I am writing from the Mile High City today, and here is what is up in the world of wine:
Allies Once More
China View, which I am sure is one of more freely-spoken publications out of that country, has written a piece on the ongoing Russian/Georgian wine debate. The piece, justifiably titled “Russia’s Ban On […]

US Trends Get Themselves Confused
Decanter released two stories today: (1) Two out of every three bottles sold in the US are from California, (2) Wine drinkers in the US are waking up to wines from abroad. On the one hand, we still love our California wine, but on the other hand we are […]

Wine Drive
There is a proposed new wine corridor in Monterey County. Wine industry leaders are pushing for the 80-mile corridor, with the proposal currently in front of county officials. Opponents worry about traffic, congestion, farming concerns. It isn’t like Napa has bad traffic, so I don’t see why they are worried. (LA Times)
Calling […]

Welcome back from the weekend. I hope everyone enjoyed a great bottle of wine to relax and celebrate as Spring flowers. Here is what is going on in wine:
Georgia on My Mind
The battle between Russia and former Soviet states Georgia and Moldova continues to intensify. Russia beefed up the restrictions on wine imports […]

TGIF! Have a great weekend everyone.
Shake Your Money Maker
We have focused on Bordeaux futures this week. In line with that, I thought some of you readers would be interested in reading more about how to best purchase futures. Of course, even if you know how to buy them, you are still going to be paying […]

Candice lost last night - her inexperience had taken its toll. That said, I know everyone at home was secretly hoping and fearing that Steven would pack his knives. On the one hand, we hate his attitude. He is pretentious, and he gives wine-afficionados a bad face. On the other hand, he makes great […]

Wine Spectator is reporting that Mariah Carey does not in fact own any portion of Mariah Winery. Rumors had been circulating for a few weeks after she spoke about loving the wine on an episode of MTV’s Cribs. Publicits for Brown Forman, the distributor of Mariah, admit that she is not invested in the winery […]

Back to Bordeaux
En primeur week continues in Bordeaux. And, the industry press continues to discuss what prices should look like. The producers got smart, and they realized that they cannot keep calling the vintage perfect. Istead, they are pulling out statistics to show how amazing 2005 will be. At Margaux, the tannin index this […]

Californication
It was another year of impressive sales for California wine. In fact, California wine sales hit a record in 2005, hitting 441 gallons value at $16.5 billion in retail sales. Still, American wine consumption lags Europe - so the trend should continue. (AP in Washington Post)
En Primeur Pink
Chateau d’Yquem hosted the grand opening of En […]

Sorry about the delay in Episodes 2 and 3.
Here is my take on Episode 3: Nasty Delights
The judge today: Laurent Manrique of Aqua in San Francisco. It is tough to take disgusting looking Octopus and make it taste great. I noticed a lot of contestants used citrus sauces with the octopus. And, like always, […]