When it dawned on me just how lucky American wine consumers are today. Really.

I am not going to bother to quote you all the statistics and studies which are readily out there if you Google away but I will put it out there: America is currently the most significant consumer wine market in the world. Period. For now (yes, we are all eying China and Asia). But for now… America drinks volumetrically more wine (or depending on the study you read is about to drink more wine) than any country on earth (not per capita but as a nation), and we have been the most profitable wine market for several years. All of this is good for the consumer… and so, you ask, why? Continue reading »

I spent last week in Seoul, South Korea being the “American judge” at the finals of the 7th annual Korea Wine Challenge…which you’d know if you’ve been following my Tweets and Facebook page updates. This international wine competition is becoming more and more serious and important with each passing year. It is encompassing new and interesting wines that reflect the interest of many exporting countries to increase their offerings in this dynamic and expanding north Asian wine market. Continue reading »

And no, I am not talking about fault lines in California, Mexico, Japan or even… of late, Chile. The ‘plates’ I am referring to have to do metaphorically with the dramatic shifting in the UK wine market and the fact that France no longer appears to be most anyone’s favorite when shopping these days. Not first, second, third, or now even fourth… are you amazed?

In restaurants, when I was first learning about wine in the late 1970s (yes, back in the proverbial day), it was all about French wine. Bordeaux and Burgundy were the pinnacles, and yes we tipped our berets to the Loire Valley, the Rhône, and a few bits and pieces of Provence and the Languedoc. We studied and consumed Italy at the peripheral level (Chianti and Barolo), enjoyed our token Germans, and locally were fiercely proud and supportive of an emerging local but, at the time, globally insignificant California wine industry. Continue reading »

I recall when I cut my teeth on California wines close to 30 years ago that any real tasting could only be done by going straight to the source- up to wine county. There were no complete wine bars in the San Francisco area, less the now-closed London Wine Bar in San Francisco’s financial district, Premier Cru on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland and one or two others. Even then, you got to taste several wines but never got to chat with the winemaker, experience barrel tasting or do any of those types of activities without a minimal one hour schlep in the car. Well, that was then and this is now. Continue reading »

There’s no doubt that California, despite her current economic woes, is a special and desirable place to be. The diversity of the state is amazing and reflected in everything- culture, cuisine and, of course, wine. I was proud to be asked to be a key note speaker at the 75^th Anniversary of the California Wine Institute, the non-profit trade organization representing the member vintners in legislative, commercial, and various marketing activities. The amazing Nancy Light heads up the communications efforts and always has good information to share, much of which is always eye opening (well, at least to me).

Recently she put out a wonderful document full of trivia, factoids and good information which you know caught my eye. Some of the cool stuff pointed out: Continue reading »

As summer furthers itself along, I find myself increasingly doing two things I love: al fresco dining- celebrating the summer’s bounty, and watching lots of baseball as a fan (and as a ‘arm chair’ manager). Both provide great enjoyment, some creative planning and, when well executed, are the source of both pride and pleasure.

Indeed over the past weekend , cooking in the heat of an Alamo (California) summer afternoon, a friend and I were discussing the merits and importance of baseball leadoff hitters whose job of getting on base (with regularity) and setting the stage for their fellow hitters is a crucial role. A team’s chances of winning are greatly improved if you have a leadoff hitter that executes consistent hits. And how does this relate to wine and al fresco dining you ask?

Quite simple. As you set up outside, prepare your grill/bbq/smoker (or whatever heat source you intend to utilize) and plan your lazy afternoon of eating and drinking, you need to have the right ‘leadoff’- wine… and, I would add, foods. The recipes for me are pretty consistent- prosciutto and melon, grilled asparagus, heirloom tomatoes with olive oil and basil and plates of oysters on the half shell with a ‘choix’ of mignonette sauce or juicy and squeezable meyer lemon wedges. So, who do you ‘bring to the plate’ to face such a dizzying array of timely fare? Continue reading »

A couple of blogs back I wrote about the concept of being a regular away from home (Being A Regular When You Aren’t, May 19th). I hope that the concept resonated with you and to prove that I do ‘walk my talk’ I did just that this past weekend while attending my daughter’s 16/U fast pitch softball tournament down in Salinas (California).

Salinas is a serious food municipality- but not in the sense of the word that you may be thinking. No ‘haute cuisine’ here and you’d be hard pressed to find a sommelier in town. That said, one can dine well if you know what to look for, and where to look for it. While Zagat, Michelin and the like may be the culinary bibles when you hit San Francisco or New York, my sources for smaller town dining are yelp.com, chowhound.com and roadfood.com. I see what each has to say, where the ‘Venn diagram’ connections are and start there. It takes a little bit of planning, but it’s just that easy. Continue reading »

Summer rolls around and that means a few certainties for me. First, I will be following and cheering for my daughter’s fast pitch softball team as they make their annual push to qualify for the Western Regionals. Second, I will be down at the Santa Cruz Beach & Boardwalk at least twice (my kids love theme parks) and third, I will get to visit a few Santa Cruz wineries on the way to or from the land of deep fried Snickers bars, over priced popcorn and over-the-hill musicians trying to stay relevant (Can anyone say Eddie Money!?)

All kidding aside, Santa Cruz is indeed home to a great beach community with its fair share of hippy-like ‘beach bums’, a terrific college (The University of California, Santa Cruz) and many a surrounding winery. Though wineries like Ridge and Mount Eden Vineyards are amongst the most venerable and established names in California wine, Santa Cruz is only recently on the global radar screen- and it’s long overdue. Continue reading »

I spent some time in Singapore this past month during my ten-day trip to Asia. One of the most important multicultural spots in the world, it was wonderful to be back. The interest in wine in Southeast Asia is explosive and indeed the core reason for this visit was to hold the second annual master sommelier introductory course (as well as a certified sommelier exam for about three dozen candidates who took the level one course last year).

As a board member of the Court of Master Sommeliers driving the international expansion outside of USA and Europe, I have been fortunate enough to teach students from all over as the Court of Master Sommeliers ventures into the Pacific Rim. In addition to Singapore, we are now in our third year in New Zealand, launching Melbourne and Sydney in Australia and will be kicking off Hong Kong in 2009. All very exciting as the world of wine becomes more passionate and more global. Continue reading »

Earlier this month, I got back from a ten-day visit to Asia. I started in Seoul, South Korea, where I was the American judge in the 2008 Korea Wine Challenge. It was a fascinating experience as Korea’s Wine Review magazine hosts its 4th annual international wine competition.

As Jeong Eun Choi, my friend and editor of the wine review puts it, “who would have thought when we began this tasting event a few years ago that it would so quickly become as important to the Korean market as it has. ” And she’s right. I was there just for the finals and there were well in excess of 900 wines from 13 different countries (from the typical France, Italy, USA and Australia to the more obscure Lebanon, Japan, Korea and Uruguay). It was a very formidable showing.
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