Like you, I have noticed that Americans are demanding bolder flavor and more adventure in their food and in their wines. (in fact I wrote a book about it!)  It’s easy to note that in wine people are gravitating towards wines that are full of flavor- from Malbec and Torrontés in Argentina, to Sauvignon Blanc in New Zealand, Carmenère in Chile, Primitivo in Italy and the list goes on and on and on. Outside of wine, you’ve likely seen same- from flavorful grass-fed beef, to brewed and flavorful cocktail infusions, to the ongoing rage in all things spicy. If you haven’t spent much time in cyberspace looking at hot sauce websites and seeing what’s out there, you have surely missed something evocative to the senses. Continue reading »

A tough question to answer. First off, the period that starts essentially around Halloween and ends just after that long brunch on New Year’s Day is probably the most important time of year for anyone in the wine (and spirits) biz as more than a disproportionate amount of sales and consumption happen in this time frame. When you hear your trade friends toss out that end of the year phrase OND what they mean is October/November/December- the holy trinity of wine sales quarters! Continue reading »

Is good for your beer, but not for your white wine. I was reminded of this when dining out the other night and ordering a bottle of Torrontés to go with our dinner. The bottle was brought quickly to the table but it was sooooo cold (how cold was it?). It was so cold that as the wine was poured into the glass, it fogged up with condensation and actually bit my tongue with its frosty bite. Then there were the stalactites on the bottle that should have been a clue (just kidding). Continue reading »

Recently the Argentines arrived in masses to San Francisco for their annual “Wines of Argentina” trade tasting. Always much anticipated, the attendance this year was higher than I recall in past years and the wines even more delightful.

Argentina is the 5^th largest producer of wine in the world, following the good old US of A at number 4 and just in front of China, who is number six. This dynamic wine producing country has transformed itself mightily over the past decade. Traditionally, Argentina has been a part of the world that produced volume wines, primarily consumed internally within the cities and surrounding areas of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, San Juan and Mendoza. Now, Argentina is well known to becoming a leader in quality export wines, representing some of the finest wines and best values available in today’s market. 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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