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 »

The more they stay the same. Or so it appears… somewhat.

Always anticipated, Restaurant Wine, a formidable on-premise publication driven and written by MS/MW Ronn Wiegand, has come out with its annual ‘Top 100’ on-premise wines and brands served. While there is some news… well, it looks pretty much the same, at least as far as who is in the rankings. Ronn takes on this ample project annually and in so doing ranks wines and brands based on total 9-liter cases consumed across the entire spectrum of American restaurants licensed to serve wine, from the casual segment to fine dining restaurants and from bars and lounges to hotel banquet departments. 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 »

When most people are asked about Sacramento, California’s capital, they think of governing branches and quite possible our celebrated Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Many know that “theGovernator” enjoys fine things including great cigars, exceptional food and a deep love of wine. Fortunately, he doesn’t have to travel far to Napa or Sonoma to explore one of the state’s best-kept secrets: the historically significant and romantically unspoiled Amador County.

Just south and west of Sacramento, Amador County sits on the outskirts of the Gold Country and the Sierra Nevada Mountains where the well documented Gold Rush in 1849 brought great interest and wealth to northern California. Many of the fortune-seekers who flocked to the Sierra foothills in the 1850s were European immigrants who planted extensive vineyards upon their arrival. After the mines ran dry, many of these wine-loving prospectors turned their focus to the craft. By the 1890s, there were over 100 wineries in the foothill region, more than in Napa and Sonoma counties together at the time! Trouble came to the California wine industry in it’s entirety in the form of America’s Prohibition, and Amador County was hit hard. It took Amador a long time to bounce back and wasn’t until the 1970’s that wine was once again flowing from this region in any significant quantity. Continue reading »