28- results found for July 2008 Showing page 1 of 3
OLDEST GRAPE VINE IN THE WORLD, ROANOKE ISLAND, N.C. Wine from the same vine that Sir Walter Raleigh's colonists likely plucked grapes from will soon be available to the public. MotherVine Premium Scuppernong Wine will be introduced on Tuesday on
Mother Vineyard Road, the site of the more than 400-year-old Mother
Vine, reputed to be the oldest cultivated grapevine in the world. "Nobody in Europe has come up with one as old as that - and we've
challenged them," said David Fussell Sr., the owner of Duplin Winery in
Rose Hill. "It was described as a big one then. It must be an old rascal." Propagated from cuttings taken from the vine, the grapes were first
harvested at the Duplin Winery in September and combined with other
hybrid scuppernong grapes in the production. Fussell said it has turned
out to be the best wine ever made by the 36-year-old winery, the
state's oldest. "It is one of the most delicious things you have ever tasted," said
former North Carolina Sen. Fountain Odom, a Charlotte Democrat who was
behind the scuppernong being declared the state fruit in 2001.
Today, the scuppernong, a native North Carolina plant, grows wild only
on Roanoke Island. British explorers on Roanoke Island in the 1580s
reported "grapes of such greatness, yet wild, as France, Spain, nor
Italy hath not greater," according to the state legislation adopting
the fruit. Before the Civil War, North Carolina was the leading wine producer in
the nation, said Dave Fussell, the president of Duplin Winery. Thomas
Jefferson's favorite American wine was said to be scuppernong. After
the war, the Union shut down the Southern wineries, but they managed to
bounce back so well that before Prohibition, Virginia Dare Scuppernong,
produced by a North Carolina vintner, was the best-selling wine in the
United States. In the mid-20th century, Mother Vineyard Inc. produced
wine from the Mother Vine grapes. "All the scuppernong grapes originate from that little tract of
grapes," said Fussell, the winery owner's oldest son. "It is
unbelievable that this vine is still living and still producing." The first pressing of MotherVine wine will produce 224 cases. Each bottle is expected to retail for $12.99. Wine lovers will be treated to nearly the same sensation the early explorers experienced, the younger Fussell promised. "Our wine tastes like you're under the grapevine eating the grape," he said. "It's so full of fruit."
credit: cate.kozak@pilotonline.com
Wait 'til the French hear about this. Vine Shock?
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TASTE Sonoma
at A+D Museum w/ LACMA
(5900 Wilshire Blvd. L.A.)
AUGUST 1ST - FRIDAY NIGHT 7:30-9:30pm
$55 online/$39 TASTE members
Wine tasting, great food, live DJ set,
and LA's hottest crowd!
I like wine. I like great food. I kind of like DJ's and I am, by way of personal delusion, one of L.A.'s hot crowd. Plus I like to support most wine events because they're fun and this one has a impressive wine list.
Click the pic above for more info. Did I mention the tacos?
(I did pass on one wine event recently I received PR about...something about making the animals I eat, happier in their preparation for my table. Sounded fishy to me. Actually fish weren't even mentioned. Seems they were barnyard biased. Any hoot, the next step on that agenda with that crowd is wheat grass juice and broccoli burgers...not the gastronomic path I'm following. I hope they all had a good time with those happy cows.)
See you at LACMA. Thumb to thigh, "Sssssssss." -The Wine Thief
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 Sitting with a Paso Robles wine maker recently we shared our triumphs and woes as of late. He's a younger, passionate, bootstrap sort of wine maker who's dedication to making it in the world of wine is both admirable and astonishing. Admirable for the fact that he and his young family have put in all on the line to create a winery and astonishing that he's doing just that. But not without the world doing it's best to detour his dream. Just getting the building permits to get his tasting room/barrel room built has required Herculean patience and a saintly response when after months of submitting all the plans, etc. and getting them shoved back across counter as not being properly prepared. Turns out, the bureaucrat failed to mention one simple fact that would have saved days and days of work and time. Hand in all the permit papers at one time. Seems getting them individually wasn't the "correct procedure". That city employee's really lucky it wasn't me. I have no patience nor saintly virtues, but I do have a well-honed "crazy person" who I can summon when the automatons of hell are standing across from me with that vacant stare. It's all bark, but it's worked on the rare occasion I've had to unleash it. But I digress.
Victor and I were talking about the business of wine and basically the selling of wine. To gather information for our QUICK WINE FINDER feature, I've taken lately to standing around the supermarket wine aisles discreetly watching other shoppers make decisions about buying wine. If the subject appears generally sane and willing to encounter a stranger, I've asked why they chose the wine they did. Well, it's been no great surprise. Most commonly it's two factors. The price and then...the label. Yep. Now if you're buying your wine at the supermarket, chances are you're not some high-falootin' oenophile. You're just on the way to a party or have a new girlfriend, etc. and want some wine. I remember when I first saw the Marilyn Monroe adorned bottles and thought, "Man, that's cheesy." What I forgot was who in large part buys wine. Doh. Guys. And even after centuries and centuries of attempted domestication, we still harbor some pretty simple procreation-driven behaviors. Therein is the crux of the biscuit. The irony of how we treat the most natural thing for all us humans. Sex is bad, sex is good, sex is bad, sex is good. STOP. I'm getting dizzy. The picture above (stoled it from Tom Wark's Fermentation blog, thanks Tom) says it all pretty much. That "come hither, take me if you dare" look. Wait. OH! I just got it! WOW! A totally sober epiphany. Cool. The reason it is wrong is so suddenly clear! It's the vacant lying stare of an automoton! No wonder we men are stopped in our tracks by that look! It's totally UNNATURAL! That creature does not exist on this planet, it only exists in some art director's disturb mind! Woowee! I'm Free! No longer a phallic drone buzzing around in some crazy fantasy! Man, that is a freeing experience.
OK, Victor about that label for your wine bottles? I've got a great idea! You know what would definitely sell a zillion bottles?!...
-apologies to Victor Abascal, check out his labels at www.winesonthemarycrest.com
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SANTA RITA CABERNET SAUVIGNON
MEDALLA REAL 2005 - $12.99
This
is one of the better Cab deals you’ll ever come across. Chile
(like its southern hemisphere “compadre” Australia)
is currently producing some of the finest, value-priced Cabernet Sauvignon on
the planet. There are some seriously endowed reds coming from Chile,
and Santa Rita is one of them. From Wine Spectator, “Broad-shouldered,
with lots of tobacco, currant paste and loam notes backed by a muscular
structure. The dark, dense finish shows hints of cedar and roasted vanilla. Has
lots of Pauillac-like grip.
"A terrific value.” BUY NOW
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France. We love their wine. We love their food. We like them once we're outside Paris. So what is it that makes them so...puzzling? (read crazy!) Here's a news blip from across the pond.
Leaked French wine law proposals to treat alcohol like porn
credit: Sophie Kevany, and Oliver Styles
Details of proposed
new laws that put alcohol on the same level as pornography, and would
effectively ban wine on the internet in France, were leaked to members
of the press yesterday.
The document, which suggests that wine and alcohol sites be authorised
but limited to certain hours similar to pornographic sites, has been
described as 'disastrous' by members of the wine sector. Furthermore,
proposals offered by the government workgroup said that wine
advertising could only be limited to producer websites, essentially
blocking all third-party publicity.
'The proposition forbids [wine] promotion on the web,' said Delphine
Blanc of Vin et Sociétié, one of few groups lobbying for the internet
to be legalised as a medium for alcohol publicity. 'It authorizes
sites, during certain hours, and publicity on those sites, but forbids
any [outside] publicity about those sites so they are dead.'
Sure we shoot each other a lot and we start dumb wars, but equating wine with porno?! That's nuts. God bless America and a web full of wine (and other stuff too.)
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I noticed the following article, because among the genes my folks granted me, are a couple of Welsh ones and lord knows we Welsh rarely get our due. More power to them says I! Rising profile? Read on.
Raising a glass for Welsh wines. by Steve Dube, Western MailThe rising profile of Welsh wine has received another boost with the award
of four prizes to a Monmouthshire vineyard at the English and Welsh
Wine of the Year awards. Parva Farm Vineyard near Tintern took
a silver medal for its “off-dry” white wine, Tintern Parva Bacchus 06,
two bronze awards – for Tintern Parva T Gwyn 06, a blend of Müller
Thurgau and Seyval Blanc grapes, and the sparkling Tintern Parva
Dathliad Rosé 06 – and a highly commended for the sparkling white,
Tintern Parva Dathliad 04. And the vineyard’s wine-maker,
Martin Fowke from the Three Choirs Vineyard at Newent, Gloucestershire,
was named Wine Maker of the Year at the awards.The annual
awards, which are organised by the UK Vineyard Association and judged
by seven Masters of Wine, recognise the best wines in England and Wales
and attracted a record number of entries this year. The accolades were announced at a reception at the House of Lords by Lord Montagu of Beaulieu. Wine
has been produced by Parva Farm Vineyard by Judith and Colin Dudley
since 1997, but the vineyard was planted by previous owners in 1979. “We
are delighted with the awards, we entered four wines and came away with
four awards,” said Judith Dudley who also organises the annual Welsh
Wine Week. “It is particularly pleasing as we hadn’t entered any sparkling wines before. “English and Welsh sparkling wines are getting to be on a par with champagne and it is nice to have some awards for them.” Wales
is not known for its vineyards or its wine-making, with less than a
dozen wine producers throughout the country. Parva Farm were the only
award winners from Wales. “There aren’t many vineyards in
Wales but Welsh wines are starting to get recognition and people are
realising that Welsh wine is just as good as from elsewhere,” said
Judith.
Right on Judith. Power to the Welsh! Wales...now just where is that?
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MONCHHOF 2007
ESTATE RIESLING - $13.99
One of our
favorite little workhorse Rieslings is back in a great vintage doing what it
does best. Robert Eymael’s estate doesn’t contain any ‘dog’ vineyards and
this wine is all Urziger Wurzgarten this year, listed as a Qba though it is a
legitimate kabinett in 2007.The nose shows spice, currant, purple
flowers, and white peaches, the fruit is delicate and flavorful, and the wine
dances across the palate on a perfect carpet of zingy acidity. The only
downside wasn’t even caused by Mother Nature but rather the currency. Still, you can’t get many wines with this kind of elegance and pedigree for
this kind of price. Lovely stuff. Buy Now
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Tyler Colman, Ph.D., teaches wine classes at New York University and
the University of Chicago. He contributed to the third edition of The Oxford Companion to Wine and his articles have appeared in Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, Trump Magazine, and the New York Times. Colman also writes the award-winning blog, Dr. Vino. In his latest book, Wine Politics: How Governments, Environmentalists, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink
(UC Press, June 2008), he reveals the politics and economics behind the
wine making business, both domestic and international.
The buzz is strong on this book from the blogosphere's Dr. Vino. I may have to forfeit spending the money on wine and add to that pile on the night stand. Cheers Dr. Vino!
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One (59 gal.) Barrel of Wine contains:
- 740 pounds of grapes
- 24.6 cases (12x750ml bottles) - 295 bottles of wine - 1,180 glasses of wine (Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Save the planet, right? Save all that bottle glass? Get rid of the bicycles and whatever's in those boxes...plenty of room!) - The Wine Thief
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#10 - It's mostly
water... really good water.
#9 - Wine is easy. Comes in shades of two colors.
#8 - Wine is fruit juice and everyone know that fruit is really good for
you.
#7 - The likelihood of a wine drinker strapping on a bomb to blow up fellow wine shoppers at BevMo is virtually nil.
#6 - Wine is not explosive...mostly.
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