Some California wineries are going all Rioja and consciously holding wines back for bottle aging–sometimes a decade or more–at the winery. The New Zealand wine industry faces challenges, as bulk exports rise and prices fall. SIPPED: number crunching. WS editor Tom Matthews responds to the research. Revolutionary!! NYT ]. MORE >>

It’s the story of a young man who discovers a love of wine during a trip to Germany in the late sixties and who subsequently moves to a fictional California town to make great wines. But unlike our own (ig)noble experiment, at least they haven’t crippled a burgeoning wine industry, the effects of which took generations to repair. MORE >>

It's too hard to get a real sense of the wines when you quickly taste 80 of them, especially amidst the cacophony of an industry tasting. tasted none of the Jenny and François Languedoc wines, almost none of the Rhône wines, none of their interesting Bordeaux selections, nothing from Italy, not one of Tony Coturri's California wines, etc. MORE >>

use to think all US wine came from California or New York. Knowledgeable of the industry, well written, opinionated and fun to read. I am sitting here feeling bad because I missed adding a new post last week. Had a lot to do, kept busy but did check in on my favorite bloggers. Let's hope, that is my retirement venture. know I can't. MORE >>

» Chardonnay in California: Part Five January 19, 2009 When I got this assignment a friend in Portland said, "Al, its going to kill you." Even though she didnt taste them all, but a good spectrum of about 50 wines from all over California, shes of the opinion that there are more styles of the wine available than a decade ago. MORE >>