News
2008
July
But California cool, is not Oregon cool. How different are they? Let's explore, comparing two giants of their respective states
Oregon's wine industry is headed for a fall, according prominent Oregon wine maker Bill Hatcher. Too much Pinot noir and too few wine distributors may be to blame, he says
Pinot Noir is happiest when grown in cool climes. The northern portion of California's huge Central Coast appellation has regions with cooling ocean winds, which can drop hot daytime temperatures 30 degrees in some locations.
In this age of instant gratification, most wines are polished off within 24 hours of purchase. Few of us now take the time to cellar our wines, but those with the restraint to squirrel away some well-chosen bottles can reap rich rewards in following a wine down a fascinating path from youthful exuberance to mellow old age.
Meredith determined that the finicky and pedantic Pinot grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris) all have the same DNA. It is thought that the cross-pollination of the two varieties resulted in the first Chardonnay vine in Burgundy, which has been determined as the birthplace of this variety.
Some light red wine from Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) or Portuguieser is made in Rheinhessen, but most of it is consumed locally.
The wineries transmute their grapes into the sauvignon blanc that has seduced the world, chardonnay, pinot gris and pinot noir, methode traditionnelle sparklers and, increasingly, aromatics such as riesling and gewurztraminer, so there's plenty of opportunity to taste the terroir. But there's more, and in particular the good food that goes hand in glove with committed wineregions.
June
Increasingly, winegrowers in Oregon are moving toward "biodynamic" agriculture, which manages farms as self-sufficient, healthy ecosystems and includes performing farming practices according to sun, moon and planetary cycles. Some see it as ¸ber-organic, others as woo-woo. All 100-plus acres of vineyards at A to Z Wineworks, Oregon's largest winemaker, will be certified biodynamic by 2010, says Nadine Lew, viticulturist and vineyard liaison.
This year step it up a notch with the International Pinot Noir Celebration (July 25-27), hailed by The Wine Advocate as "unquestionably the finest in the world," is a must attend event.
May
Australian chemists have identified the compound responsible for the peppery aroma of the country's iconic Shiraz wines - and discovered the same molecule is by far the strongest aroma in peppercorns themselves.
In April 2008, Pinot Noir and Riesling are still the two fastest growing varietals. In dollar sales, Pinot Noir grew 18% in 2008 and Riesling grew 18.4%. By volume, Pinot Noir increased 21.2% and Riesling rose 16%. The only difference between 2007 and 2008 is the rate of growth.
If your tastes lean more toward spicy sausage and peppers, you could also try a light to medium bodied California or Northwest pinot noir.
There is enough acidity in these wines to take on fried dishes; the wine's acidity helps cleanse the palate of the oil and rich fried breading of the dish. Pork tonkatsu ó a Japanese-style breaded, fried pork cutlet ó fills this culinary niche nicely.
Two years into a four-year trial, about 35 tonnes of crushed glass has been laid at the base of pinot noir grape vines at Sandihurst winery in West Melton, near Christchurch.
April
It is true that the results of inserting the smart card into 1,200 trial cases shipped from Bordeaux all over the world over the past six months are explosive. The temperature graphs suggest that even wines shipped from Bordeaux's nÈgociants (merchant middlemen) in reefers can experience extremes of heat and cold at some point on their journey, typically at the beginning or end.
It started in 1990. That was the year California Pinot Noir turned the corner. The grapes had migrated out of too-warm vineyards in the Napa Valley and elsewhere and had lodged themselves in cooler climes such as Carneros and the Russian River Valley. They had not yet claimed much of a foothold in the Santa Lucia Mountains or the Anderson Valley, and the push for Pinot was not much than a few years old up in Oregon.
Out of the 325 wineries in Oregon, the Willamette Valley is home to 200 of those wineries. Although many varietals are grown in the Willamette Valley, it is recognized as one of the best areas in the world for growing Pinot Noir. The long, cool growing season consists of warm summer days, cool evenings and usually an Indian summer that can give the extra amount of warm days that it takes to ripen the finicky Pinot Noir grape without over ripening.
Pinot noir lovers, I'm sad to report that I don't have anything for you here. The grapes are in big demand these days, and prices have been creeping up. None of the inexpensive pinots I've tasted in the past few months have been worth recommending.
"Tasmania should be able to hang on to its top reputation for pinot noir, sauvignon blanc and sparkling longer than most Australian regions," he said.
I have to confess, I donít drink much California pinot noir. The prevailing thick, fruit-and-oak-drenched style, often with a touch of sweetness, does not appeal to me. I find that these wines are clumsy at the table, overwhelming and fatiguing. In short, many of the leading California pinot noirs today seem to me to be the antithesis of what pinot noirs ought to be: light, elegant, graceful and refreshing.
just came back from a trip visiting wineries and I was amazed that the movie Sideways was still affecting the wine industry.
The new French-made Pellenc harvester, with a selective harvest head, is the first of its kind in the world to be used commercially and it is being demonstrated in New Zealand vineyards. Ö The new harvesting improvement is particularly significant for red grapes, such as pinot noir, which are usually hand-picked ñ an expensive exercise.
Pawnshops in Paris are branching out. In addition to the usual jewellery and family heirlooms, the CrÈdit Municipal de Paris, as reported by Decanter.com, has started offering loans against wine.
If they prefer [fruitier] California and Oregon pinot noirs and wanted to try something new, I might pour them a pinot noir from New Zealand instead," he told us.
March
- Wine lovers ask: Has pinot lost its sense of place? San Jose Mercury News
Although many pinot lovers will tell you that their grape, more than almost any other, has a transparent quality that lets the site shine through, I think the site can be easily obscured. Power, concentration and obvious oak are often favored over finesse. I taste a lot of pinot noirs that seem to be made to a formula. They could be from anywhere. In fact, some are so big and ripe that they're not instantly recognizable as pinot. - Something Fizzy for All Ages The New York Times<
The company also has a grape-y pinot noir flavor and a chardonnay that is more winey than sweet. - Pinot Posse stops in Avon Vail Daily News
Cheerfully armed with nothing more than excellent vino, restorative tequila and vintnersí passions, the Pinot Posse is once again riding through Colorado to spread the gospel of pinot noir. - The ABC of Grapes: F is for Fruhburgunder The Omnivore's Solution
Widely planted in Germany, Fruehburgunder is an early-ripening mutant of Pinot Noir, aka Spaetburgunder - 4 Steps: Wine Tasting Ask Men
Itís every sophisticated guyís worst nightmare: He's on a date having a fancy dinner; he tries to impress her by ordering what he thinks is a nice bottle of wine, but when the waiter arrives and pours him a small sample, he's quickly exposed as a fraud. He knows nothing about wine tasting. - Oregon Wine Grape Production Hits Record AP via Yahoo!Finance
Pinot noir and pinot gris production both increased by 15 percent. - Sustainability Seminar Featuring Dominique Lafon and Andrea Robinson Headlines 2008 International Pinot Noir Celebration Blioxi Sun Herald
- The Other Easter Meat - Roasted Lamb The Wilmington News Journal
With your highly aromatic Leg of Lamb ProvenÁal, the best grapes Iíve discovered include Carignan, Syrah, Pinot Noir and Grenache. - Wines to match sweet, savory Eastern dinners The Scranton Times-Tribune
While common at Thanksgiving dinner, wine hasnít made it to nearly as many Easter tables. My picks for Easter are pinot noir and riesling. - German Wine Exports rise on Riesling, Pinot, Handelsblatt Says Bloomberg.com
German wine exports rose by 8 percent last year to more than 3.1 million hectoliters (81.9 million gallons) as Riesling and Pinot Noir wines won greater acceptance abroad, Handelsblatt reported. The U.K. remains the largest foreign market for German wine, with every fourth bottle drunk there, the newspaper said, citing Monika Reule, head of the German Wine Institute. - Five charities share $3M from wine auction Phoenix BizJournals
The Classic Wines Auction at the Oregon Convention Center raised $3 million for five local charities. The five charities are Metropolitan Family Service, New Avenues for Youth, Friends of the Children, Trillium Family Services and YWCA Clark County. Auction chairs were Linda Hickey, Mark Miller and Dan Agnew. - Voters Resist Labels That Wrap Them Too Tightly The Washington Post
An emerging theme has been the Starbucks-Dunkin' Donuts divide, also known as the wine-track/beer-track split. The conventional wisdom goes that a Prius-driving, cappuccino-sipping voter with decidedly strong opinions about pinot noir vs. merlot will vote for Obama, while the beefy Pabst-chugging guy with the tattoo and a cigarette behind his ear is surely going to vote for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. But labels don't always stick, and demographic truisms don't always survive contact with an actual voter. - Knowing who won a competition is OK, but how do winners taste? San Jose Mercury News
Everywhere you turn, you see imported wines: 30 percent of the wines we are now drinking in the U.S. are imported. Does this help our trade deficit? Not likely. With the dollar in the dumps, the prices of French oak are up 20 percent over last year, and barrel prices have hit record highs, especially those from France, and the Hungarian wood that many pinot producers find so enchanting is also on the climb. - Pinot Noir shortage in the US Jancis Robinson
Despite California growersí best efforts to supply Pinot Noir, the hottest variety in the US currently, the total amount produced in California in 2007 was 16%, of more than 14.5 millions bottlesí worth, less than in 2006. The shortfall is most acute in the most desirable appellations, both in Santa Barbara County and, especially, in Sonoma County where the crop was down nearly 24%.
2007