Good morning my friends and happy weekend. Welcome to another episode of wine news. A couple of callouts: Please take a look at SevenFifty Daily’s coverage of how bev-alch industry pros are using their positions to speak out on important political issues. Jancis Robinson has some similar content on her blog. And a bit of a debatable topic from Eater—how are you enjoying the latest season of the Great British Bake-Off?

On a personal note, I FINALLY received my certificate and my pin for passing my WSET Level 3 (with Merit; Theory portion with distinction—yes I’m bragging a bit 🙃). I actually sat the exam last February and received my results in April, but due to all the COVID-crazy it took awhile to get the official documents. As most of you are aware, I’m now in the throws of Diploma studies—sitting my D2 next week (eek!) and have already scheduled my D3 exam dates (yes that’s plural—the test is JUST that long) for 2021.

Alright, that’s enough about me. Scroll through the news, get some independent insight from the Blogs. And, as always, leave a comment, shoot me a note, find me on social media and let me know how YOU’RE doing.

Cheers!

(more…)

Good weekend to you. Hope everyone is staying healthy and happy out there. I’ve been quite busy myself, hence lack of original content. But I assure you one of the things that’s keeping me busy are my WSET Diploma Studies, and I will have more D3 content coming soon. Meanwhile, my D2 looms over my head. (The test is in two weeks!)

But enough about me, there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the world. While Napa is taking tolls of damages done from the recent complex of fires, Sonoma is sending out warnings about how to prepare for the rainy season. Although, a bit of insider info: we’re under advisory for power outtages and. more wildfires as we enter another heatwave situation this weekend.

I’ve got an interesting section below entitled “Not Wine.” Find out what’s happening in the beer, spirit and food industries.

Of course, as always, don’t forget to scroll down to the Blogs for some independent insight.

Cheers!

(more…)

Happy weekend my friends. A brief fire update here, Glass Fire has, as of this Friday morning scorched 67,484 acres BUT we are now up to 74% containment. Woot. There have been 21 reported injuries, but I still have not read or heard of any Glass Fire-related deaths. Scroll below to see an update on the reported damaged wineries and what this will mean for the 2020 harvest and wine country business.

We’ve also got some tariff updates as well as some data around what COVID has really done to the wine industry in terms of sales volumes and value.

And definitely check out wine-searcher’s post about killing gender stereotypes in wine descriptions (think twice before describing that Pinot Noir as feminine), and Edgar Torres’s first person account about his experience as a Latino in the wine industry.

For a bit of comic relief, a must read is Wine Spectator’s tasting assessment of beer bottled in a dead squirrel, ant-infused gin, and beer brewed with whale testicles and smoked in sheep dung. Warning: Do not read while eating and wait at least 30 minutes after consuming a heavy meal.

Of course don’t forget to check out the blogs for some independent insight.

Cheers

(more…)