The International Pinot Noir Celebration is an annual midsummer event taking place in the Pinot centric hamlet of McMinnville, Oregon (in the heart of the Willamette Valley). I attended three years consecutively in the wee early years of this now, 24 year running, celebration of all things Pinot Noir, aka the IPNC, and hadn’t been back in about sixteen or so years since. It was like old home week connecting with producers and friends I hadn’t seen in over a decade, sharing in our mutual Miles-like passion (think Sideways) for this mesmerizing and seductively sensual grape with dozens of delish wines, lots of great and educational activities, and the gorgeous surroundings of McMinnville’s Linfield College campus where the event is home based. Continue reading »

When you think of Brazil, you think of many culturally relevant markers- beaches, carnival, churrasco (Brazilian barbecue) and feijoada (the classic rich black bean, pork, and sausage stew), the two ‘national dishes’, and perhaps, as a beverage, cachaca, the powerful sugar cane distillate that is akin to rum and goes down so easy (especially in a caipirinha). What you likely don’t consider is their wine industry which, albeit largely unrecognized outside of Brazil, is healthy and thriving. Continue reading »

And one would also add that nothing easy is always good. Such is the case with the evolution of Pinot Noir in New Zealand. Fresh off of a successful workshop on Syrah in Napier, I spent several days in Wellington at a terrific symposium, Pinot Noir 2010. 400 plus delegates attended, all with a unified love of Pinot Noir, and especially NZ Pinot Noir, to examine the state of the state of this amazing grape in this equally amazing country.

Having had the pleasure and privilege of speaking at the previous conference in 2007, I was able to really explore how things have evolved and changed. A few years in the hands of passionate winemakers and viticutiuralists is a proverbial mini-lifetime vis-à-vis what a difference, in this case, only three years can make. Continue reading »

Those of you who follow my blog know that I am rarely one to laundry list out wines that I have tasted and enjoyed over any form of evaluation forum (be it informal like visiting a single winery or more formal such forums as the recent Pinot Noir 2010 in Wellington (New Zealand) a couple of weeks back). That said, I tasted so many noteworthy wines that I thought I’d give you a handful of my favorites, so, without further ado…

Wines of consequence (no 100 point scale from this boy): Continue reading »

Greetings and kia ora from New Zealand! I spoke this past week at a Syrah workshop in Napier (Hawkes Bay) and will be speaking this week at Pinot Noir 2010 in Wellington. But, as the Pinot event has not yet happened, well, not much to talk about that conference less anticipation and excitement for what’s sure to be a killer few days and a tad of anxious trepidation about speaking on a blind Pinot Noir tasting panel later in the week to be flanked on either side by Oz Clarke and Matthew Jukes. Continue reading »

As a food and wine guy, I constantly teach folks about pairings and specifically about explaining, to the best of my ability, why certain combinations work while others do not. Red wine with red meat is a no brainer, while ‘stinky socks’ washed rind cheese and big red wine is simply awful unless you sincerely like recreating the sensation of taking a bong hit on a Clorox bottle. Then there’s this new conventional wisdom that you can have red wine with fish. Continue reading »

Sometimes dramatic things happen with very little fanfare. Such is the case of a fairly significant change in law in France that went into effect on July 1st. According to a little box I came across when reading Gourmet Magazine’s July 2009 issue (page 25 to be exact!), the new VAT (Value Added Tax) on food (but not on alcohol) has been reduced from a very high 19.6% (where alas it still will be for wine) to a far more modest 5.5%. This is a huge victory for French restaurateurs who have been lobbying for years that they should be levied at the same rate as fast food outlets which were only being levied that 5.5%. Does this mean that fast food wasn’t considered food? Hmm… one has to wonder… Continue reading »

Cute, no? While it’s certainly not the case in terms of global percentage metrics (especially when compared to grapes like Chardonnay), Riesling has long been the darling of wine aficionados and the sommelier set. Driven by activist importers (Rudi Wiest, Terry Theise etc…), domestic powerhouses (Chateau Ste. Michelle, Pacific Rim etc..) and a fanatical group of winemakers and fans, the folks who work with Riesling have taken a very novel and energetic approach towards spreading their gospel. Continue reading »

Having just gotten around to reading the current June 2009 issue of AAA’s Via Magazine, I was surprised to find out that something I had believed, is in fact an urban myth. Indeed, did you know that truck drivers aren’t nearly the menace on the road that many of us think that they are (cutting you off, squeezing your lane, etc.)? In actual fact about 70% of fatal collisions that occur between cars and trucks are the fault of the car’s driver and not that of the man behind the wheel of the big rig. I stand corrected.

In wine there are a number of so called myths (maybe more oenological than urban by nature) and I thought I’d throw in my own observations. Continue reading »

Of course, the answer to that question, without context, is: it depends. In this case, the well posed question stems around the truth or fallacy of wines being less expensive in Europe than they are here. I was reading an article by Katherine Cole of the Portland Oregonian entitled “Why wine is less expensive in Europe.” After reading her compelling article, my answer would be… depends.

In the article, the author points out several compelling reasons why wine can be less expensive and often is indeed less expensive in wine rich Europe. For one, wine is often, as in Spain, considered food from a taxation standpoint and, as such, not subject to the extreme levies of spirits. It’s not unusual to walk into a tapas bar and be able to order a glass of simple and tasty wine for the same price (or less) as a plate of any tapa, ración or bocadillo. Literally the equal of a buck or so, if not less, at times. Marvelous.
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