Wine on the Web
It's not just self conscious Niagara and Okanagan producers who want to take on their French rivals - the English are at it too.
The southernmost part of England is actually an extension of the chalky geological formations that give Champagne its edge - think of the White Cliffs of Dover - so a number of producers in Sussex, Kent and other southern counties have been working hard on sparkling wines.
England's problem isn't the winter, it's the summer. It just doesn't quite get warm enough for really ripe grapes. However hot summers recently, including 2003, have encouraged more investment. When I was in England in October, I was knocked out by the quality of Nytimber, which performed well in the taste challege.
As with Niagara, the really good quality English sparklers are not cheap - GBP20 is not uncommon - and also they don't produce or export much.
Here's Decanter's report on a recent England vs. Champagne challenge.
Cheval Blanc is an unusual Bordeaux and it's been winning international awards and attention since the 1860s. Although it's in the merlot-dominated St. Emilion sub-region, Chateau Cheval Blanc uses a high percentage of cabernet franc.
The 1947 vintage has achieved legendary status in the wine world and here's a report on how it was nearly a complete disaster. US wine writer Mike Steinberger fills in the back story and even gets to taste some.
We've all experienced tasting an expensive wine that just wasn't very impressive. But it seems that the lifestyle cue of a pricey bottle alone can give real pleasure, especially at a restaurant or dinner party.
British researchers told subjects to rate a cheaper wine against a more expensive one - and then served them the exact same wine both times. They found that most of their subjects genuinely enjoyed the "expensive" wine more.
Italian prosecco makers are in a fizz over an Austrian company’s choice of Paris Hilton as the face of their “Rich” cans of prosecco-based sparkling wines.
Prosecco sales have boomed over last few years and, while no challenge to champagne, the wines have a relatively upscale image. The Italians are unhappy even though the Austrian company Rich Prosecco does not use the word “prosecco” on their labels. Most prosecco comes from the Veneto region (near Venice) and the wine is associated with Italy, but in fact the grape itself is called prosecco.
Paris, meanwhile, is happy to shill.
Nick Passmore, writing on Forbes.com, gives a great summary of the vagaries of white wine production in Burgundy – including details on why a lot of white Burgundies are nothing special and why a few are stunningly expensive (and stunningly good).
Passmore also suggests that one-time top dog Chablis has fallen sufficiently out of fashion that it now represents a good value appellation. Read more about the white wines from the birthplace of chardonnay here.
Colloquially referred to as the "Big Dry", the drought affecting much of Australia is showing no signs of letting up.
A recent story in the Sydney Morning Herald predicts a sharply reduced 2008 vintage in Australia, with total yield up to a third lower than recent averages. With the antipodean summer now well underway, the general gloom seems warranted.
In what surely must be an exercise in feel-good presentation of unpleasant facts, the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology declares it’s a "Mixed March quarter rainfall outlook". Things look promising on a map with bold 50%, 60% and even 70% figures in various bands... until you realize that the figures represent the percentage chance of an area exceeding its normal rainfall figure. The real takeaway from the map: nowhere in Australia is likely to hit even normal precipitation rates this summer and among the areas least likely to do so are the quality wine producing states of South Australia and Victoria. Maybe time to stock up on Aussie wines before the prices rise...
If you ignore the pretentious tone and the "we mere mortals" asides that come across as a disingenuous effort to engender fellow-feeling with you, the humble reader, you'll enjoy this book review by Oxford University lecturer and philosopher Christopher Shields on the subjectivity of wine tasting.
The book he’s reviewing is “Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine” by University of London Philosophy Professor Barry C. Smith. Buy it here or just read the review....
And if you're feeling all Sherlock Holmsey, you might want to pair that London story with this New York story.
It’s the only magazine that calls itself a newspaper, and London’s
Economist is like one in that most articles are short and offer a brief overview in a bold, authoritative tone. One of this week’s “leader” comments (an opinion piece by magazine staff) skewers the concept of terroir and summarizes the potential of
transgenic grapes.
And, aside from the reference to “those with jaded palettes” (fast-living painters bored with available wines?), the linked article on grape genetics has a decent summary of new developments in the field and what they might mean for wines of the future.
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