Hey crew. I’ve been quite busy, taking tests, writing my thesis, writing articles, prepping for wine industry events … etc., etc., etc. This week I’m bringing you an abbreviated version of the weekly wine news round up. You’ll find a few of my personal projects at the top. (Like this piece on cuvée or—oh yeah!—I spoke on a wine podcast.) Below that you’ll find direct links to some of the top headlines and blog posts from throughout this week. Hope you find something that interests you. Have a great weekend, drink good wine, and have some fun. Cheers.
Wine Enthusiast: What Does ‘Cuvée’ Mean in Wine?
Cuvée is a term that appears on many wine labels but can have multiple meanings. … “[It] seems like, even in France, when we literally try to translate the word, it comes out different in different places,” says Hugh Davies of Shramsberg. “Sometimes, wine just isn’t that simple.” READ MORE…
Tall Mike Wine Podcast: Wine Journalism with Stacy Briscoe
Napa Valley Wine Academy: Rutherford Dust
Winemaking legend André Tchelistcheff once said, “It takes Rutherford Dust to grow great Cabernet Sauvignon.” And that phrase—Rutherford Dust—is today a well-known descriptor of Napa Valley’s Rutherford AVA.
“It’s an apt descriptor, as there is an undeniably ‘dusty’ characteristic to the ancient, mineral-rich soils of Rutherford, which were formed millions of years ago and spread out from the hills as alluvial fans,” says Lauren Pesch, president of the Rutherford Dust Society (RDS) and partner of both Leeds & Pesch Vineyard Consulting and Chavez & Leeds Family Vineyard. “Vines grown in these soils do not have a superficial attachment to the earth; rather they are deeply rooted in the ground.” READ MORE…
Wine Industry Advisor: Participate in Recognizing Industry’s Most Inspiring People
Wine Industry Advisor (WIA) has opened submissions for its annual Most Inspiring People award and is asking the industry at large to participate by nominating individuals who have made a lasting impact on the North American Wine industry. Nominees can be viewed as inspirational either by their approach to life or their approach to business and have influenced the future of the wine industry in a positive way.
See our 2021 MIP award winners.
In 2018, The Wine Industry Advisor began recognizing ten inspiring people from our industry each year. For the first time, WIA is opening the nominations to its readers, and in so doing, hopes to find those individuals who may be flying under the radar and show the true diversity of talent within our industry. The wine industry is extremely fortunate to have many exceptional people among its ranks, and this recognition is a way to highlight them and encourage and inspire future generations. READ MORE…
Wine Industry Network: Register for the 2021 WIN Expo
Wine Industry Network opened registration for the 9th annual North Coast Wine Industry Trade Show & Conference (WIN Expo), scheduled for Thursday, December 2nd, 2021, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds and Event Center in Santa Rosa, CA. WIN Expo is both a buying show and educational conference. READ MORE…
More News
New York Times: The Accidental Wine Educator
Over the last 50 years, America has become the world’s leading wine consumer. Kevin Zraly has had a lot to do with that.
British Columbia 2021 Vintage Report: Okanagan Winemakers Optimistic After Difficult Growing Season
A difficult growing year for the Okanagan Valley to produce superbly flavorful Canadian wine.
Wine-Searcher: Regenerative Agriculture—A Winemaker Strikes Back
Tablas Creek’s Jason Haas argues that regenerative organic certified agriculture is the farming you’ve been looking for.
Artificial Intelligence in the Vineyard
Adopting this new vineyard technology is critical to the California grape industry.
Wine Spectator: Do You Have Any Glass? Winemakers Face Global Supply Chain Woes
From shipping delays to glass shortages, small and big wineries are facing the pandemic’s side effects
The Great Supply Chain Kerfuffle of 2021
Delays in deliveries are affecting viticulture and winemaking procedures, product launches, and limiting consumers’ options during the peak of holiday wine-buying.
Wine Spectator: Napa Winery Adopts Carbon Capture Technology
Trefethen Family Vineyard in Napa has installed a system to capture carbon from fermentation, and the owners hope to inspire others to do the same
Vitisphere: Sweetness levels now stated on Alsace wines
Displaying mandatory sweetness levels on Alsace wine became law in 2020. Some companies started to implement the change last year, but as of the 2021 vintage there is no way for any Alsace marketer to escape it. Then again, it came at the request of the industry so that consumers would be better equipped to distinguish between the different styles of wine that can be made from the same grape variety.
New York Times: Climate Change Threatens Wine, and a Way of Life, in Jura
Extreme weather has ruined grape crops throughout this small French region known for natural wine. “If it continues like this, how will we continue to make Jura wine? I really don’t know,” said one winegrower.
International Wineries for Climate Change: Open Letter to the Wine Trade
Twenty-two CEOs and senior leaders of International Wineries for Climate Action call on all wine trade CEOs to join their rigorous, science-based efforts to decarbonise the wine sector—and begin working towards net zero emissions by 2050.
Blogs Worth a Read
Taken from the list of Blogs and other media outlets I follow regularly, here are just a few posts from this past week I think are worth a read. Shoot me a note if you have suggestions of independent media to follow or want your outlet included on that list.
Jancis Robinson: Lockdown Down Under
Max describes how Australia has become a nation divided by the pandemic and its effects.
Jancis Robinson: Tokaj at the table
Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey…
So goes the first line of the well-covered 1961 song by the doo-wop band The Drifters. And there, in a line, is our relationship with sweet wines. Sweet wine for sweet food. Particularly very sweet wine.
Trink Magazine: PIWI’S BIG WINE ADVENTURE
Ever try learning German?
Or maybe the better question is: ever fail at the attempt? Perhaps because the language is full of words like Kraftfahrzeughaftpflichtversicherung (third party vehicle insurance), Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-Hyperaktivitätsstörung (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or Donau-Dampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft (Danube Steamship Company)?
Science & Wine: Effects of Traditional and Modern Post-Harvest Withering Processes on the Composition of the Vitis v. Corvina Grape and the Sensory Profile of Amarone Wines
In the Valpolicella area (Verona, Italy) Vitis vinifera cv. Corvina is the main grape variety used to produce Amarone wine, which is stored in a withering warehouse until about 30% of the berry weight is lost, in order to obtain an enriched wine. For this study, the two grape-withering processes were carried out under controlled (C) and non-controlled (NC) conditions, at different weight loss timing (10, 20 and 30 % weight loss WL)and the final compositions of the Corvina dried grapes were compared also to evaluate the effects on the organoleptic characteristics of Amarone wine.
VinoJoy News: China’s largest private education provider pivots to wine
China’s largest private education company, New Oriental Education & Technology Group, has set up a subsidiary to offer wine and alcoholic beverages, as it tries to diversify its services, after the publicly listed company became the largest casualty in China’s private tutoring overhaul.
The Wine Gourd: Is the future of wine on the blockchain?
I grew up without computers, let alone social media. I learned to use a mainframe computer while I was a university student; and I used my first personal computer when I started a full-time job. Over the next few years, I became something of an expert, even teaching computing to biology students. So, I kept up to date for the first 30 years of my life.
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Brava! Once again. Five articles consumed that I would have otherwise missed. Cheers and keep up the great work in achieving your diploma.
Highly resourceful. Thanks for sharing.