linking out to other sites and pages is more a gift to your readers than to the linkee.

6. Responding to comments is the single most important thing you can do to create a community within your blog

7. The best post are those that provoke polarized responses from your readers.

8. Wine reviews are a dime a dozen. Give readers the tools to review wine on their own

9. There are far more people who don't care what you have to say than there are those that do. Ignore the former and engage the latter.

10. Blogging can help you build your business.

Examining the Atlas Peak Appellation

I think it's simple: A designated growing area, an appellation or, as they are called in the United States, American Viticultural Areas, are only useful if they are able to deliver expectation to the drinker.

If I can't have a pretty good idea of what I'll experience in the bottle if it says "Anderson Valley" or 'Oakville" or "Russian River Valley" on the label, then what's the point of putting the appellation on the bottle at all?

This is also the view, as far as I can tell, of the folks over at Appellation America who are on a mission to clarify the meaning of America's AVAs by conducting a series of tastings that hopefully will put us on the road toward giving meaning to the words on the bottles.

What they are discovering, I think, is that in the United States, the cart has been put in front of the horse when it comes to carving out appellations. Lines and boundaries that describe our AVA's are really political boundaries approved by the feds for the purposes of vintners' marketing desires at worst and acknowledgments of geographically consistent areas at best. None of this speaks to the drinkers expectations for the character of the wines that are produced from an AVA's grapes.

Today I'll be attending a tasting of Atlas Peak appellation wines hosted by Appellation America. I have high hopes for this tasting and for it's ability to find a similarity in style across the different Atlas Peak appellation wines we'll be tasting. Why? Because this appellation nestled in the Vaca Mountain range int he southeast corner of Napa Valley is in fact relatively distinctive in its geology and climate, something that is not easy to say about most of California's AVAs.

The Atlas Peak appellation is unique in a number of ways. When it was approved there was really only one operation on the mountain: Atlas Peak Winery. Up on on the mountain Atlas Peak Winery planted acres and acres of Sangiovese with the hope of capturing the market for that varietal. The money and the commitment was behind the effort. Unfortunately, the result was fairly mediocre, usually under-ripe Sangiovese that actually hurt the reputation of the appellation. Atlas Peak the appellation became associated with mediocre Sangiovese.

This has been a tough judgment to overcome for the now many more vineyard owners and wineries that toil in the thin soils of the appellation. Slowly however, the region is being recognized as an outstanding source of Cabernet Sauvignon. It happens that while not occupying any part of the valley floor, the Atlas Peak appellation is within the "Napa Valley" appellation. This means that any fruit one uses from Atlas Peak can be made into "Napa Valley" wine. That's a VERY valuable two words to be able to put on your label.

The value and quality of Atlas Peak Cabernet as been a bit of an insiders secret. A large number of Napa Valley wineries buy Atlas Peak-grown fruit for their Cabernet programs, but few acknowledge that they get their grapes from Atlas Peak. This is different from the other mountain appellations that surround Napa Valley such as Spring Mountain, Howell Mountain and Mount Veeder. These appellations are often placed on the bottled with pride. Yet, the older association of Atlas Peak with mediocre wines keeps Atlas Peak off the labels.

I've tasted a number of Atlas Peak Cabernets and will taste more today. At Wark Communications we work with Astrale e Terra Winery, an estate that farms Cabernet, Petit Verdot, Merlot and Cabernet Franc at about 1,250 up the mountain on Atlas Peak. I have a big interest in seeing Atlas Peak's reputation change from a source of mediocre wine to a source of outstanding mountain grown cab. The best way I've found to demonstrate this transformation to the media and trade and consumers is by tasting the wine and by bringing them up the mountain. The wines are really terrific. Like most mountain grown wines they tend to be more big and ridged in their youth, but the fruit is very well established in these wines. Today the 2000 vintage of Cabernets are just  starting to drink really well. This is a different animal than so many of the Napa Valley Cabernets from the valley floor that are opulent and ripe and fleshy from the moment of release.

Sometimes it's easy to see the future. In the case of the Atlas Peak appellation and its wines it's clear that it's reputation will grow over time and serious wine drinkers will eventually recognize its great wines and seek them out. Of this I have no doubt at all. I've tasted the wines and met a number of the winemakers and growers who know what they have. They simply need to get the word out.

Today's Appellation America tasting will be only one step on that road, but a very good one I suspect. I'll report back on the results.

Fixing Winemaking Mistakes Is The Fun Of It

The "Wine Pod People" (just looking at that phrase gives you the willies, doesn't it) got some GREAT publicity today when the San Francisco Chronicle published a fine story about their unique home winemaking system: The Wine Pod. We caught wind of the Wine Pod back in February and were very taken with the idea of having such a compact, integrated system for making wine in our home. (I'm still working on the wife..she hasn't relented...yet.)

The anecdotal evidence that Americans are finally adopting wine as a more common beverage is building. We see wine showing up far more often in Pop Culture, which is a sure sign that a kind of movement is happening whereby we as a people are more comfortable putting bottles of wine on our tables.

This bodes well for the the people who make the Wine Pod,    ProVina. For $2000 one can invest in what would surely become a very serious and sumptuous hobby.

Tina Caputo, also the editor of Wines & Vines Magazine, wrote the story for the SF Chron. In the story Caputo talks with Winemaker Kris Curren of Curren Wines who points out that making wine in such small batches as the Wine Pod allows means you are likely to have a greater chance of making flawed wine: "The smaller the container of wine you make, the greater the ability to screw it up. I'm a professional winemaker, and if I tried to make a 5-gallon jug of wine, I would have a much greater propensity for having that wine be flawed."

She's got a good point. However, isn't this really the fun of the Wine Pod?   Being able to experiment with different grapes, different winemaking methods, working at getting your five gallons of wine just right? If this weren't the fun of it, then why would you buy the damn thing?

Get Them Drinking Young!

Is it OK to question the policy that drinking alcohol should be outlawed for anyone under 21 years of age?

Or if you do, are you promoting inappropriate behavior?

You don't hear many people advocating that the drinking age be lowered from 21. It's a no win argument that will lead to being painted as irresponsible and uncaring for the well being of America's youth. But the fact is, a drinking age of 21 is simply ludicrous.

Diageo, one of the largest drinks companies in the world that owns the likes of Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, J&B, Baileys, Cuervo, Tanqueray, Captain Morgan, Crown Royal, Beaulieu Vineyard and Sterling Vineyards wines is touting its desire to prevent underage drinking and keeping adults from providing alcohol to minors. I'm not willing to question their commitment to these goals by suggesting that such a PR initiative is just cover for the fact that it's often their products that wind up in the hands of minors. But I am willing to question theirs and others nothing that a 19 year old person is incapable of drinking responsibly and ought to be prevented by law from doing so.

In a press release, Diageo states, "Diageo supports a zero tolerance policy for underage drinking and we are proud to lead the industry by proactively working with lawmakers across the country to combat underage drinking,"

I'm just dying to know what Diageo thinks of my habit of putting a small taste of wine in front of my 12 year old Boy and letting him taste it as well as try it alongside whatever disaster I've cooked up for the family meal? Would they have "zero tolerance" for this attempt to educate my boy in the complimentary character of wine and food and the way by which one can evaluate a wine?

Again from the Diageo press release we learn that Diageo supports the creation of "Administrative Driver's License Revocation (ALR) for any adult who knowingly furnishes alcohol to a person under the legal drinking age."

Now, given the way my car has been functioning of late I'm inclined to dump the vehicle on the capital steps and just give it to them. But does Diageo support the revocation of my drivers license if I put a small glass of Anderson Valley Pinot Noir in front of him and ask him what he tastes and feels on his tongue?

It has become a cliche to point out that 18 year old's can die in the service of their country,that they can take on the responsibility of voting for elected officials and that they can stand trial as an adult. Yet somehow, they are deemed incapable of lifting a mug of lager or a glass of wine with responsibility. This cliche ought to be very convincing to anyone, or any large drinks company, that believes respect is something that 18 year old's deserve.

Those of us who keep alcohol in their lives and enjoy it, have a responsibility to introduce this category of drink to young people at an early age precisely because it's the responsible thing to do. Today we are printing "WET PAINT..DON'T TOUCH" on alcohol. And we all know what happens when a sign like that is held up in front of a younger person. Teach them that too much alcohol impairs them. Teach them that alcohol is for drinking, not chugging. Teach them the great traditions that surround the consumption of alcohol. Teach them.

Elevating A Wine Region and its Pinot Noir

How long does it take for a new grape growing region to establish a reputation for it's wines? It can take quite a while or no time at all, because this kind of development is not dependent on the passage of time. It is dependent on the quality and quantity of fine wines from the region.

Marin County, one county south of Sonoma, is attempting to build a reputation for its wines and primarily for it's Pinot Noir. Over the past 12 months the Marin County wine region created a very nice buzz among those who follow wine closely. The buzz was built by the work of a few vintners who are absolutely convinced this cool region can produce grapes of superior quality and who set about showing the gatekeepers and trades people that the wines made from these grapes are worthy.

The Pinot producers of Marin County are offering wine lovers a chance to determine for themselves just how good these wines are. "A Celebration of Marin County Pinot Noir"  will take place on Friday and Saturday, June 9 and 10 in Larkspur, California. The tasting will be held between 5pm and 8pm. Tickets can be obtained at www.malt.org or by calling 415-663-1158. Tickets are $40.

Among the producers of Marin County Pinot  Noir that will be on hand are: Corda Winery, Dutton-Goldfield, Pey-Marin Vineyards, Pt. Reyes Vineyard, Stubbs Vineyard, Sean Thackrey and Vision Cellars.

I grew up in Marin County, left, then came back some years later before leaving again for Sonoma. I spent a great deal of time in the western reaches of Marin County where many of the new vineyards are located. West Marin is simply breathtaking in its beauty. The ocean and sea shore and Tomales Bay looms constantly over one hill or another that one encounters. Vast patches of grazing land fall away from either side of the backroads that one can drive. Old barns mark the terrain, leaving over from age. And fog is a regular intruder. It is...Pinot Country.

I suspect as more winemakers taste the Pinots and Rieslings from this region there will be a move to plant more vineyards. Marinites, having a sturdy tradition of land conservation, will look at these vineyards with a wary eye and doing what they can to make sure the farm land does not get painted over with vineyards. Hopefully they will see that vineyardists and winemakers tend to be the most proactive conservationists you can find. And it turns out that the upcoming "Celebration of Marin County Pinot Noir" will benefit the Marin Agricultural Land Trust. One more reason to mark your calendar and buy your tickets.

Wine Blogs that Look Good

It's true the wine blogging is about more than words on a screen. Occasionally you come across wine blogs that show it as well as spell it out.

In my occasionally  regular semi-biannual look at the wine blogging world, I've come up with a collection of wine blogs that appeal the visual as well as the literary.

Vin Vini Vino
Surely some of the most interesting photography. Proprietor Tricia was even kind enough to show us her stitches.

Basic Juice
Beau gets the award for best use of celebrity shots, including this entry that brings us not only a scary shot of Conan O'Brien But of Mr. Raisin too.

The Daily Palmer Blog
Brings us the best collection of smiling French people...bar none.

Chez Ray Winemaking Blog
By far the best collection of photos that portray even the somewhat unappetizing phases of wine

Wine Waves
Hands down the best bottle shots in Blogdom.

Margaret River Blog
Easily the best collection of good looking, happy winery workers.

Florida: The Whorehouse of Wine Laws

$1,400,000. This is the price that Florida legislators are willing to take in order to allow wine wholesalers in that state to bend over and have at Florida's wine lovers.

Over the past five years, the Florida alcohol wholesalers have contributed more than $1.4 Million to Florida legislators.

What does that buy? Besides politicians, it purchases a restriction that will prevent Florida consumers from purchasing wines directly from some of America's largest wineries. If you ask me, that a piss poor return on $1.4 million. However, Florida legislators yesterday voted down an amendment to a bill that would have removed a restriction on a wine law that prevents wineries producing more than 250,000 gallons of wine from shipping directly to Florida residents.

Nevertheless, if you are a Floridian and you belong to the wine clubs of Robert Mondavi, Kendall Jackson, Bonny Doon, Beringer, Chateau St. Jean, Kenwood, Joseph Phelps, Beaulieu, Benziger, Bogle, Domain Chandon, Cline, Dry Creek Vineyards, Franciscan, Ironstone, Kunde Estate, Louis Martini, Merryvale, Montevina, Murphy Goode, Niebaum-Coppola Estate, Ravenswood, Renwood, Rodney Strong, St. Francis, Simi, Trefethen, Wente and others, it's likely that you will soon have to give up your membership in these clubs.

I always like to look at the public reasoning for wanting to impose restrictions. In the case of restricting Floridians from purchasing wines from wineries that make more than 250,000 gallons of wine (roughly 100,000 cases), the reasoning is that if these large wineries are able to ship direct to Floridians, it will run Florida retailers out of business.

This is, of course, nuts. But worse than that, everyone making this argument knows it's nuts.

Years ago when the direct shipping battles first emerged, Florida was the epicenter. They passed a law that would make it a felony for out-of-state wineries to ship into the state. I remember being at a meeting of Family Winemakers of California at which they took a vote as to whether or not to start a boycott of wine sales to the state. The organization turned down the idea by only 2 votes.

Nothing like that will happen this time around. However, it's likely that someone will challenge the notion that a state can restrict shipping to consumers based on the size of the winery. That challenge may in fact happen in another state. This restriction is being instituted in other states as well as Florida. Florida has become high profile because it is a huge market for wine.

In the mean time, Florida's politicians will continue to allow wholesalers and the state's retailers to bend over their constituents and give it to them in order to keep getting "campaign contributions" from the wine wholesaler lobby. It's a business transaction without which politicians don't know how to function.

Wine, Food & An Intelligent Slice of Vice

Darryl Roberts has been threatening it for quite some time and now it's here.

Wine X Magazine's new website is up and running and it looks great. But it reads better.

Darryl Robert's Wine X Magazine changed the way people viewed wine simply by offering a new vocabulary for describing  it. In the beginning the magazine was panned by a number of people in the business, including writers and winery-types. It got to the point where you could break down the American wine trade into two camps: those that "Got" Wine X, and those that despised it. I think it was just too different for many to wrap their arms around.

But the combination of irreverence, fun, good education and a touch of attitude kept a base of loyal readers following the exploits of of the magazine.

The new website is stuffed with articles from current and past issues of the magazine, reviews of wines using the memorable XXX system of rating, and of course there is the Jelly Bean bar for those who want instruction on how to experience zinfandel on the cheap.

If you are unfamiliar with the...unique...way in which Darryl and his crew describe wines you really do need a taste:

2004 GRGICH HILL FUME BLANC
Lawn seats at a Jefferson Airplane reunion concert-some grass, some acid, some flowers...XXX

2003 Summerwood "Diosa Blanc" Rousanne-Viognier
Pogo Stick Night at Hooters-Do we really need to explain this? XX

2003 Napa Ridge Pinot Noir
Gettin some at the discount ho house-simple, spicy and economically satisfying   X

Indeed, this is not your father's wine magazine. But is sure is fun. And you'll likely learn a lot.

Becoming the master of your wine domain (name).

I've seen people use a number of methods to get into the wine industry, to get their winery up and running. However, this particular method is, well, inspired.

Over at Acme Winery Startup Blog, Chris Campbell is bartering away his impressive collection of wine-related domain names in exchange for the various services and goods he'll be needing in order to get his winery up and running.

First of all the collection of domain names Chris has acquired is truly impressive.

Are you a wine attorney? Chris will need one and is willing to barter your services for either Winelawyer.com, Wineattorney.com or winelaw.com.

Label Designer who wants a very useful domain name? Chris can get you "Winelabel.com" in exchange for some packaging design services.

Are you a winemaking consultant or a budding publisher? Chris has "ratewine.com" available and I'm sure he'd find a way to get it to you in exchange for consulting services or possibly for some long term advertising.

Is anyone out there thinking of creating a clearinghouse for wine blogs? Chris owns "wineblog.net", a URL that might truly come in handy if the growth of wine blogs continues at it's present rate. Got anything he'd be able to use to help start up his winery?

Chris' story is fun and it's a great idea. I suspect he'll be getting some good publicity as soon as a member of the Mainstream Media or well traveled web site points to his efforts. However, what I find really fascinating is the way his efforts point to the myriad ways the Internet can be used to help dreams become reality. Entrepreneurs have always been people who caught our attention. But it seems that the Internet continues to offer new ways for smart people to get things done and off the ground.

Chris is originally from Sonoma, but currently living in Wisconsin. The idea is to get Acme Winery off the ground then get back to Sonoma. If you have services you think a new, start up winery might need, and if you see any domain names that Chris owns....you might want to go down the barter road.

Alexis Bespaloff and our Wine Lives

Once you realize you like wine, really like wine, you start to read about. What you are looking for in the books and magazines is clarity and confirmation of your excitement.

For people like myself, who started getting into wine in the 1980s, Alexis Bespaloff was one of the writers who delivered replaced my excited confusion with clarity and confirmed for me that there really was something very special about the juice.

Alex Bespaloff, one of the great American wine writers, died on Saturday. He was 72 years-old.

The Wine Enthusiast has a lovely obituary.

I met Mr. Bespaloff on two occasions, both business related. The first thing you do when you meet someone who has, in one way or another, brought clarity into your life is to thank them. I'm very happy I had the opportunity to tell him how much I enjoyed being educated by his books and writings. I told him as I had a chance to sit with him in a restaurant in San Francisco that his Signet Book of Wine was among the first books on wine that broadened my horizons.

While best known as a wine writer, Bespaloff was in fact one of America's first well-known "wine experts", a person upon whom magazines, editors, the electronic media and the wine industry relied upon to make simple the complexities of wine. He was very very good at this.

If you ask around, if you ask the likes of Robert Parker, Marvin Shanken of the Wine Spectator, Jancis Robinson, or any American winemaker in their 40's or older, they are more than likely going to tell you that Bespaloff was an important influence in their wine lives.

Every time I hear about the passing of someone like Mr. Bespaloff, someone who has influenced me positively, I am reminded that I really ought to let those who are still with us and who had a positive influence on me, know that I appreciate them.

I'm going to make some calls today..

Getting Your Pinot Fix

It is becoming more and more difficult to keep track of the number of Pinot Noir Festivals that take place each year. There are at least four of them in California alone. And given the surge in Pinot's popularity as well as the number of new Pinot producers, we expect that they all will sell out.

However, one Festival, by all accounts, is the one you really should consider attending:

PINOT ON THE RIVER, October 27-29, Russian River Valley

This will be only the second year for Pinot on the River. However, it's location in the heart of the Russian River Valley and with Greg Walter of The Pinot Report apparently devising the seminar schedule, you can be pretty sure it will be an event that gives you that Pinot Fix you need.

Among the seminars participants can take part in are:

Seminar #1: PinotReport Blind Tasting
Seminar #2: Single Winery or Vineyard Vertical or Horizontal Tasting
Seminar #3: Looking Ahead The Russian River Valley in 2015
Seminar #4: Regional Focus: Oregon
Seminar #5: Vintage Focus: 2005 Western Pinot
Seminar #6: Regional Focus: Santa Rita Hills

In addition, the weekend includes numerous tastings, dinners and field trips. It's all Pinot, all the time.

However, no such event works unless the producers are there. While this year's batch of Pinot Producers has not been announced, based on last year's list it looks like this will be an opportunity to taste the wines of the State's best Pinot Noir producers. Last year's list of participating wineries included:

A. P. Vin
Arcadian Winery
Arista Winery
Brogan Cellars
Castalia
Chasseur
Clary Ranch Vineyards
Copeland Creek Vineyards
D'Argenzio Winery
Davis Bynum Winery
De Loach Vineyards
Domaine Alfred
Domaine Chandon
DuNah Vineyard & Winery
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
Failla
Fort Ross Vineyard
Freeman Vineyard & Winery
Goldeneye Winery
Green Truck Cellars
Halleck Vineyards
Hanzell Vineyards
Hartford Family Winery
Inman Family Wines
Iron Horse Vineyards
John Tyler
Ken Brown Wines
Kosta Browne
La Crema Winery
Landmark Vineyards
Loring Wine Company
Lost Canyon Winery
Lynmar Winery
MacPhail Family Wines
MacRostie Winery and Vineyards
Marimar Torres Estate
Martinelli Vineyard
Merry Edwards Wines
Moshin Vineyard
Old World Winery
Orogeny Vineyard
Papapietro Perry Winery
Patz & Hall Wine Co.
Peay Vineyards
Pellegrini Family Vineyards
Robert Hunter Wines
Robert Stemmler
Rodney Strong
Roessler Cellars
Row Eleven
Russian Hill
Schug Carneros Estate Winery
Skewis Cellars
Tandem Winery
Testarossa Vineyards
TR Elliott
Vergari Winery
Vision Cellars
Windward Vineyard
Woodenhead

October is a stunning time of year in the Russian River Valley. By late October harvest should be in full swing, if not finished for a number of vineyards (though with the cold spring we've had, who knows what could happen). As you drive down Westside Road you can literally smell the grapes fermenting.

My recommendation is come a couple days early or stay a couple days after the Festival and enjoy the region. Enjoy the restaurants, the backroads, the redwoods, the wines, the Healdsburg Plaza ands the wineries.

For ticket info CLICK HERE

Wine Wholesalers Won't Be Hiring Us

Well, it's done.

A Federal Judge in Washington State has completely dismantled the state-mandated three tier system in that state.

The "Costco ruling" comes about 72 years too late.

However, with this ruling and the legislature's recent work that allows all wineries across the country to go around the middleman wholesalers we are about to learn a very valuable lesson:

A state's wholesalers and a state's smaller wine industry will in fact survive without a law mandating all wineries sell only through wholesalers.   It will take a few years for this to be clear. But it will become clear. And as this is proven, we consumers will also discover that without the state mandating wine go through a wholesaler, our choices will be more plentiful.

It will be interesting to see if any wine wholesalers issue any sort of statement. It will be even more interesting if the reactionary national association for wholesalers, Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association (WSWA), releases a statement. I can see it now:

"we are disappointed that the judge did not respect the clear message of the 21st Amendment and blah blah blah blah..."

Wouldn't it be nice if the WSWA instead issued a statement that made sense and was honest:

"Our rationale for trying to restrict sales and deprive consumers of choice in the realm of wine has been exploded in a perfectly reasonable ruling by the judge. We have no leg to stand on now and will work closely with state legislatures across the country to liberalize wine sales with the hope that consumers will now be able to obtain the wines they want unfettered by our desire to maintain a state-sponsored monopoly."

I somehow doubt that Wark Communications will be getting any consulting work from WSWA anytime soon.

Travel...Leisure...Wine..HUNGARICUM!

"Hungaricum"

A term, that after nearly 20 years in the wine industry, I'd never come across.

It refers to the native and now terribly obscure grapes of Hungary, a country that is just now beginning to export it's 2000 year-old winemaking heritage to the West, and the topic of Bruce Schoenfeld's latest article in Travel & Leisure: "Wine's Next Frontier".

Travel & Leisure Magazine isn't The Wine Spectator. And it surely isn't Robert Parker's Wine Advocate. Yet it is the source of one of the best first person wine articles I've read in some time.

Schoenfeld is on a quest. He wants something different; something very far beyond the monochromatic Chardonnays, Cabernets and Syrahs that seem to come from a single tube, regardless of the country or appellation on the bottle. That took him to Hungary where he took to searching out authentic "Hungaricum", the heirloom wines of that country.

Along the way the reader meets the "wine archaeologist", learns that communism may have been better for Hungarian winemaking that the newish free-market, and that this free market might spell the demise of the country's native grapes.

This is great wine writing; a kind of prose that you rarely get inside the wine magazines of the U.S. or England.

Read it...

Then...learn more about Hungarian wines and grapes HERE.

A Eulogy for a Wine Blog

We are gathered here today to mark the passing of a Wine Blog.

And not just any wine blog, mind you. The recently departed was among the most ambitious uses of the wineblogspace yet conceived.

Carolyn Tilly's Ultimate California Wine Blog   attempted to showcase a different California winery tasting room EVERY DAY. And not just a review of decor. Carolyn trained her eye on the people, the wines, the experience, the essense of the tasting room. There was nothing quite so outlandishly ambitious on the web.

But, the Ultimate California Wine Blog is done.

Yes, the results of her frantic traveling and typing remain for all to see. But the anticipation her dedicated readers felt, wondering what the next tasting room review would be is no longer a part of our lives.

Tilly now lives in San Francisco and has abandoned Blogging for more lucrative writing assignments. She's a ghost writer, a travel writer, a wine writer and a food writers. And she's good.

But the death of "The Ultimate California Winery Blog" makes me think about the fleeting nature of wine blogging. When a magazined stops publishing there are issues to pick up, printing contracts to negotiate out of, many a person looking for new employment, and a readership that has paid for subscriptions to deal with. Blogs...well, blogs just go static.

I know what you are thinking. Blogs and magazines...different things. True. Abandoned blogs remain after their demise. They are like digital markers that can not be dislodged from the ether. They remain target for search engines and searchers.

I miss the Ultimate California Wine Blog. I miss the anticipation I brought to my daily reading of its content. I wanted there to be closure of some sort for its end, rather than just.....just...nothing more.

It forces me to think how one day Fermentation might end. Is there are way to go out with a bang? Should it be pulled off the net altogether when I choose to shut it down? And if I choose to let it stay, unattended, after it is given no more posts, will it just be taking up space on a server somewhere?

Hiatus

Fermentation will be on hiatus for the next 4 days.

However, we will return on Monday with tales of roller coasters & wine, Poker & Wine, Los Angeles & Wine....and an answer to the age old question, "Daddy, are we their yet"?

Ouch...That's Got To Hurt!

Imagine the great French chef Joel Robuchon announced he would no longer be serving French wine in his restaurants because it was too expensive and wasn't high enough quality.

Exactly. The French people would have a "Teezee Feet" (that's "Tizzy Fit" in English). Well, here you have the equivalent of what has occurred in Portugal where one of the leading producers of Portuguese wine has announced they are abandoning cork closures for their wine in favor of screw caps.

Those in the Portuguese cork industry, all $1.3 Billion of it, are not too happy about this affront to national pride.

"We are obviously unhappy with this move because one of the main drivers for the cork industry is the wine sector," said Joaquim Lima, head of the Portuguese Cork Association.

The winery is Quinta do Cotto, described as one of the top wine producers in the country. The winery's simple reason for leaving cork behind is that it is just too expensive.

That's got to hurt on a number of levels. First there's the national pride thing. But it also invites other producers in Portugal to do the same thing, though don't count on the top Port producers to switch any time soon. If there is one sector of the wine industry that lives on tradition it's the Port producers.

The Wine Shipping Blog

If you are a consumer want to have wine shipped to you or if you are a winery or retail establishment and you want to do the shipping it can be a pretty complex world.

But have no fear, the ShipCompliant Blog is here to answer your question and bring you the latest news from the front.

Created by the folks at ShipCompliant, the Winery Direct Shipping blog brings a lot of expertise to the table. And if one thing is necessary in what can only be described as the chaotic world of wine sales, expertise is what's needed.

The blog actually began last year, making me feel a bit ashamed I'd not found it or heard about it.

What will you find? Round ups of the latest shipping news, explanations of the various litigation that is ongoing around the country, commentary on newly enacted legislation concerning wine shipping and helpful updates on the hoops that have been put in front of wine shippers and consumers that must be jumped through.

ShipCompliant, the company behind the blog, produces software and services that help wineries navigate the morass that is direct shipping compliance. As well as their own people writing for the blog they also have enlisted folk from the Wine Institute, the California winery association, to contribute.

Recently Inertia Beverage Group, another company working to help wineries and consumers and the trade use the direct marketing channel more efficiently, started the REthink Wine Blog. Though you can find information about compliance on the REthink Wine Blog, they deal in broader subject matter including the best practices necessary to be a great direct marketer of wine.

More and more resources are becoming available for both those who ship wine and those who want to buy wine direct. ShipCompliant Blog is a great addition that I'll be watching and reading.

A New Insider's Guide To California Wine

Ambition is the mother of success. But ambition, combined with experience, is the mother AND father of success.

Ambition and experience are the watch words that underlie a new website devoted to covering the world of California wine. California Wine Web is the child of Jim Gordon. Gordon has been working the journalistic fields of the California wine industry for a very long time. His new website appears to be the culmination of this experience and a particular ambition to create something that, amazingly, does not exist: a professional media outlet devoted alone to California wine.

Gordon's most recently was editor of Wine Country Living, a beautiful periodical that covered the "wine country lifestyle." Previous to this he was the Senior Editor for the Wine Spectator. Wine Country Living began as a California-focused lifestyle magazine that eventually became a magazine focused on the wine country lifestyle wherever it was found around the world. For those who read it closely you always got the feeling that behind the pages there was a desire to make it more focused on wine than on lifestyle. I always assumed that was Gordon projecting his bias in the face of the publisher's demands.

At the Wine Spectator, Gordon basically headed up the Wine Spectator's coverage of the California wine industry, no small area to cover.

Now Gordon has complete control of a publication and from the outset you can see it's going to be something that every CA wine lover must read.

The first set of features at California Wine Web indicate the ambition behind the project. One article assesses the vintages of California Cabernet Sauvignon from 1994 through 2004 to get a handle on how each vintage is holding up. A second article takes no the question, "Are people part of terroir?"

Meanwhile, a robust section of reviews of California wines begin with an evaluation of Russian River Valley Chardonnay. All together, California Wine Web begins its existence with reviews of upwards of 500 reviews of California wine (there is a nice little search function that will help you cull through the reviews that I would bet will rapidly grow in number. The reviewing is done with helpful and complete descriptions of the wines, a 100 point rating scale and designations to indicate wines for the cellar, value wines, widely available wines and wines of particular distinction.

I've always wondered how there could not be at least a niche publication produced by professionals and devoted to California wine. We have newsletters devoted to this topic, but nothing that looks at this vast source of wine from complete perspective rather than just from the perspective of a review-based newsletter.

California Wine Web marks the second web site to emerge in recent months that has great talent at its base. Wine Review On-line, headed up by Robert Whitley, delivers commentary and review from a number of wine writing pros. It takes broader focus, looking at the whole world of wine.

So, enjoy. There appears to be a new, ambitious, experienced wine voice in town.

On Snobs and Sauvignon Blanc

I'm a sucker for bomb throwers. That's probably why I really liked reading Mike Steinberger's article on Slate today entitled, "White Lies: Why Sauvignon Blanc is Overrated"

"Simply put, the grape (Sauvignon Blanc) is a dud, producing chirpy little wines wholly devoid of complexity and depth, the very qualities that make wine interesting and worth savoring. For years, this offensively inoffensive grape has escaped criticism while chardonnay and merlot have been scorned. The free ride ends here."

Of course he's wrong about Sauvignon Blanc, and I suspect he knows he is. But that's not the point. Steinberger's bomb is thrown with such aplomb and with just enough categorical statements that he clearly is looking for a response.

"Astonishingly, there are people, among them some wine writers, who contend that sauvignon blanc creates wines of great character and verve. I'd love to know which sauvignon blancs they've been drinking. I taste dozens each year, and character and verve are two qualities most of them sorely lack. Sure, they tend to have distinctive bouquets, with heady aromas of grass, citrus, gooseberry, gunflint, and chalk—or some combination thereof. But this excitement is reserved for the nose; all the mouth gets is a limp, lemony liquid that grows progressively more boring with each sip. Sauvignon blancs almost never evolve in the glass—they simply fill the space."

It would be way to predictable to remind Mike about Mondavi To-Kalon I-Block, Rochioli's Reserve, Voss' great efforts, the Fume Blanc of Dry Creek Vineyards or any number of Sauvignon Blancs that deliver not just fine aromas, but wonderfully interesting and satisfying flavor. So I won't.

Instead, I'll note that Mike's article did what it was supposed to do: it generated lots of passionate and considered comments. The type that intrigue me most are those that accuse him of "snobbery:

"I don't know about Sauvignon Blanc, but I do know for sure one thing that is overrated by far: pretensions of wine snobbery. Who cares?"

It should be noted that criticism, literary criticism, which Mike is engaging in, is no really about being a snob, though a certain amount of discernment (snobbery) is necessary to be a good critic. To accuse a critic of being a snob for voicing their opinion is like criticizing a football coach for developing a game plan: That's what they do. And they either do it well or they don't. Mike does it well.

Wine & Fighting for Perfection

Wine lovers tend to get their capsules in a bunch when it comes to the issue of rating wine. In particular it is the issue of a 100 point score, a perfect score, that generates lots of controversy...and not a lot of scrambling to get their hands on the wine.

I thought it might be fun to take a look at another industry that places a similar type of emphasis on ratings: Video Games.

We are talking about a billion dollar industry when we talk of video games. A significant part of the marketing and sales of Video Games relies on ratings of the games by various media. Perfect scores for a game are rare. Even the vaunted "Halo", a game that clearly catapulted the Xbox to great heights, did not get a perfect score.

However, recently Official Xbox Magazine gave its first perfect score to an Xbox 360 Game: "Fight Night Round Three". FNR3 is a boxing game. I've played it. It's fun. It's engrossing. The graphics are...well, scary good. But Xbox Magazine was inundated with criticism, letters and great complaints, as well as lots of "well dones" as a result of giving a a perfect 10 out of 10 for the game.

In the on-line forums, gamers had lots to say. Some told XBox Magazine they want nothing to do with them anymore for this gross mistake of giving a Boxing game a perfect score.

The whole thing looks EXACTLY like the commotion that ensues when Parker of the Spectator give a wine a perfect score.

Now, this brings up a number of questions. Are wine lovers who closely follow the rankings and reviews of wine simply fanatics, a la gamers...who I can attest for having known a number are in fact fanatics? What is the nature of the stake wine lovers have in a wine that a perfect score for this or that bottle riles them up so much so that they will engage in passionate debate on the subject?

For me, the only issue I have with the idea of a Perfect Wine is the philosophical issue.

Perfection?
Without flaw?
Unable to improve?

Websters defines "perfection" thus:

1 : the quality or state of being perfect: freedom from fault or defect : FLAWLESSNESS b : MATURITY c : the quality or state of being saintly
2 a : an exemplification of supreme excellence b : an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence

It's not that I've never tasted such a wine. It's that the notion that nothing can exceed in quality and pleasure a wine that is deemed perfect is sort of offensive to the notion of faith and hope.

Xbox Magazine deals with this issue in an interesting way. They have a 10 point scale that also offers half points (8 or 8.5, for example). They describe the various levels in this way:

3.0 - 3.5: "It has some crippling problems"

5.0 - 5.5: "Very unspecial and average"

8.0 - 8.5: "A great game an a-list title, but it either has a niche appeal, suffers from minor technical  or design issues, or has peripheral problems like a crummy interface."

10: "Classic. One of the rare and very best of games. Every Xbox gamer simply must buy it and play it, whether or not they are a fan of the genre."

But now here's where Xbox Magazine gets it right in a way that wine reviewers and raters don't:

Their scale has an 11th Point: "Perfect. The Unicorn. Will never happen. Never."

I know....it's rather witty and precious. But it also is an acknowledgment that perfection is something one doesn't simply point to. You aspire to it.

Wine writers and reviewers will continue to offer perfect scores for the foreseeable future. It makes for outstanding copy, controversy and sell magazines. I just like the idea of their being a level...BEYOND perfect.

Ohio: The Hotbed of Wine blogging

What's with Ohio wine writers and Blogs?

First we get Mark Fisher, a really fine reporter and writer for the Dayton Daily News. Mark not only jumped into the blogosphere feet first with Uncorked, but additionally took on the chore of editing Wine Sediments, the group wine blog that has emerged at the Well Fed Network.

Well, now Tricia Colianne is at it. Tricia is the wine writer for the Akron Beacon Journal. As she notes in her initial blog posting at Vin Vini Vino, Tricia only gets about 8 column inches on a weekly basis for her "Cellar Dweller" Column. It's not enough.

Tricia appears to have a palate that delivers variety. You'll note also that her writing also has the pith so essential to a newspaper journalist and writer and that works well in the blog format. It appears too that Tricia has opinions. She has also been fairly prolific since Vin Vini Vino's debut early this month. All good things from a reader's perspective.

And not to beat a dead horse, here we have, again, a wine writer making a move to the blogosphere. What's the world coming to?

Bush Takes on Wine Country...In Style

If there must be a HUGE national debt, I suppose it's good that Wine Country gets some of that spending.

Next weekend President Bush and what must be an amazingly large entourage, will roll into Napa Valley and completely take over the Meadowood Resort. That is to say, no one but the President and his people will be staying a the famed and very expensive Napa Valley Resort.

I think they'll like it.

But what will it cost. Meadowood's low-end rooms (the ones that are small and have little view) go for about $400 per night. The suites? $4000 a night.

What can President Bush do while occupying all of Meadowood? Golf, Croquet, get a facial, eat, drink, visit the gym, play tennis, take a hike (literally, not figurativley).

I can't fathom what this weekend will cost Americans. However, I'm positive the President will have a good night's sleep.

I'm not so sure the residents of Napa Valley will get quite as good a night's sleep, however. Napa Valley and the town of St. Helena and Wine Country are not exactly "Bush Country."

I'm not sure why that is. Why are the Wine Country counties of Sonoma and Napa predominantly liberal?

WineStyles Taking Off

The franchising of wine is something that has never really gotten of the ground. Presumably this has been the case because there was not a perception that the market for wine was large enough or because the vast majority of wine is purchased in the much more convenient confines of the grocery store.

WineStyles seems to be changing this with a wine store franchise that has grown to over 100 franchises in just a year and a half. The WineStyle franchise are showing up predominantly in suburbs where the gathering of the upper-middle class 40+ year old demographic is generally found.

The "WineStyles" name points to the approach the stores take, offering wines by style ("crisp", "Fruity", "Mellow", "Silky", etc) rather than simply by varietal or country.

The stores also are sticking to the $25 and under price range, a category that let's people stay in their budgets at  the low end, venture in to something a tad better in the middle, and give them a semi-splurge near the top end.

The cost to open your own WineStyles franchise? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000. As with most franchises, this investment includes training in retail management, wine and promotional help from corporate headquarters.

The success of WineStyles is one more confirmation of wine coming on with America. And there is a snowball effect in place too. As wine becomes more and more visible, either via storefronts or pop culture, more and more people investigate what it has to offer.

Is WineStyles a good investment? Who knows. Drop a comment if you've been in a WineStyles store.

Mad Genius & Wine (and video games)

While I'm not really sure about this, I think I'm on pretty firm ground when I suggest that every industry has it's small collection of "mad geniuses". You know the type I'm talking about. It's not so much that they are truly mad, but rather so much more creative and innovative than the rest of the folk in their industry that they stand out. They seem...special.

I was thinking about this yesterday as I savored Easter Ham with my family and sipped on a Gewurztraminer. My brother, Tim Schafer, is the acknowledged "mad genius" of the video game world. His games (Psychonauts, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango) so stand apart from the ubiquitous "carnage and weapons" that is today's common video game fare that he seems either odd or a genius to those in his industry or those who closely watch it. Of course, he's really none of those. It's just that he has extraordinary talent and is willing to take risks.

The wine industry has it's own mad geniuses. Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon is clearly the Head Genius. Grahm's genius comes in the way he presents his wines and his way of thinking to both consumers and the industry. Grahm is a man with a sense of humor who is able to take his wit serious. He's intelligent. He makes important points about the winemaking vocation through humor and irony that are on display in his wines, the packaging of the wines and the way he talks about wine.

Grahm made the point that cork is dead by touring the country and have wakes for the cork ("long live the screw cap!"). He wanted us to think about the near forgotten idea that minerality in wines is something to appreciate by making serviing wines "on the rock"...literally....by placing stones in wines and serving it. His newsletter is among the best because it goes far beyond the common newsletter fare of terroir, growing seasons and new releases and ventures into the realm of the philosophical, the poetic and the arcane.

You could argue, I suppose, that some of those who venture off into something very odd (think biodynamic grape growing) also fall into the category of "mad genius". But it's not quite the same really. The mad genius doesn't take a step beyond a common model (think organic grapegrowing). Instead, the "Mad Genius" stops people in their tracks because they simply move well beyond the common.

My brother-in-law Tim created a video game that asks the player to step inside people's minds and do battle with the most dangerous elements of the psyche. It won numerous awards for best game of the year, best graphics, best sound, best, best, best. It sold well, but not nearly as well as some had hoped and not nearly as well as games with Big Guns and Big Blood. Psychonauts was groundbreaking work, clearly showed Tim's genius and opens many doors for him.

But there is a lesson here. People like Tim and Randal Grahm succeed by working outside the mainstream because not only are they a little off kilter, but they are very smart and the talent they put on display is combined with some very insightful claims and ideas.

What I'm suggesting is this: The true mad geniuses, whether in wine, video games, art, or any other genre above all make us think. They made give us pleasure, but it's those that make us think in ways we normally don't that should earn out attention.

Sentiments on Portugal and Wine Ratiings at Sediments

Two good posts in a row over at Wine Sediments.

Yesterday Mark Fisher, the editor of the group blog to which I also contribute, took on the notion of wine ratings and how they are offered in complete disregard for any acknowledgment of terroir and source. He's also concerned that it is very unlikely that a review of 100,000 case bottling of a wine can't really offer the reader any expectation that in buying the wine it will have any relationship to the review.

Meanwhile, today Andrew Barrow writes about the classification method of wines of Portugal. My guess is that very few people are at all familiar with the unfortified wines of Portugal. Port gets all the attention (for good reason) yet Barrow offers a primer on how to approach the rest of the country's wines.

Holding Your Nose...and hoping for the best

It's not something to be proud of, but it's often the case.

Sometimes, when you've been working for long long time on something and you just want it to be over, you are willing to accept a conclusion to the project that you know just isn't the best it could be. But, it does bring the project to a conclusion so you accept mediocrity.

Most of us take this route from time to time, but the problem with it is....down the line....you start to think about what it is you settled for and realize...."that was dumb".

This is exactly what has happened in Illinois, where it appears a number of wineries are now opposing the compromise they supported that led to a Wine Shipping & Sales law. The compromise between the state's wineries and wine wholesalers would have removed wineries' right to sell direct (self distribute) to retailers and restaurants and forced them to use wine wholesalers instead, made it far more difficult for out-of-state wineries to ship direct to Illinois residents, and came with a promise, not a mandate, that Illinois wholesales would work to give distribution to any Illinois winery that wanted it.

It appears that the compromise was supported by some wineries only after they tightly held their nose. It was also disclosed that the Illinois Wineries Association membership did not vote among themselves to see how much support for the compromise existed in their organization.  It appears now that the hand is off the nose the smell is rising up.

The compromise bill that was set to be approved in the legislature now appears to be dead. The biggest losers in this latest development are clearly the wine wholesalers of Illinois who got just about everything they wanted: 1) revocation of the Illinois wineries' right to go around them, 2) a guarantee that out of state wineries could not go around them 3) a limit on the amount that wineries could ship directly to consumers and 4) no mandate that they must distribute Illinois wineries' products.

Now all this is off the table.

With no bill to consider it's likely that one of 2 things will happen. There will be another round of negotiations between wineries and wholesalers to come up with a new bill or a lawsuit will ensue that forces Illinois to abandon it's current set of laws that allow Illinois wineries to sell direct to retailers, but prohibits out of state wineries from doing the same. If the latter occurs and Illinois' laws are found unconstitutional, then the legislature will be forced to act to change the laws. And because the compromise accepted by the wineries was so lopsided in favor of the wholesalers, waiting for a lawsuit really seems like a win-win for the wineries.

However, there is new player in the game this time around: retailers. It was reported that the Illinois Retail Merchants Association didn't like the compromise because it did not give them the right to ship direct to consumers. This is a reasonable objection. Add to their dissatisfaction the formation of the new Specialty Wine Retailers Association that is dedicated to opening direct shipping to out of state retailers and you now have two powerful groups in the game that will put their weight behind liberalizing freer commerce and more direct consumer access to wine products.

The lesson here is that states must take a comprehensive look at their alcohol beverage laws when faced with the need to changes them. The stakeholders are not merely the wineries. The include wholesalers, retailers both in and out of state, wineries in and out of state and the state's alcohol beverage control commissions invested with the regulation and tax collection duties.

The Wine Czar

"Today in Washington Secretary of Wine Donald Rumsfeld again denied reports that any abuse or torture of foreign wines had occurred in the National Cellar. The Wine Secretary called reports that French bottlings were exposed to extremes of cold and heat patently absurd'. The allegation of abuse of foreign wines has dogged the Secretary since a collection of horrifying pictures were published in "The Wine Spectator" showing a bottle of Chateau Petrus along side a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee Conti sitting in an ice bucket with tiny hoods tied over their capsules.

"We are talking about some very bad bottles here, bottles that our enemies would like to see put back on to shelves," explained the Wine Secretary. "The pictures that were published were illegally obtained, but even so they show no torture of the wines as torture is defined by the Bordeaux Convention."
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You know your country has a problem with its wine industry when the President appoints the equivilent of the Secratary of Defense to oversee all things Wine.

This is exactly what happened in the former Soviet republic of Georgia where President Saakashvili has appointed Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili to oversee all matters related to wine and wine exports and the promotion of Georgian wine.

They do indeed have wine problems in Georgia where the country is facing an impending embargo on its wine from Russain, by far its largest export market.

It makes you consider