tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post8100057301955877561..comments2024-03-18T04:47:16.199-07:00Comments on The Gray Report: More unnatural wine and other notesW. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-34491959837880868852010-10-25T11:33:48.925-07:002010-10-25T11:33:48.925-07:00Thank you Jacob, you made my morning.
On the brig...Thank you Jacob, you made my morning.<br /><br />On the bright side, our food supply is better than it was 20 years ago; there are so many more natural choices available, mainly because civilians care and vote with their wallets. I always hope for the same with wine.W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-75161453335402140542010-10-25T11:00:09.015-07:002010-10-25T11:00:09.015-07:00I'm a civilian and do care about this stuff. I...I'm a civilian and do care about this stuff. I see how industrialization has ruined our food supply and don't want the same to happen with wine. Also a big fan of your blog.Jacob, Western MAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-39139944612838766782010-10-21T16:04:58.358-07:002010-10-21T16:04:58.358-07:00Blake--
A couple of added comments will help here...Blake--<br /><br />A couple of added comments will help here, I think.<br /><br />The ratings referenced in the book come from the tastings for Connoisseurs' Guide to California, a monthly print newsletter that has been in business for 35 years and keeps on ticking. We do have an Online Edition, which readers of your blog can view at www.cgcw.com.<br /><br />But the reason there are not Charlie Olkenhttp://www.cgcw.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-6022493143603878142010-10-21T11:38:45.972-07:002010-10-21T11:38:45.972-07:00Ron: Clark Smith rocks. And rolls. There, I said i...Ron: Clark Smith rocks. And rolls. There, I said it.W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-33951059779128946182010-10-21T11:38:00.853-07:002010-10-21T11:38:00.853-07:00Charles: On the day that I say an author should no...Charles: On the day that I say an author should not be opinionated, you have the right to toss a glass of wine in my face, Glee style.<br /><br />Glad to have you reading. I like the winery summaries in the book -- that's why I want to see more of them. If they were colorless recitations of the personnel and wine lineup, I wouldn't care.<br /><br />I do have a bone to pick with the way W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-9434809886556022582010-10-21T10:37:43.749-07:002010-10-21T10:37:43.749-07:00I can't believe that no one has invoked the na...I can't believe that no one has invoked the name, nor have we heard from, Clark Smith!The artist formerly known as The WineGuyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12706169234713172150noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-73344749095988428122010-10-21T08:44:21.176-07:002010-10-21T08:44:21.176-07:00Thanks for the mention of my new book. You are cer...Thanks for the mention of my new book. You are certainly right. Between chapters on history, winemaking, long essays on each significant grape in production in California, what else to read and wine language, not to mention 25 maps and almost 500 wineries included at about 2/3 page per entry, many very deserving wineries got left out. There 3,000 bonded wineries and 2,000 second and negotiant Charlie Olkenhttp://www.cgcw.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-22127337579596356582010-10-20T13:37:17.885-07:002010-10-20T13:37:17.885-07:00Thanks Mark, and Anon as well.
I really believe m...Thanks Mark, and Anon as well.<br /><br />I really believe most wine drinkers don't care how the sausage is made. There's a very vocal group of natural wine aficionados who do care, but I don't think they're a very big part of the market.<br /><br />One reason to support legal deregulation of alcohol is to allow wineries and customers who belong together, to get together. A W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-76974437154060752802010-10-20T04:09:27.549-07:002010-10-20T04:09:27.549-07:00You're just scratching the surface. Wineries w...You're just scratching the surface. Wineries will only tell you what can be said, not what cannot be said.<br />In my old days as a winemaker I've discovered ( some of, but not all) the countless ways wineries use for cheating. Or should I say, we would consider cheating if we knew.<br />Including the "organic" ones.<br /> Suffice to say that I eventually gave up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-39965861176202589282010-10-20T02:57:31.363-07:002010-10-20T02:57:31.363-07:00Blake - I am a recent 'subscriber' to your...Blake - I am a recent 'subscriber' to your blogs. I am not in the wine business whatsoever. I am what I would descrive as an 'enthusiast'. I have a small-0medium size collection at home (450-500 bottles) and I love to explore the wider world of wine through the mainstream publications and, more regularly, blogs like yours.<br /><br />To answer your question - yes, people like Mark Sinnott, Issaquah WAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-17377621131086763122010-10-19T12:35:03.856-07:002010-10-19T12:35:03.856-07:00Blake,
Honestly, I wouldn't be at all surpris...Blake,<br /><br />Honestly, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a winery had tried the techniques that Dan mentions. My problem is that Dan seems to try and take something that has happened at one place and "spin it" into something that is happening everywhere (at least he does that if it is a technique he disagrees with). <br /><br />By not mentioning names, it is easier to make itAdam Lee/Siduri Winesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-72884595154729974912010-10-19T10:15:33.004-07:002010-10-19T10:15:33.004-07:00Hey Adam, thanks for the clarification on point 1....Hey Adam, thanks for the clarification on point 1.<br /><br />On point 2, I talked with Dan in person about it and I believed him, but you're right, he didn't name names. I think there's a legitimate reason in wanting to protect his sources. Dan has a lot of credibility for me as a reporter, but it's also true that there's no way, technologically, for people to dispute a W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-68309505945043832132010-10-19T10:12:26.830-07:002010-10-19T10:12:26.830-07:00Corollary to Adam's first point: in some cases...Corollary to Adam's first point: in some cases, "native" yeast that complete high-sugar ferments might be "contamination" by commercial strains. <br /><br />A month ago Gizmodo did a bit on Ken Wright using his evaporator to "correct" washed out vintages: <br />http://gizmodo.com/5639856/we-must-boil-this-wine-to-save-itJohn M. Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18343670865804216103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-46178856832850077732010-10-19T10:00:16.179-07:002010-10-19T10:00:16.179-07:00Blake,
Just a couple of things.
1) Don't re...Blake,<br /><br />Just a couple of things.<br /><br />1) Don't really find that native yeasts necessarily have any less ability to ferment to high alcohol levels than commercial yeasts. Commercial yeasts are, in many cases, simply isolates from a ferment that worked.<br /><br />2) I thought Dan Berger's example of wineries going thru all of that process was hysterical. As is usual, heAdam Lee/Siduri Winesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-79588929625479583632010-10-19T09:46:46.220-07:002010-10-19T09:46:46.220-07:00Hey Jon, thanks for your comment.
I once spent a ...Hey Jon, thanks for your comment.<br /><br />I once spent a day driving around with Barry; it was like going with a country doctor on his rounds. This wine needs a little acidity, that one's got an infection ... that was one of the most memorable days I've ever spent as a wine journalist.W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-61115929092993668892010-10-19T08:42:39.760-07:002010-10-19T08:42:39.760-07:00As you pointed out, Blake, there really is, in my ...As you pointed out, Blake, there really is, in my opinion, a whole different mindset when it comes to making a mass-market wine vs. a high-quality wine expressing terroir. As Barry Gnekow mentioned, those making high volumes think like cooks reaching for the best gadgets to deal with often less-than-stellar fruit. It's all about <i>creating</i> flavors that will be appealing.<br /><br />BarryJon Bjorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08915787145103864827noreply@blogger.com