Musings

Appellation Distinctiveness = Market Suicide?

Submitted by Clark Smith on Tue, 04/08/2008 - 10:55am

The Buck Starts Here

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sun, 03/23/2008 - 12:35pm

Unfined, Unfiltered

Submitted by Clark Smith on Mon, 02/25/2008 - 3:43am

These revered words, first coined by Martin Ray and later popularized on Robert Mondavi Reserve bottlings, were early buzz words of noninterventionist winemaking as a hallmark of the ultrapremium.

I'm back!

Submitted by Clark Smith on Wed, 02/13/2008 - 9:56pm

No, it wasn't the Wine Police, just technical snafus which have kept the site down for almost a month. May the look and feel also return soon. -Clark

Grilling the Candidates

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sun, 01/27/2008 - 12:22pm

As I explained in Spoofulated or Artisanal?, the conversion of grapes into that stuff in your glass is obviously a major technological reshaping every time. Unlike the free, open ‘70’s and ‘80’s, today’s winemakers are lying low and keeping mum while paparazzi fire live ammo over their heads.

Pinot = Syrah?

Submitted by Clark Smith on Thu, 01/10/2008 - 1:09pm

In Dan Berger's latest Vintage Experiences he relates a conversation with a fellow judge, and East Coast Burgundy junkie, who indicated concern about California Pinot Noir and the current fad to blend these with 24% Syrah to obtain more color at the expense of covering up nuance. I was with him all the way until he stepped off the cliff of absolutism: "Color in Pinot Noir ought to be pale, not black. If you see a black Pinot, something is wrong."

De Long's Extreme Pours 2007

Submitted by Clark Smith on Fri, 12/14/2007 - 8:28am

The irrepressible Steve De Long posts yet another jewel -- this time a jibe at internet pouring excess.

Appellation panic

Submitted by Clark Smith on Wed, 12/05/2007 - 2:52pm

Artisanal or Spoofulated?

Submitted by Clark Smith on Wed, 11/28/2007 - 9:48am

Please check out my posting at Appellation America on the subject of wine manipulation.

Physics or Cognition?

Submitted by Clark Smith on Mon, 11/19/2007 - 1:23pm

Readers of the recent SF Chronicle articles on the work I’m involved in concerning the resonance of wine and music have written me to ask whether I think the effect is in our perception or some physical effect the musical vibration has on the structure of the wine.

Postmodern Winemaking