The recent attack by anti-GMO activists on an experimental planting of biotech grapes in a government-funded site in Colmar, France raises some thought provoking discussion about public safety, burden of proof and the nature of the public commons.

An article by Davis grad and plant pathologist Steve Savage "A Sad Day for Wine, A Sad Day for Science" articulates one side of the debate, and there is lively and civil discussion in the comments, including some by yours truly. Recommended reading.

Continue reading "Science and Politics" »

Stuart Smith is hosting a lively discussion debunking biodynamics on his blog.

My contribution:

Continue reading "Science vs Biodynamics" »

Clark- can you elaborate on the following text from your TONG paper? Specifically, the relationship between "active tannins and sulfides"? Also, what do you mean by "field oxidation"?

"Alcohol adjustment enabled California winemakers to achieve full ripeness, but that resulted in new problems. Ripe musts full of well-extracted, active tannins produce stinky sulfides. These unpleasant but transitory compounds are a sign of healthy life energy, but they are disconcerting to the novice winemaker and require a new skill set.

Instead, reductive behavior in highly concentrated wines like Cabernet and Syrah has prompted many winemakers to drive the life energy out of their grapes by excessive hangtime and field oxidation."

Thanks,
Ken

Continue reading "Field Oxidation" »

Apropos of nothing, I just had to repost this item off Jancis Robinson's blog commenting on her article about Canadian wines. It's among the funniest things I ever heard.

Continue reading "Jesus Saves PEI Vineyards" »

I'm hosting a pretty thorough discussion on minerality at wine.woot this week. Recommended reading.

Interesting discussion on Snooth.com about Parker's closing his site.

I like this discussion centered around costs and value. A public posting board is like a public park, and it is easier to maintain than a building with sticks and bricks and a staff.

Continue reading "Sympathy for the Devil" »

Here's a link to my recent article interviewing my great friend Randall Grahm. It's not your typical RG article, and if you are a winemaker yourself, it contains much food for thought to ponder your relationship with the public and perhaps with your Marketing Department.

I have been writing this column for Wines and Vines on Postmodern Winemaking since January, and the previous articles are now posted. I strongly recommend the whole series to lovers of this blog, starting with January's column, The Solution Problem: Overcoming Enology.

What serendipity. Jo Diaz had cooked up on her own an idea about pairing the jazz piano and bluesy vocals of Alacia Van with a pile of Petite Sirahs, and invited me along without any notion of the work I’ve done on the subject. It was her notion that we could pair each of the 15 wines with a different selection.

I told her this wasn’t likely to work. Either we would see no good pairings at all, or there would be groups of emotional modalities which would cluster around one song or another.

Continue reading "Petite Sirahs and All That Jazz" »

Monday was a truly remarkable day organized by Jo and Jose Diaz of PS I Love You and well recounted by Ken Paxton's Reign of Terroir. My own account has been delayed by the necessity of a redeye flight to Charlotte immediately thereafter and a combination of intensely working the market and being jetlagged out of my mind ever since. Still, with the others blogging, I should at least give you the link from here to my research on wine and music, with a followup report on this fascinating day promised shortly.

Recent published papers by statistician and winery owner Robert Hodgson on judge unreliability and on the inconsistency of awards in 13 U.S. wine competitions have created a well-deserved scandal surrounding the inconsistency of wine competitions in awarding medals. To explore the notion that competitions could be more effective if judges are given target profiles, this year’s Riverside International Wine Competition has agreed to allow me to conduct an experiment in the Petite Sirah category with regionally based style profiles provided to the judges.

For more on this story, check out (and contribute to) Jo Diaz' blog on the subject.

When I teach, I like to ask for responses from the class, to get them thinking actively. This doesn’t always go so well, but the one query they never have trouble with is “What’s the Prime Directive for white wine?”

“Fresh.” They get it every time.

Yet wine can be and often is too fresh. Even the most flowery, delicate sauvignon blanc needs a little time to emerge. And I defy anyone to show me a rosé that isn’t better in year two than in year one – I include White Zin in this.

Continue reading "Don’t Get Fresh With Me" »

Clark:

What can one stand to gain by making multivintage/nonvintage blends?
What are the pitfalls and drawbacks of multivintage/nonvintage blends?

Arthur Z. Przebinda
Founder and Publisher
redwinebuzz.com

Arthur:

The truth? Let me get on my hobbyhorse. Removing the constraint of vintage purity gives the winemaker more freedom to blend for consistency, complexity and balance. Thus non-vintage wines are without exception a superior product and a better deal for the consumer.

Continue reading "Vintage, Schmintage" »

Hi I'm not sure this is the right place to ask this question but ive spent weeks researching with little results; I make wine, for myself not as a business, and now i know that filtration can be looked down upon, and I personally dont require it for my wine, however the woman I intend to marry has an slight intollerance to yeast and can only drink wines filtered to a kosher degree (i
know its .4 something microns right?) and she Loves wine, especially my wine, so i would like to filter half of all my batches(or all if im as pleased after filtration as i was before) for her to be able to enjoy it; would you happen to know of a relatively cheap($100-150 initial investment) filtration method for home use that would produce kosher (yeast free) wine? I'd heard that forcing it through some under the sink water filters that go to the right micron size can work-having the right micron size filter-? Thanks in advance for your time, if you cant answer my entire question maybe you can tell me what exact size/micron filter im looking for to remove yeast?

Enraged Poet

Continue reading "Home Clarification" »

Clark,

I have a technical question about my wine list that I hope you can help me with.

A winemaker says he does not spray any chemicals on his grapes and says he is "natural without compromises". But he uses copper and sulphur, as well as treatments based on propolis. So I'm not sure if he would be organic or natural or sustainable. Can you give me some guidance? He's in Italy, not the US by the way.

Thanks,
Michael

Continue reading "Organic, Natural or Sustainable?" »

Here at last is a two minute video which captures the essence of wine's distribution network in the U.S. as it malfunctions in a down economy. Also the funniest video I ever saw.

The simple truth of this situation explains why the channels of access for the 150,000+ wines on the market need to go beyond the 2,000 shelf positions in even a very large store. The system is choked with crap.

No wonder pundits complain about sameness. But the enemy isn't technology -- it's the distribution system. These people simply aren't tasting what's out there. There are more great, distinctive American wines available to day than ever before in history; literally a hundred times as many as in 1975, But the internet is your only access to them. To provide guidance through that fascinating but daunting maze is why I started charting the AVA's at AppellationAmerica.com. Despite its problems, the Best-Of-Appellation process continues, now self-sustaining. Yours for a buck a week.