I’ve officially had it with the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America and their unparalleled ability to continually flip the legislative bird to U.S. taxpayers and American wine consumers. Their latest ploy has been the introduction of HR 1161 – called, strangely enough, the “CARE” act (for Community Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act of 2011″) but…
Category: wine news
Robert Parker And California: A Cautionary Tale
The topic is old news now, and while revisiting it runs the risk of sounding a late-to-the-party bell with overtones of “me, too!,” I do think I can offer you something new on the latest (and largest) piece of wine biz news. I’m speaking of the news last week of uber-wine-critic Robert Parker passing on…
The Vintage From Hell? More Dispatches From The Vineyard
Remember how the Northern California 2010 vintage was kind of “difficult?” Oh, right, it’s impossible to avoid that news lately… not that I’m complaining, mind you (it’s better to have a bit too much wine coverage than too little!), nor am I trying to minimize or make light of the plight and hardship faced by…
Napa’s Wild Weather Summer: Dispatches from the Vineyard
“Strange year!” That’s the (apt) summary that winemaker and grower Steve Matthiasson gave me when I asked him how things were looking in Napa as they approached harvest of what has been one of the craziest growing seasons in recent memory. There’s been much speculation in the wine press as to the impact that the…