Bloomberg analyzes the impact on California wine of the recent changes at the Wine Advocate. SIPPED and SPIT: journalists at sommelier competitions. Alan Richman participated in several events of the Best Sommelier in America contest. Oh, and the last graf reveas that Alexander Lapratt od db Bistro Moderne was the winner. SPIT: corks. MORE >>

Or the Champagne section where the buyer didn’t get the memo about the exciting grower Champagnes that have made it to our shores in the last decade. My curiosity was piqued: was this state store a wine lover’s nirvana, delivering on the promise of great prices thanks to their bulk buying? bit of both. wine shops MORE >>

Fred Franzia : The California-based creator of Two Buck Chuck, which debuted in 2002, believes that no wine should sell for more than $10 a bottle. Terry Theise : wine importer who has championed “grower&# champagnes, ones from those who grow the grapes as opposed to large houses. Now it’s voting time! MORE >>

Last week, a judge ruled in favor of Cristal champagne over the cava Cristalino. Champagne Louis Roederer has several wine properties outside of Champagne including Domaine Ott in Provence, Chateau Pichon-Lalande in Bordeaux, and Roederer Estate in California. And it wasn’t a taste test. MORE >>

Franzia had this to say about the flags in the story: “No California flag–they’ve screwed us too many times. Fred Franzia, creator of Two Buck Chuck and founder of Bronco Wine Co, has a somewhat laudable if self-serving goal: no wine should sell for over ten dollars a bottle. We shouldn’t fly the US flag, the bastards. MORE >>