Wine Atlas

In addition to receiving a number of requests for the names of wineries to visit in Napa Valley, a good friend called the other day and asked, “If I only have one day to spend in Napa, what would you suggest?” and I immediately responded: Spring Mountain.

Anyone who has driven north on Highway 29 through Napa Valley will recall the two-lane highway that is dotted with the entrances to some of the most well-known California wineries such as Robert Mondavi, Neibaum-Coppola (now called Rubicon), Opus One and Louis Martini, just to name a few. Every time I make this drive, I almost feel the exhilaration of using some of those old “E” tickets from the early days of Disney World, but instead of screaming down Space Mountain, I am slowly driving up Spring Mountain.

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One of the things that I hope to bring to my readers is a true perspective of what is going on in Wine industry and some behind the scenes insights to help you better understand wine. In this slow economy you may wonder how it can benefit you when it comes to enjoying that special bottle, well here’s how it works.

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Saturday, November 8, 2008, 4 to 5:30 PM: Join us for a cozy afternoon of exquisite Tuscan wines at North Georgia's most beautiful winery. Noted Italian wine expert Michael Venezia, (Corporate Director Wine Education United Distributors, Atlanta) will be on hand to lead a guided tasting of some of Tuscany's finest vintages--including the 2006 Frescobaldi Pomino Bianco, Chardonnay; 2006 Lucente, and 2004 Tignanello. Guests will taste through six wines while Venezia discusses their origin and what makes each one special. Wines will be paired throughout the tasting with artisan cheeses and charcuterie. Cost to attend tasting is $60 per person.

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Many readers have requested that I include a mention of alcohol levels in my wine reviews. As much as space limitations allow, I try to do so.

More and more of you, it seems, are looking for wines that offer complex flavors at moderate alcohol levels. I've lost count of the number of winemakers who tell me that they are doing everything in their power to make wines that walk the thin line between unripe, vegetal flavors and jammy, alcoholic fruit-bombs.

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Enologist Menke counsels Colorado's vintners

Raising a glass of the 2006 Creekside Cellars Chardonnay, Colorado's official winemaking guru savors what he's tasting.

"I like the direction you're going with this," Steve Menke tells the winery's owner and winemaker, seated at a table with him. "I like the overall balance."

Creekside owner Bill Donahue pours a glass of his 2006 Viognier. Then, he utters a confession.

"We learned a lot from this particular bottle of wine," he tells Menke, who's sitting at the same table in Creekside's popular cafe here.

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Vintners held their annual "bake sale" last weekend at Premiere Napa Valley to raise money for the Napa Valley Vintners Association, and the price tags went a mite higher than what mom's cupcakes usually fetch. Try $62,000 for the top lot, five cases of Shafer Vineyards Sunspot Vineyard Cabernet, which was auctioned off to Ultimate Distributors from Atlanta, Ga. That breaks down to $1,033.33 a bottle.

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Napa Valley vintners are turning to Auburn's Don Magorian to build often-elaborate underground caves to store their wine.

Magorian parlayed his experience in mine engineering, drilling and mechanics into a niche market that has taken off in recent years as vintners move underground to store wine in caves that maintain a constant temperature in the 55-to-60-degree range.

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Vineyards in Oregon and Washington share a state border but differ in many ways. They have different grape varieties, different climates and different production methods.

But they're teaming up to mount the largest promotion of Northwest wines so far on the world's premier wine stage - London.

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Trinchero Family Estates has sold its 75-acre Zinfandel Ranch vineyard and wine production facility in Napa Valley to an investment group known as Rutherford Studios.

Rutherford Studios includes managing director Joel Gott of Gott Wine Company and Three Thieves wines, and two other well-known Napa Valley residents, John Webb and Tim McDonald.

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Grand Hyatt Seoul will be presenting an exclusive Wine Maker's Dinner on March 6, 2007 with Eric Wente of Wente Vineyards for just one night only.

Grand Hyatt's chefs will be preparing an exclusive, six course gourmet dinner for this special evening, showcasing six different Wente wines, which have been carefully selected and transported directly from Wente Vineyards to complement the evening's dinner menu presentations.

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Only 98 Americans hold a diploma from the British-based Wine & Spirit Education Trust. It is awarded after a minimum of two years of study followed by extensive written and blind tasting examinations. Many fail the first time around. Success entitles one to use the initials "D.W.S." ("Diploma in Wine & Spirits"). Overwhelmingly, the graduates come from the world of sommeliers and wine and spirits salespeople.

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Tickets Are Now on Sale for the Cincinnati International Wine Festival Carolyn Wente of Wente Family Estates Will Serve as Honorary Chair for the 2007 Series of Sensational Wine Events

CINCINNATI, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cincinnati International Wine Festival is now selling tickets for the 2007 events that include the Winery Dinners on March 22, the Charity Auction & Luncheon on March 24 and the Grand Tastings on March 23-24. The Midwest's premier wine festival will bring 135 wineries together with over 600 wines for sampling. This prestigious event benefits local Cincinnati charities. Tickets can be purchased by going to http://www.winefestival.com/ or by calling (513) 723-9463.

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They're not actors, professional golfers or rock stars.

They're not race car drivers, movie directors nor Hall-of-Famers.

They don't bring celebrity names to their wine labels. But in the wine business, they're well-known. They've made names for themselves as successful vintners.

They're the Evenstads, the Gargiulos and the Swansons. All have Southwest Florida ties. For these part-time Naples residents, wine is serious business.

They'll show off their wines later this week during the Naples Winter Wine Festival, which they've helped put on the map as the most successful charity wine auction in the world.

During three of 18 dinners at exclusive homes in Naples on Friday night, they'll uncork their wines, as will more than 30 other world-renowned vintners.

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Yet Another Reliable White from S.B.'s In Town Winery

The enjoyment of wine seems to go from exact (notes of vanilla and grass, for instance) to experiential, like how this 2005 Santa Barbara Chardonnay goes perfectly well with a French onion soup and green salad with ginger sesame dressing from Sojourner, followed by a dessert of tow-in surf and hip-hop DVDs.sb%20wine%20chard%202005.jpg Both types of wine enjoyment and writing make sense in their own regard, and I tend to prefer a mix of both, as evidenced above.

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The Food Technology Department of Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan) College of Agriculture (XUCA) has successfully conducted a pilot batch processing of some common fruits into sweet wines which are now available for commercial or village-level production to interested parties.

“We have conducted pilot trials for guyabano, pineapple and Bengal currants, more commonly known as Karanda,” said food technologist Sylvia T. Aguhob, department chairperson of the XUCA Food Tech Department. “We have also conducted public taste tests for our products and received positive responses from the tasters.”

Guyabano, or soursop ( Annona muricata) is better known to Cebuano-speaking Mindanaoans as the abana, virtually the same name by which it’s known in its sister Spanish colony of Mexico as the huanaba.

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