VineBuzz

Swooning, as I am given to, over the perfect storm in sparkling wine, specifically the explosion of fine red wines made as cava rosada or cremant rose, leaves me nearly too excited to write an actual sentence.

Rick Beard, the proprietor of Groezinger Wine Merchants in Yountville knows the small artisan winegrowers and makers well, and shares his joys generously with everyone that passes through his store.  His shop is like a portal to the hidden wineries that have no visitor center and that require significant pull for entry.  Rick recently brought a brilliant selection to Tasting in the Dark at the Toutsuite Social Media Club. 

Mutineer Magazine tells us that for a wine brand to succeed with millenials, it must stand up to four rigorous pillars:

• Authenticity 
• Affordability 
• Rejecting elitism 
• Inspiring consumers 

Throughout the 7/22/2011 morning speed tasting at the North American Winebloggers' Conference in Charlottesville (Virginia), stereotypical views about the unmixability of styles took a pounding as winemakers embraced their roots and their future in a unified re-interpretation of the present where they declared who they are collectively.

Cheers Saint Helena is a marriage made in heaven for the merchants, entertainers, restaurants, and winemakers meeting first Fridays throughout the growing season from 6 to 8 p.m.

On May 14, 2011 Raymond Winery briefed a contingent of the wine press on transformations taking place throughout the Boisset Family Estates. Approaching the visitors' center, a Daliesque landscape offers clues to the innovative programs which lay in wait ahead.

March 23, 2011 (a very rainy day) was perfect for reviewing the current release portfolio at Cuvaison's Silverado Trail tasting room in a deep presentation by associate Travis Elder, and joined by their direct marketing specialist Suzanna Boogay. Their commitment to sustainable green vineyard and winery practices are commendable, from grey water treatment to solar power. Their Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Cabernet are all extremely good.

With its' 1400 foot elevation, steep slopes, micro-climate, red volcanic soil, fog inversion layer, lower yields, mineral flavors, and smaller but more intense fruit, Howell Mountain earned the appellation designation for which its' growers and vintners collaborated so originally as well as effectively. It was the first sub-appellation of the Napa Valley AVA to gain certification, which is the form of classification that we can all rally around.

In the current exhibit entitled "How Wine Became Modern" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, one wall is dedicated to groups of labelling images that have craftily and categorically advanced brands.

The categories are: