tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post1490468603141159390..comments2024-03-18T04:47:16.199-07:00Comments on The Gray Report: Korbel winemaker lies on TV about Champagne and sparkling wine W. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-90377214158899148092014-12-31T08:50:45.329-08:002014-12-31T08:50:45.329-08:00Hi folks. The word "champagne" has morph...Hi folks. The word "champagne" has morphed in meaning, like words tend to do over time. As James said, to most people in the USA it means "sparkling wine." Words change their meaning. Take the word "vintage" for example: It used to be a noun meaning "grape harvest," but now it's an adjective meaning "pleasantly old." I think, rather than Patrick Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10144823620170293402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-50316920567702270422014-12-30T14:52:50.669-08:002014-12-30T14:52:50.669-08:00I would say the most egregious thing Korbel says e...I would say the most egregious thing Korbel says everyday is that this sparkling wine is Champagne BUT THEY DO NOT USE THE GRAPES GROWN IN CHAMPAGNE. FRANCE.<br /><br />They use French Colombard (not grown in Champagne), Sangiovese (an Italian varietal not grown in Champage), and Chardonnay. Only the last varietal is one of the traditional Champagne grapes.Pam Strayerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00382825085636463727noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-4787971911395722242014-12-30T09:07:10.208-08:002014-12-30T09:07:10.208-08:00Secondary fermentation in a bottle is a minor aspe...Secondary fermentation in a bottle is a minor aspect of "Methode Champenoise". Using the right varietals (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay) and the way the grapes are pressed ( whole cluster with the hard press fraction rejected ). This is critical to avoid green underripe flavors that are inherent to grapes picked between 16-18 brix. These two factors are what separates the Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07454419630883833575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-59440177468988866592014-12-30T08:14:30.411-08:002014-12-30T08:14:30.411-08:00James: I only ran about a minute of the segment, b...James: I only ran about a minute of the segment, but Ahvenainen's appearance on KTVU lasted nearly 10 minutes, much of which was spent opening a bottle and oohing and aahing over its deliciousness.<br /><br />There was plenty of time for a better definition of "sparkling wine."<br /><br />W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-18008436923184357052014-12-30T07:12:50.269-08:002014-12-30T07:12:50.269-08:00Regarding your reply to my thoughts on this subjec...Regarding your reply to my thoughts on this subject. Yes, it was part of my job to explain to retailers and their employees the differences, but how that info transfers to the consumer is another matter. Korbel have had the legal right to call their product champagne. I also feel when listening to the clip I felt he was referring to other ways the product is produced in CA. One other point from Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02219907197760327173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-16250890801303619082014-12-30T04:37:10.985-08:002014-12-30T04:37:10.985-08:00Californian Champagne is as unethical as Chinese M...Californian Champagne is as unethical as Chinese Microsoft Windows 8Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15350507300470557667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-51244267474521195062014-12-29T18:21:59.056-08:002014-12-29T18:21:59.056-08:00James, shouldn't it be part of your role to te...James, shouldn't it be part of your role to tell people what Champagne is? And what sparkling wine is?<br /><br />Where are people going to learn, if not from you? <br /><br />W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-77869894414196207222014-12-29T17:59:01.653-08:002014-12-29T17:59:01.653-08:00To the average consumer who purchases a sparkling ...To the average consumer who purchases a sparkling product in a liquor store, they will ask for champagne, whether they want Andre, Korbel on any European sparkler for instance. And since most of this product is purchased the last two weeks of the year, it would appear that only wine geeks are insulted by what the Korbel winemaker said. After 47 years selling this type of product (from Dom to Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02219907197760327173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-33314555091185629042014-12-29T11:20:41.952-08:002014-12-29T11:20:41.952-08:00It’s soooo clear that what Kobel making is “Sparki...It’s soooo clear that what Kobel making is “Sparking wine” and they should not call it “Champagne”.<br />Also it is not fair that Champagne sue an Australian wine educator into bankruptcy but not fighting against the big company. <br />So many evil companies/associations on this planet. Sigh…Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09340935734976915908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-59006518028419847052014-12-29T07:03:39.064-08:002014-12-29T07:03:39.064-08:00Huh? Didn't get why we should all be outraged....Huh? Didn't get why we should all be outraged...about the Korbel comments...sorry but the explanation was lacking.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06040985435983475318noreply@blogger.com