The Week That Was in Wine
This past week had a lot of interesting story lines across the wine biz. Below is a snapshot of highlights and happenings in the world of wine.
Travel & Leisure magazine put together their list of the Best Wine Bars in America. I’ve had the pleasure of visiting a few that made the cut, and the list carries all notable names. I understand they were trying to cherry pick one from every major market, but c’mon… there are a few clear omissions here.
TastingRoom.com, a service that brings the tasting room to your living room, has unveiled their Wine by the Glass concept. We’re entering an age where the $100 California Cabernet is collecting dust at the winery, not in your cellar. People are struggling to part with big bills for a bottle on a regular basis. With less discretionary wine income, who wouldn’t want to try before buying? That’s exactly what they’ve done with this 100ml package. Say what you will about Silver Oak, it’s the concept and technology behind this that makes it brilliant.
A Moet Hennessy brand manager with a taste for the good life found himself behind bars, when it was discovered that he’d “accumulated” $75,000+ worth of Krug Champagne and vodka. Sounds like a big heist, but when you do the math, it’s actually not that much Clos du Mesnil.
Robert Parker released his bottled scores for 2009 Bordeaux. We’ve been hearing reports over the last two years that this vintage was great. Now, only after Bob has bestowed his official scores (and hilarious prose) on the wines, do we know how good the vintage really is! An unprecedented 19 wines received triple-digit scores. Now, what am I supposed to do with all this 98 point 2005 Bordeaux crap I bought 5 years ago?
Return to Terroir came and went in NYC, and I’m only now recovering. More than 70 biodynamic vignerons turned out to talk shop, present their wines, and discuss the importance of sustainable farming to a packed house of people in-the-biz. Not a single 100 point wine was to be had, but we managed to drink pretty well nonetheless.
March 3, 2012
