tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92102357676438628722012-01-27T14:08:15.387-08:00Musings on wine, food, sake and other stuff from W. Blake Gray, Certified Wine ProfessionalW. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comBlogger4381100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-41240788041283078542012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-26T06:00:03.008-08:00

California had its second small vintage in a row in 2011. Italy had its smallest wine grape crop in 60 years. Australia is still battling drought; yields are way down. The crop in Spain is smaller than normal. So forget about vintage ratings: the way to characterize 2011 wines from most of the world is going to be "expensive." This was the main thing I learned at the Unified Wine & Grape

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-56540307057304154722012-01-25T07:30:00.000-08:002012-01-25T07:30:00.615-08:00

"Red wine gives me a headache. I must be allergic to sulfites." No, you're not. Some people are allergic to sulfites; it can be a life-threatening condition. They can go into anaphylactic shock and die. Sulfite allergy can cause "labored breathing, wheezing, gas, diarrhea, bloating, vomiting, skin hives and a severe drop in blood pressure." (Here's a link.) But sulfites do not cause red wine

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-80457550026323477742012-01-24T06:30:00.000-08:002012-01-24T06:30:00.976-08:00

Tasty -- and the bottle is pretty Sake may be ancient, but its quality revolution is recent. The first daiginjos were made in the 20th century to win competitions and weren't sold to the public. When Dewazakura introduced its affordable Oka ginjo sake in 1981, it was a huge leap. At the time, sake was associated with cheap, high-volume drinking, and the drink of Japanese connoisseurs was

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-17640273997238569322012-01-23T06:30:00.000-08:002012-01-23T08:46:16.496-08:00

This week I have the honor of moderating a panel at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, California's biggest annual wine industry get-together. I'd like to tap your brain beforehand. The panel is called "How to Successfully Market Each Vintage, Despite the Weather." That's a polite way of saying, "How to sell wines from a vintage that certain publications have already trashed." If you're

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-11162657741573047252012-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-20T09:45:34.102-08:00

Wineries hoping to seduce drinkers with a sweet tooth have it easy: They can blast their grapes with fungicide, and apparently that will not only simplify farming, but might help sell the wine. Five Spanish scientists published a study last summer that might have gone unnoticed if not for the Academic Wino, aka Becca Yeamans, who posted it on her blog yesterday. I'll cut to the chase: White

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-36423549715507976832012-01-18T06:30:00.000-08:002012-01-18T09:17:27.402-08:00

Brazil has real cowboys and plenty of livestock farming; it's the vineyard in the background that's unusual I'm pawing through wine bottles at a party. People around me are clinking glasses, smiling, chatting in French and Portuguese and Spanish, but I'm grimly grabbing one bottle after another. This was my quest to identify my second-favorite wine in Brazil. Admittedly it's not exactly

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-54950490430645197602012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-17T06:00:05.190-08:00

I was never a Beaujolais fan, and one thing that always turns me off is the smugness of fans writing about it. That may sound silly, as Beaujolais is one of the world's most commercially underappreciated wine regions. But Beaujolais lovers often open with an attack on every other red wine in the world: Too big! Too oaky! Not representative of terroir! Pathetic manipulated beverages for

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-61771180166925420572012-01-12T07:30:00.000-08:002012-01-12T07:30:02.661-08:00

Normally I'm bored by discussions of the 100-point scale, but I had a brief Twitter conversation earlier this week that gave me a small new insight. One of the objections of scale haters is that a rating is treated as an immutable truth by some of the audience, while this is not the true experience of wine. Wine tasting has so many variables. Some wines are better with food. Wines have bottle

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-62623873991558362422012-01-10T07:02:00.000-08:002012-01-10T07:02:00.675-08:00

I was unhappy when the US government last month expanded the Russian River Valley. That sounds like the Army Corps of Engineers blasted a path through an obstruction. In fact, it was a major legal victory for Gallo, which owns the 380-acre Two Rock Vineyard that's now in the prestigious RRV appellation. Within a few hours of publishing my complaint, I got an email from a Gallo PR rep.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-13906485148930101222012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-09T06:00:02.574-08:00

Though I'm a Certified Wine Professional, I've never worked in retail sales or as a sommelier. But recently I had a fun encounter at my local food shop that made me realize somms and retailers have many days where they love what they do. I overheard a woman ask the clerk, "Do you have any Tempranillos?" That piqued my interest. Who in California asks for Tempranillo -- not Rioja -- and why?

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-23214891815470139202012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-04T06:00:00.777-08:00

"Why would I want alcohol-free whiskey?" If you ask that question, the answer is, you wouldn't. However, what if you can't drink alcohol because of your religion? ArKay is certified Halal, and the bottle's green and gold pattern reminds me of shopping in the Middle East. Also, some people can't drink for medical reasons. How many TV dramas show somebody smuggling a bottle of Scotch to a

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-23531692978612718602011-12-31T13:33:00.000-08:002012-01-01T10:17:09.333-08:00

Wine Review Online asks me, along with each of its other writers, to pick a winery and wine of the year each year. It's never an easy choice, and this year I was stymied by the idea that the wineries and wines I most wanted to pick, I had already raved about. I am very impressed by the turnaround at Barone Ricasoli, but I already wrote that story for WRO. I tasted the best Chardonnay I've ever

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-5115669159778766532011-12-28T07:06:00.000-08:002011-12-28T09:02:59.726-08:00

This is the worst week for sparkling wine, though most people think the opposite. This is the week when casual drinkers walk into the grocery store, or the warehouse, looking for an obligatory bottle. It's not what they want; it's what they feel they must. So they go cheap; wouldn't you? Why pay $20 for something that isn't what you feel like drinking anyway? They buy cheap bubbly. If

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-85291949024753151152011-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:002011-12-30T16:13:27.355-08:00

Napa Valley had been holding its breath for months, waiting to see if the steroid era of inflated ratings for muscle wines would end when Antonio Galloni took over as California critic for the Wine Advocate. Galloni's first ratings came out last week. Those hoping for a change in philosophy got a few crumbs, notably ratings over 90 points for Cathy Corison. But much more is the same under

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-55370598619867772462011-12-23T07:11:00.000-08:002011-12-23T07:11:00.081-08:00

It's been a little serious on this blog lately, so let's lighten the mood. I found this display of canned cheese in Mexico on the Yucatan peninsula, near the Belize border. Why they have canned Dutch cheese there, I don't know. But you gotta like that brand name. "Honey, would you pass the Cock cheese?" Merry Christmas folks. I'll be back next week to talk about Italian bubbly, Gallo

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-50242041650617807242011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:002011-12-20T06:00:02.688-08:00

An important role of journalism is to publish facts and let the general public decide on their importance. Thus, under the watchful eyes of the Wine Advocate's large law firm, I'm going to put the following conversation on the public record. I pursued a purported scandal. A Sonoma County reader told me that he was being asked to pay the Sonoma County Vintners Association to have his wine

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com63tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-24838266368495212952011-12-19T06:40:00.000-08:002011-12-19T06:40:45.232-08:00

We're all wine lovers here. I've written the "wine gift guide" story for mainstream newspapers, and that requires a lot more explanation. But you and me, let's cut to the chase. Here are some gift ideas for different types of people. Gifts for casual/Two-Buck Chuck drinkers Don't try to blow them away with their first great bottle of Burgundy. They might not open it, and if they do,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-46112909465292792582011-12-16T07:00:00.000-08:002011-12-16T07:00:01.638-08:00

I've got a new gig (part-time) blogging on occasion for Crushpad, the Sonoma County business that allows anyone to make your own wine. My first post, about when you should decant wine, is up already, and I have written three more that will presumably run in the next few weeks. It's an interesting gig because I'm being paid a minimum for each post plus a small amount for every page view,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-11041797538233416942011-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:002011-12-15T09:55:49.928-08:00

My column this month for Wine Review Online is a little counter-programming to what you'll read about wine everywhere else in December. Most folks are writing about heavy reds, Port and of course, Champagne. So for me, it's the perfect time to write about New Zealand Riesling. This was a strange column for me, because so often I try to delve into issues, or introduce personalities. Here, I

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-56217623571129137622011-12-14T06:30:00.000-08:002011-12-14T09:57:44.607-08:00

When the Soviet Union divided up production responsibilities for the Eastern Bloc, Belarus was put in charge of making tractors, while Soviet planners told Hungary: "You make wine." Naturally the Communists botched the details of making good wine for the same reason that extreme capitalists do: They concentrated on volume and easy farming. But that doesn't mean their initial decision was wrong.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-82117888466474618432011-12-13T06:30:00.000-08:002011-12-13T06:30:00.401-08:00

Zachary Levi as "Chuck" Rombauer Chardonnay, swigged out of the bottle, apparently boosts computer hackers' proficiency. That's what we learned from watching the NBC show "Chuck" last week. It looked like a product placement -- the label was prominently displayed, and the brand was named in the script. But I called Rombauer on Monday and it turns out they were as surprised to see star Zachary

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-8109306108084052942011-12-12T06:30:00.000-08:002011-12-12T06:30:01.959-08:00

If I ever spend any significant time in prison, I'm going to ask someone to mail me a few packets of Spike Your Juice. This fascinating product allows you to turn almost any kind of juice into wine in just 48 hours. It's really simple: It's nothing more than a small 1g packet of yeast and sugar; smaller than a sugar packet you'd add to coffee. That, and a rubber stopper and airlock is all you

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-84842212920133918862011-12-07T06:12:00.000-08:002011-12-07T06:12:00.841-08:00

The small community that makes USDA-labeled "organic wine" won a crucial, final victory last week to protect its market share. The National Organic Standards Board voted 9-5 to continue to prohibit sulfites from being added to "organic wine." This came after the NOSB handling committee, which better understood the issue, voted 5-0 in October to support the inclusion of sulfites in organic wine

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-51800079668934541812011-12-06T06:25:00.000-08:002011-12-06T08:42:37.552-08:00

For the past two days, representatives of the Wine Advocate have been trying to convince the media that Jay Miller's departure has nothing to do with the pay-for-play scandal still emerging in Spain. OK, I'm convinced. Jay Miller quit on his own, months before the scandal broke. Stipulated. But ... why is the Wine Advocate working so hard to establish that? Because what it means is that the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-47431794873987402002011-12-05T06:08:00.000-08:002011-12-05T06:08:00.355-08:00

I've been laid off from jobs I loved, most recently after a few glorious months as food editor at SF Weekly. When that happened, I know a few restaurateurs, a reader or three, and a bunch of non-readers did a little jig or opened a bottle of sparkling wine. And I've taken a buyout from a wine writer/editor position at a major publication, the San Francisco Chronicle. As with any position like

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-20280381349280737122011-12-01T10:25:00.000-08:002011-12-04T23:38:06.848-08:00

NEW INFORMATION: Apparently Jay Miller will no longer review wine for the Wine Advocate. It's a red letter day for wines of balance in Spain and Washington! (Hence this blog post is now a little outdated, but I'll leave it up anyway.) Looks like wine journalist Jim Budd -- and maybe me as well? -- might need a legal defense fund. Yesterday I asked Robert Parker to respond publicly to

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-23476247637085550332011-11-30T08:15:00.000-08:002011-12-04T19:23:41.817-08:00

Pancho Campo (l) with Jay Miller. Courtesy interempresas.net, via Jim's Loire blog Wine blogger Jim Budd has scored a journalistic coup: Proof that Wine Advocate critic Jay Miller's visits to wineries are for sale. Budd's post details an offer made on Miller's behalf to make a short visit to "3 or 4" wineries in the Madrid D.O. for "half his usual rate" -- 20,000 Euros (US $27,000), plus VAT,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-6593214879276296232011-11-29T07:10:00.000-08:002011-11-29T08:53:45.181-08:00

I don't know if Chinese wine buyers are suckers, but Yao Ming sure thinks they are. The retired NBA player is selling a brand of wine named after him -- for 1775 yuan (US $289) a bottle! There's nothing inherently ridiculous about a $300 bottle of wine from Napa Valley. Colgin, Screaming Eagle, Harlan Estate, Hundred Acre and others I'm probably not thinking of sell wines in that price

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-77831193895732097642011-11-28T05:28:00.000-08:002011-11-28T05:28:00.867-08:00

Italians are some of the best cultural influencers on the wine world. French abroad tend to either shoot for greatness or discover the true meaning of the local terroir, and both are admirable. But Italians abroad, in my experience, tend to try to make wines that go with dinner. I discovered the latest example of this by accident. I had a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc that was superb: delicious,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-17188253151895156912011-11-23T08:31:00.000-08:002011-11-23T08:32:11.872-08:00

How many margaritas did I have in Cancun? Many. Yes folks, I, professional drinker W. Blake Gray, was in court yesterday for a DUI trial. Fortunately it wasn't mine. I was serving on jury duty, but once again I didn't get picked. I didn't get sent home quite as quickly as my first ever appearance, when I was a reporter in a small central Florida town. The judge, Ernest "Buddy" Aulls, who

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-88734331154155691632011-11-21T06:43:00.000-08:002011-11-21T06:43:00.075-08:00

I can't wait for the Russian River Valley versions of these fine Gallo wines In Sonoma County, E. & J. Gallo Winery is like a rich, heavily armed neighbor who likes to store old cars on blocks in the front yard. Gallo -- which makes Thunderbird, a longtime favorite of derelicts -- devalues everyone's property, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Gallo won another legal victory over

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-77275900231811768742011-11-17T06:34:00.000-08:002011-11-17T06:34:00.705-08:00

Doug Fabbioli in his vineyard My column in Wine Review Online this week is about a guy trying to make Virginia's first world-class, $100 wine. Here's a little extra about another guy trying to make a living. Doug Fabbioli worked for Buena Vista Winery in Carneros for 10 years and had reached assistant winemaker when the winemaker said, "You're ready to be the winemaker, but I'm not going to

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-68438775413968208502011-11-16T06:38:00.000-08:002011-11-16T06:38:00.678-08:00

I'll make them drink Cabernet with their spicy Indian food I felt like Snidely Whiplash on Monday: an international villain. I woke up in Brazil to discover I was being mocked in Boston for saying Japanese sake is better than American (sorry, it is). More significantly, I am now the poster child in Sydney, Australia for the idea that food and wine pairing is unimportant. I wish a big paper

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-2779858419251083432011-11-14T08:30:00.000-08:002011-11-14T08:30:04.216-08:00

Last week I wanted a really good Chardonnay. I rooted through my white Burgundies, bottles from  Sonoma County vintners I like, and one great one from Chile, but when my hand touched this, it was all over. It seems like Americans never talk about Australian wine anymore, except with words like "crisis" or "drought." Looking at wine lists, it feels like the top end Aussie wines have dropped off

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-63390018950135239892011-11-11T06:51:00.000-08:002011-11-11T06:51:00.877-08:00

I don't often write about auctions, but Christie's has a lot next week that's worth a mention not only for the quality of the wine, but for the star power and weirdness. Lot No. 128 offers the winner not only 6 bottles of Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 1911 -- you also get dinner prepared and hosted by Mario Batali in the private wine cellar of his NY restaurant Del Posto. Gwyneth Paltrow is "

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-22806658657506841532011-11-10T07:11:00.000-08:002011-11-10T07:11:00.936-08:00

Shot at Ocean Pride, Baltimore, Maryland. Tip: Ask if they're heavy today. Follow me on Twitter: @wblakegray and like The Gray Report on Facebook.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-82888892181114223692011-11-08T07:45:00.000-08:002011-11-08T07:45:02.335-08:00

I took this photo of fermenting wine recently when visiting a winery. But what kind of wine is it? The first person to guess right in the comments wins an official Gray Report No Prize.* * (no apologies to Stan Lee, the bastard killed Gwen Stacy) Follow me on Twitter: @wblakegray and like The Gray Report on Facebook.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-12559573453110532082011-11-07T07:57:00.000-08:002011-11-08T11:30:29.523-08:00

Lime soup from Labná restaurant in Cancun On a trip last week to Cancun I had plenty of great cochinita pibil -- pork marinated in bitter orange and slow-roasted -- but I expected that. The dish that made the biggest impression on me was simple, comforting and yet also stimulating: Lime soup. It helps that the Yucatan peninsula grows great high-acidity limes that the locals squeeze on

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-38691348107920174482011-11-02T09:30:00.000-07:002011-11-02T09:30:01.258-07:00

During my gig as food editor at SF Weekly, I set out to review every dim sum restaurant in the city. I'm a big fan of dim sum so this was a labor of dumpling love. When the job ended, I got an unexpected side benefit: I no longer have to worry about giving every lesser dim sum place a chance. I feared I wouldn't be able to return to my favorites for more than a year; now I can go back every

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-10851939935908836182011-11-01T07:13:00.000-07:002011-11-01T07:13:00.324-07:00

Bruce Schoenfeld recently tweeted "Why is local food writing so much worse than local sports writing?" I promised him an answer, so here it is. I'm one of the most qualified people in America to answer this question, as I've worked on the staff of major newspapers first in sports, then in food. Note from my headline that my answer is simple. It's not that sportswriting is good: newspaper food

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-71973433600443034292011-10-31T07:31:00.000-07:002011-10-31T07:31:12.749-07:00

I was in Middleburg, Virginia recently in the heart of Loudoun County, probably the best wine-tourism area in the mid-Atlantic region (more about the wines soon). I had just had lunch at the ancient Red Fox Inn -- built in 1728, the peanut soup is still a keeper -- when I passed this dog on the street advertising a tasting room. The dog seemed to enjoy the work; it paraded up and down the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-74972300638208626092011-10-28T08:48:00.000-07:002011-10-28T10:17:45.450-07:00

This week I started writing a monthly column for Palate Press, a publication I like a lot and previously served on the editorial board of. If you haven't read it before, here's my usual description: it's for real wine aficionados, aka wine geeks. Like me. Sometimes I seem kind of mainstream for Palate Press, because I write stuff defending the 100-point scale. So Palate Press readers might be

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-57198097252595562652011-10-26T08:50:00.000-07:002011-10-26T08:50:00.347-07:00

Josh Greene enjoying the rooftop Wine & Spirits Top 100 tasting in San Francisco Wine & Spirits magazine has quietly drawn an interesting line in the sand: It has no Bordeaux wineries in its Top 100 wineries in the world. "Bordeaux gets plenty of attention in other places," says Wine & Spirits editor Josh Greene. True, but it's a bold stance. For most drinkers over the age of 35, Bordeaux

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-48102120656521188262011-10-25T06:40:00.000-07:002011-10-25T06:40:00.189-07:00

Estate vineyards at Barone Ricasoli My most recent column for Wine Review Online is about the turnaround at Barone Ricasoli, one of Italy's best wineries for centuries that had fallen on hard times under absentee ownership in the 1990s. The baron bought his winery back and revitalized it. I'm not going to retell the story here; read it at Wine Review Online. But I do want to share a tasting

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-52608942693947971472011-10-24T07:00:00.000-07:002011-10-24T07:00:09.519-07:00

Organic grape growers seeking a better chance to make the additional money their efforts deserve got one step closer last week. A petition to allow USDA Organic wine to include sulfites cleared the second -- and perhaps most significant -- of four procedural hurdles. "We think this step was pretty crucial," said Steven Hoffman, managing director of Compass Natural in Boulder, Col. "But the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-49912469745654169012011-10-20T08:27:00.000-07:002011-10-20T08:27:00.316-07:00

Some of you noticed I hadn't posted very often lately. The reason was that I spent the summer doing a day job as food editor at SF Weekly: a job I was recently laid off from, as part of Village Voice Media's nationwide cuts. I've written about food here and there for more than 20 years, but this was the first time I had a full-time job immersed in the world of food -- not wine and spirits.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-34263568106939468662011-10-19T07:01:00.000-07:002011-10-19T07:01:00.402-07:00

Today I welcome guest poster Adam Lee, owner/winemaker of Siduri and Novy,  with a rebuttal to my post yesterday.  Adam Lee in Pisoni Vineyard in warmer, happier days Yesterday, I fired off a rather abrupt (re: pissed off) email to Blake after his column on the 2011 growing season. Blake graciously asked me to polish my email into a column. Thank you for this opportunity, Blake. First off,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-26775348442460447992011-10-18T07:56:00.000-07:002011-10-18T07:56:00.639-07:00

This is the worst way to decide if grapes are ripe enough What makes a great vintage in California? According to Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate, it's a hot, dry summer where the grapes get really ripe. For the last fortnight hard rains hit northern California, and people who hadn't yet picked their grapes -- which included most makers of red wine -- are now dealing with water-bloated

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-13800201143540266042011-10-17T06:38:00.000-07:002011-10-17T06:38:00.070-07:00

On Saturday I deleted a lengthy interview with tasting notes that I wrote up months before, in which I said most of the wines were, for me, undrinkable. After seeing that the cult status for this winery is rising, I tweeted about it and a few other writers wanted me to reveal the winery. I won't. My reasons have partly to do with the winemaker, but mostly to do with my relationship with the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-12953764897809430202011-10-12T06:26:00.000-07:002011-10-15T19:30:47.966-07:00

Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Reserve Casablanca Valley Pinot Noir 2010 ($9)  Critic's rating: 90 There's probably no harder thing to find in the wine world than a good, cheap Pinot Noir. The grape doesn't lend itself to budget viticulture. It wants to be picked by hand and gently crushed, not shaken off its vine by a machine and roughly tossed around in a giant tank. Mainly, though,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-21228642854461331412011-10-11T06:23:00.000-07:002011-10-15T19:31:04.971-07:00

This wine was sooo cheap Last week I had perhaps the greatest set of wines I've ever had at a single meal, and considering the freebie meals I get invited to, that's saying something. But this time I was paying, along with six of my friends, so the budget wasn't unlimited. It was a special occasion, so we splurged on one name-brand: a DRC La Tache, but we bought a vintage (1992) that wasn't

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-74560179877235743442011-10-04T10:48:00.000-07:002011-10-04T10:48:00.382-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Alicia Villaneuva watched with pride as a helper drove a small cart -- much heavier than a Costco grocery cart, but not much bigger -- onto a spot arranged for her in Justin Hermann Plaza, across from the Ferry Building in San Francisco. This is the next step in Villaneuva's American dream, which started 10 years ago when she came from Mazatlan, Mexico to Berkeley. "Like

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-27937527058765538322011-09-29T05:29:00.000-07:002011-09-29T09:51:47.386-07:00

This is what law enforcement was up to in 1922. Courtesy New York Daily News. Ken Burns' "Prohibition," which starts next week on PBS, is a nice piece of filmmaking; well worth investing three nights for a view of American history. It's also more political than his previous work, which is unavoidable because prohibition was all about politics. But Burns is cautious in his conclusion, harping

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-49877108881892021712011-09-27T06:50:00.000-07:002011-09-27T13:37:36.048-07:00

I had the good fortune to visit New Mexico recently, ostensibly to taste my way through the impressive portfolio of Gruet, the state's leading winery. I wrote this column about it for Wine Review Online. (Sorry, the tasting notes and scores are behind WRO's pay wall.) I had some time to kill on a Sunday afternoon after absolutely stuffing my face at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center: blue corn

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-22008348694954911252011-09-20T06:42:00.000-07:002011-09-20T06:42:00.695-07:00

Biodynamics and "natural" wine share some philosophy. Adherents of both believe, essentially, that a wine should represent the land from which it's made. Biodynamics takes it to a level of religious practice. One tenet is that nothing should come from outside the farm. The current natural wine movement, as depicted in the new documentary "Wine From Here," generally agrees with that idea. So

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-71446218035934957562011-09-14T06:05:00.000-07:002011-09-14T06:05:00.985-07:00

What's in your wine? Producers aren't required to list everything that's in it, which is why so many people wrongly fixate on sulfites when they get headaches. Sulfites are just a few of the 59 approved additives in the EU, but they're the only one required to be listed on US labels. Although wine is food, wine gets a pass on ingredient labeling from the US government, as it does in most of

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-337010800977802302011-09-08T05:57:00.000-07:002011-09-08T05:57:00.323-07:00

Terroir is exalted by the natural wine movement. Everyone who prefers native yeast and eschews excess ripeness and new oak says they do so to reveal the terroir of their vineyard sites. Yet what is the point of revealing terroir if even experts on the wines can't recognize it? I'm still chewing on this concept more than a week after seeing "Wine From Here," a 60-minute documentary about the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-79150149755095273962011-09-06T05:54:00.000-07:002011-09-06T05:54:00.459-07:00

Hollywood and those who cover it don't think quality matters in film. Whenever you read stories about the movie business, like this one, they attribute rising or falling ticket sales to star power, the weather, franchises getting old, new technology, and basically anything other than whether or not the movies are good. I'm not here to slam Hollywood; it drives me crazy when Congressmen do so.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-15789478106250808672011-08-24T05:51:00.000-07:002011-08-24T05:51:00.564-07:00

As Chairman of the Vintners Hall of Fame Electoral College, I am responsible for speaking for the Hall and its selection process. Generally I'd rather let other people write about it, and just comment: I know too much. But rather than let apocrypha creep about this year's ballot, I think it's best that I lay out a few  facts. First, it's true that Robert Parker and Fred Franzia are

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-75948357515519803822011-08-22T05:44:00.000-07:002011-08-24T06:52:43.180-07:00

Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer holds Ratt N Roll Remember Ratt? Hair metal band from the '80s, had a hit called "Round and Round?" Well, now it's a wine. Ratt drummer Bobby Blotzer was showing off his "Ratt N Roll" Sonoma Coast Chardonnay 2010 ($20) at the Family Winemakers tasting on Sunday. Kristian Story made the wine for Blotzer's specifications, which, for a heavy metal guy,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-14188646007105046192011-08-17T05:58:00.000-07:002011-08-17T05:58:00.236-07:00

Last week I attended an annual event at the ill-named Café Rouge in Berkeley. Why ill-named? Because for one night a year, the red meat-loving restaurant (it started as an artisan butcher) runs Think Pink, in which diners are strongly encouraged to order nothing but rosé. The regular wine list is put away, and a special one-page sheet lists only 12 pink wines from France and Italy, all

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-70925812271526004502011-08-09T06:02:00.000-07:002011-08-09T06:02:00.654-07:00

W. R. Tish and I had a little debate on Palate Press last week about perhaps the wine blog world's favorite demon, the 100-point scale. While I know I could get pageviews and comments by rekindling that debate here, I've got a more noble purpose in mind. It's a call to arms, and you're all not just invited, but needed. One thing that struck me about the Palate Press debate was its

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-30439840229217854932011-08-03T06:16:00.000-07:002011-08-03T06:16:00.772-07:00

Here I'm looking into labor conditions at Alma Negra in Argentina Argentina and Chile are neighbors, and share a language, but that's about all they have in common. Earlier this year I had the privilege of spending 5 days sampling wine in each country, which of course makes me an expert. I hadn't been before, so these observations were all surprising to me. * In wine, Argentina is New World;

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-28362054384454116622011-08-01T06:30:00.000-07:002011-08-01T06:30:02.933-07:00

I'm not gonna do this for a living. Will other Americans? A Tea Party Texan wants to take U.S.-grown fresh fruit and vegetables off your table. There's no other way to describe the bill proposed by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Tex). The bill would turn farmers into immigration enforcement agents, requiring them to check every itinerant fruit picker's ID against a federal

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-12467158042894166102011-07-26T06:13:00.000-07:002011-07-26T06:13:00.637-07:00

Davis Bynum on a visit to his former winery, now Thomas George Estates At age 86, Davis Bynum the man has become an eponymous wine brand that will most likely outlive him. Not only that, the nation's biggest wine brand in retail sales was named after his feet.He lives in Healdsburg, but still visits his old winery, once named for him, now called Thomas George Estates. (Read my column about

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-33746960648575010242011-07-19T07:06:00.000-07:002011-07-19T07:06:00.405-07:00

California had 2,347 wineries in 2009. How many of those make sparkling wine? I think I can count them on my fingers. There have been new big-money investments all over the state. Napa Valley no longer has the franchise, or even the lead, on $20 million winery projects. But is there a new Schramsberg, Domaine Carneros or J? Not that I know of. You might think the reason for this is that

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-63396036371824128772011-07-18T05:52:00.000-07:002011-07-18T07:16:52.687-07:00

Louis Jadot winemakers Frederic Barnier (left) and Jacques Lardiere My most recent column at Wine Review Online sprung from a single sentence, one I have been repeating (mostly in disbelief) ever since I heard it: "We accept the conditions of the vintage." What that means is the head winemaker at Louis Jadot, Jacques Lardiere, would rather make a lesser wine that's true to the vintage

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-12706562738951615732011-07-05T06:02:00.000-07:002011-07-05T13:06:39.390-07:00

To understand the New York Times story on Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) that ran Monday, you don't need to look further than the first quote. “Clearly, he has a personal interest in what he is advocating for,” said Craig Wolf, president of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, which has been in a dispute with wine producers over the past year. “And the ethics rules in

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-66538616894340375182011-06-30T05:29:00.000-07:002011-06-30T22:26:17.108-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about judging expensive white wines at Sunset magazine's Western Wine Awards, but I may have buried the lead: I didn't mention actual wines. I don't know which wines won, even in our categories. Sunset asks each judge to rate each wine on a 20-point scale and tabulates the results later. But I can tell you which wines I liked best, and why. All of these I scored either 18 or

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-41854260248212350132011-06-29T05:47:00.000-07:002011-06-29T05:47:00.129-07:00

Perhaps the best wine I've tasted this year was a white that costs $2225, which I rated 99 points. So I can't be said to have a grudge against pricey white wines. But realistically, I'm not going to spend my own money on that wine (Domaine de la Romanée Conti Montrachet 2008). Or even 4% of it. However, I will spend over $100 on a red wine in restaurants -- most recently for a 1991 Lopez de

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-1853925404012119142011-06-27T04:02:00.000-07:002011-06-27T04:02:00.192-07:00

Viticulturist Richard Smart made conventional winemakers around the world feel good earlier this month with a speech in Barcelona in which he appeared to attack organic and biodynamic viticulture. I wish I had been in Barcelona for the speech and the tapas. All I have to rely on is Lucy Shaw's report for Drinks Business, which makes Smart sound like he's grinding a different axe entirely. The

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com35tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-15572954650062608982011-06-22T08:33:00.000-07:002011-06-22T08:33:00.288-07:00

Charlie and Stuart Smith Visiting with brothers Stuart and Charlie Smith, owners of Smith-Madrone Winery, is like being on stage with a veteran comedy team. They don't tell jokes -- they bicker and prod each other -- but they're hilarious. The act is even better if you're opinionated about wine, because they sure are. Stu, 63, and Charlie, 67, have been in the Napa Valley wine business since

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-34839538549159308852011-06-21T08:30:00.000-07:002011-06-21T08:30:00.247-07:00

Albiera Antinori enjoys biscotti and Vin Santo (who doesn't?) As international companies go, Antinori is quite unusual. It's family run, and has been since the 1200s. It invests all over the world, but doesn't seem to do so with an eye toward the largest profits. And it's mostly run by women: the three daughters of family patriarch Piero Antinori. I had lunch with Albiera Antinori at the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-80756570326032136132011-06-20T05:26:00.000-07:002011-06-20T09:33:50.375-07:00

Ripe grapes from a great vintage Bordeaux is all about anticipation. A little while after writing this post, I will open a wine to have with dinner. I don't know what it will be, but it won't be a Bordeaux: I haven't anticipated it enough. When you have a great bottle of Bordeaux from a great vintage -- or better yet, a case of such bottles -- you put them in a special spot in your cellar.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-13872653632451478842011-06-17T00:20:00.000-07:002011-06-17T00:20:00.889-07:00

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is the largest of this country's state-run monopolies. It buys all the wine and liquor for the state, sets prices, and has enormous control on what Pennsylvanians can buy without driving to New Jersey. On Wednesday, the PLCB proved it really doesn't understand wine. The PLCB paid some money to PR Newswire to trumpet a press release in which it rejected

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-83213384284336960122011-06-16T09:26:00.000-07:002011-06-16T17:28:16.679-07:00

Borrowed from Visit Mendocino.com Mendocino County claims to be America's Greenest Wine Region. But you'd never know it by looking at labels. I visited the Taste of Mendocino event in San Francisco on Monday and counted brands. There were 67 wine brands represented. 11 had a certified organic or biodynamic claim on the label of at least some wines 56 did not I'm not going to get into

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-5873531178963701782011-06-15T07:50:00.000-07:002011-06-15T10:08:32.630-07:00

Hamachi sashimi with Asian pear and soy truffle vinaigrette, Shimo Some years ago I wrote for "Hemispheres," the United Airlines in-flight magazine, where the signature travel feature is "Three Perfect Days." The idea is to give the highlights of a city, whether Milwaukee or Moscow. But if you actually followed the itinerary, it would be a three-day nightmare: rushing from museum to shopping

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-73498993089857523712011-06-13T08:40:00.000-07:002011-06-13T12:04:52.949-07:00

Robert Bower (left, 8th generation Port shipper) and David Guimaraens Most wineries complain publicly about the gray market for wine. But David Guimaraens is different. The 6th generation Port winemaker says the gray market in the US has been good for Port. A little background: "gray market" means wines offered for sale that the retailer did NOT get through officially approved channels. In

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-77816973082894010962011-06-09T09:51:00.000-07:002011-06-09T09:51:11.624-07:00

Pietro Ratti Pietro Ratti's father Renato, a pioneer in Barolo, never pestered his son to work with him. "My father always said, 'Have fun. Enjoy your life. Sooner or later you'll come to work'," Pietro said. "He didn't expect it would be so early." Unlike almost every other Barolo producer at the time, Renato Ratti was not born into the industry, and thus didn't inherit any vineyards. His

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-53169561971877255812011-06-07T05:22:00.000-07:002011-06-07T05:22:00.687-07:00

I amused some friends over dim sum with this story and they thought others might get a chuckle. Also, I need something to encourage you to read my Wine Review Online column this month about Luxembourg wines. So here goes ... I was in Luxembourg visiting wineries along with a French journalist who had the annoying habit many bloggers have of wanting to talk more about herself than the interview

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-46427369458946000552011-06-06T08:15:00.000-07:002011-06-06T08:15:00.102-07:00

And not just any zombie, the first modern zombie from the beginning of Night of the Living Dead! "They're coming to get you Barbara ... look, there's one of them now!" But ... which one?

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-70736787981037124132011-06-02T06:46:00.000-07:002011-06-02T06:46:01.036-07:00

I voted for the wine at left. But the wine at right was tasty too. Yesterday I blogged about my personal discoveries from judging at Critics Challenge. Today I want to highlight some of the great wines we tasted in the sweepstakes round. I don't have tasting notes on these because we were in a rush to finish, so whatever I write below the wine is what I remember about it. These aren't

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-62009440730242679982011-06-01T08:25:00.000-07:002011-06-01T08:25:00.746-07:00

Jordan Vineyard & Winery is pure gold in my book. Aussie Shiraz may have never left, but for me it's back in a big way and better overall than California Syrah. I found a $5 Italian red and a $14 Australian white that I liked better than almost everything else. And spending $30 to $50 on Pinot Noir doesn't guarantee you a good or even acceptable wine. These are a few things I learned when the

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-30654153087681871562011-05-31T06:36:00.000-07:002011-05-31T18:42:58.495-07:00

In every field, critics and the public have different tastes. You won't find many positive reviews of the highest-grossing films of the year, and in fact I was jeered once by critics at the Tokyo International Film Festival for my outrageous statement that "Titanic" wasn't a bad movie. It's true in art: LeRoy Nieman retrospectives don't run at the Met, nor do collections of dogs playing

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-73643323810626708832011-05-27T06:30:00.000-07:002011-05-27T07:46:53.984-07:00

As you read this I'm heading to San Diego to take part in Critics Challenge, an interesting wine competition run by Robert Whitley. The antithesis of the Concours Mondial, which uses statistics to de-emphasize the human element, Critics Challenge is all about individual taste. Any one taster can give any wine a gold medal, but you have to provide tasting notes, which is what the entering

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-44596910052850592832011-05-26T05:46:00.000-07:002011-05-26T05:46:00.158-07:00

My bloodstream's alcohol is also underreported It's not news that wine is getting higher in alcohol. What is news -- from a research paper issued yesterday -- is how systematic and universal the trend is. Moreover, EVERY country reports less alcohol on the label than actually exists in the bottle. It's interesting, at a time when people are looking for bold wines, that wineries worldwide

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-92215367751058153132011-05-25T06:49:00.000-07:002011-05-25T06:49:00.423-07:00

Gonzales holds the official Tequila tasting glass -- looks like a Champagne flute Casa Dragones might be unique in the world of spirits: a really expensive liquor ($275 a bottle) that doesn't derive its pricing from its age, and doesn't taste like wood at all. The creator, Bertha Gonzales, is the first official Maestra of Tequila. The financial backing came from Bob Pittman, the creator of

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-66157952803252229882011-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:002011-05-24T12:48:38.872-07:00

The 8 cocktails entered (ice has melted in some) I was invited to judge a cocktail competition, and discovered it was fixed. Here's what happened. A press release invited me to attend (and write about) a cocktail competition in San Francisco for a certain spirit I hadn't heard of; it was the regional contest, with the finals taking place on a Caribbean resort island. I replied that I

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-83245465819419661662011-05-23T05:43:00.000-07:002011-05-23T13:39:55.809-07:00

Greek white wines are great: crisp, food-friendly, often made from heirloom varieties unique to the area. I'm a big fan. I don't have much to say today other than that, and some tasting notes. Sometimes you go to a wine event and get some sort of theme, like the harsh climate of Santorini or the lively character of the Malagousia grape. But more often you taste a bunch of wines, eat some lunch

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-20213555864627643862011-05-19T07:56:00.000-07:002011-05-20T09:43:42.895-07:00

Yesterday I sat at a table full of wine professionals: 7 sommeliers and me. The adjoining table had 8 sommeliers. We were served an obviously flawed wine, yet nobody said a thing to the presenters. We took tasting notes, discussed the wine, heard a presentation on its terroir, etc. It was a fascinating study in human behavior and explained to me why so few flawed wines are sent back in

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-73286453386906261492011-05-18T08:25:00.000-07:002011-05-18T15:52:05.912-07:00

Is "intensity" in wine always a good thing? Robert Parker certainly thinks so. He won't go above 95 points without using "intense," "powerful" or some synonym. One might expect that at the Concours Mondial, the European wine competition that is perhaps the best-run in the world, the standards would be different. One would be wrong. The Concours has the best rating system of any competition

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-52440673056527413062011-05-17T07:41:00.000-07:002011-05-17T08:04:42.515-07:00

I'm frowning 'cause my panel got no Best in Shows. It would really be remiss of me to run 2 posts about the Concours Mondial, which I (and others) consider the best wine competition in the world, without listing its best-of-category wines. One quirk of the Concours' statistically based judging system -- more on it tomorrow -- is that none of the 284 judges left Luxembourg last week knowing

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-693911945205313022011-05-16T06:18:00.000-07:002011-05-16T07:12:17.249-07:00

I love representing the Stars and Stripes abroad. The Concours Mondial bills itself as the world's leading wine competition, beginning with the name. It has developed the most sophisticated system of judging in the world*, a system that always makes me think deeply about issues regarding the rating of wine. * The Concours uses statistical analysis to try to track and respond to

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-21983019093617024962011-05-11T06:10:00.000-07:002011-05-13T13:18:25.401-07:00

Americans won't do this for a living, which is why we need Mexican immigrants In a move that will probably irritate everybody, President Obama has decided to enter America's immigration debate. I'm delighted, because the shouting has almost no intelligent voices on any side. I was reminded of that again recently by this story about how the California Democratic Party doesn't want arrestees'

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-36679883467668427012011-05-09T06:12:00.000-07:002011-05-09T06:12:00.505-07:00

Dare I say it? That center label is Greek to me Domaine Sigalas is one of the best wineries in Greece. It's on the hot, dry island of Santorini, where the vines grow right on the ground in a circular pattern that looks like wreaths. Founder Paris Sigalas actually came home to the island from Paris to be a schoolteacher and ended up making wine because he knew the local wines could be better.

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-52445628195540270512011-05-05T05:35:00.000-07:002011-05-05T05:35:00.166-07:00

A month ago I wrote about taking the Certified Wine Professional exam at the Culinary Institute of America. Last week I got word that I passed. I was going to wait until I had the hard-copy certificate in hand to brag about it -- the birthers need somebody else to doubt now, why set myself up? -- but I'm off to Luxembourg to judge at Europe's most prestigious wine festival, the Concours

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-82896895640935460012011-05-03T05:13:00.000-07:002011-05-04T11:15:11.394-07:00

Here's an update on what's happening with the petition to allow sulfites in USDA Organic Wine. Brief background: Currently USDA certified organic wine is not allowed to contain more than 10 ppm (parts per million) of sulfites, even if those sulfites occur naturally. I wrote about the issue in this LA Times article, and about a petition making its way through the USDA process that would allow

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-64873633037615754312011-05-01T22:20:00.000-07:002011-05-01T22:23:29.435-07:00

Until President Obama said it, I didn't celebrate. I saw the graphic, "Osama Bin Laden Is Dead," but I chanted, "Please be true. Please be true." The President's speech was mesmerizing. I think he could have cut a couple of minutes, but he used the time to praise people associated with the operation. His finish, with the Pledge of Allegiance, reached to the right, but got me to stand at

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-10261705737841476682011-04-25T06:48:00.000-07:002011-04-25T14:30:04.518-07:00

Realistically, I will never buy a Bordeaux first growth with my own money again. Prices have reached the point where I can get several other expensive, great wines for the price of one bottle. Plus, the rush to feverish praise from writers who have tasted sample blends of wines that haven't been bottled yet -- and might not be the same when they are bottled -- leaves me wondering about the whole

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-76841048269462535122011-04-21T13:46:00.000-07:002011-04-21T13:46:40.419-07:00

Jess Jackson was a giant in the wine industry, and a deserving member of the Vintners Hall of Fame. I could write a long obituary about how he built an 5-million case winery from the ground up, vertically integrating everything, and insisting on high quality in every area. But I suspect the major newspapers and wine publications will have that covered. I want to tell a small story about Jess,

W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.com6