Field Notes from a Wine Life ? Media Edition

Odds and ends from a life lived through the prism of the wine glass…

Rex Pickett

If you’re not reading Rex Pickett’s (author of Sideways and Vertical) blog, you are officially remiss.

Pickett is a gifted writer who cranks out perfectly incubated long-form posts with turns of phrase that are both wry and rich, offering insight into the machinations of publishing, film and stage that few culture vultures grasp.

Pickett recently wrote an extensive (3900 word) post on the reasons why a film sequel to Sideways (directed by Alexander Payne) would not be made from Vertical, Pickett’s book sequel.  In doing so, Pickett offered a discursive meditation on Payne’s artistic pathos and the factors that may be playing into Vertical’s stall on the way to celluloid.

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Unfortunately, Pickett removed the post after re-publishing a second version that deleted much of the armchair psychologist rumination he originally channeled from Payne’s psyche.  An email inquiry to Pickett on why he removed the post (in either iteration) has gone unanswered.

If I were a muckraker, I would publish the post because Pickett’s deletion of the post from his site did not delete the post from RSS feed readers like Bloglines or Google Reader.  But, I’m not a muckraker…

Hopefully, Pickett will revisit the topic in a manner that is less confessional and more elucidation because it was worth the extended read time.  Until then you can read the other posts on his site and gain tremendous insight into the vicissitudes of the publishing process, what the afterglow is like after capturing the cultural zeitgeist and how he’s helping bring Sideways to the theatre with a stage version.

It’s definitely recommended reading.

A Discovery of Witches

While we’re on the topic of books and authors (and with Halloween around the corner), a reinforcing mention goes to Deb Harkness of Good Wine Under $20.  Earlier this year a little book she wrote called, “A Discovery of Witches” was published and immediately shot up the best sellers lists.  The movie rights were acquired this summer by Warner Bros, likely securing Harkness’ financial future in the process.

While I read fiction infrequently (the last fiction book being Vertical by Rex Pickett), those that I know who can tell the difference between kindling and a classic call A Discovery of Witches “mad genius.”
Any conversation about a wine blogger doing good should begin with Deb Harkness who is now dabbling in rarified air.  Pick up her book if you haven’t yet.

Bargain Wine Books

There’s little doubt, in the prolonged US economic malaise we’re experiencing, that “value wine” and “bargain wine” are hot topics.  Heck, an entire channel of business has been defined with “Flash” wine sale sites.  Given that, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a couple of wine books would be published with this specific focus.

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What is a surprise is that the books are authored by wine writers with real chops engaged in offering a deeper narrative than the slapdash compendiums of wine lists that has passed muster in years gone by.
Just in time for the holidays, Natalie MacLean has Unquenchable: A Tipsy Quest for the World’s Best Bargain Wines publishing on November 1st and George Taber, a wine writer on a tear with his fourth book in six years, has A Toast to Bargain Wines: How Innovators, Iconoclasts, and Winemaking Revolutionaries Are Changing the Way the World Drinks publishing on November 15th.

An Idea worth Duplicating?

Celebrity deaths come in threes and new wine ideas come in twos.

We’ve seen this duplicative market entry in recent years with winery reservation systems CellarPass and VinoVisit and now we’re seeing it with quasi-wine search engines.

WineMatch and VinoMatch are both in the early stages of launch purporting to help a consumer match their likes with wines they might enjoy.

Meh.  The problem with these sites isn’t that consumers don’t need help finding a wine they like, the problem is that most wine consumers don’t understand what kind of wine they like.  Yes, it’s the tannins that dry the back of the mouth and its residual sugar that makes that K-J so delectable…

By the time consumers figure out their likes and dislikes graduating beyond the “go-to,” they don’t care about having somebody help them “match” their wines to their tastes because they’re on their own adventure.

It’s just my opinion, but these sites face looooong odds of finding consumer success and short of the slick willy seduction that happens with some wineries who haven’t been bitten and as such aren’t twice shy, they won’t find *any* success.  But, I’ve been wrong before, at least once.

Pictures and Pithiness

While we’re on the topic of online wine services, I’m not sure whether I should be happy or aghast that I’ve been a habitué of the online wine scene for long enough to see a derivative – it’s like watching a remake of the movie Footloose when I was saw the original in the theatre.

There’s a new wine site called TasteJive that takes the concept of a wine blog called Chateau Petrogasm, popular in 2007 and 2008, to new heights.

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Around the premise that a picture is worth a thousand words even if that picture has nothing to do with wine, they have created a site that provides nothing but visual metaphors with a 140 character description for finding wines you might like.

I loved the idea of Chateau Petrogasm, I like the idea of a perfectly crafted 140 character slug, but I’m very uncertain about the community aspect of TasteJive—the users who control the uploading of pictures and descriptions.

As noted mid-20th century photographer Diane Arbus said, “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”

Not exactly a recipe for success in bumping into a wine.

Source: http://goodgrape.com/index.php/site/field_notes_from_a_wine_life_media_edition/

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Costco Value Alert(s)!

Just back from a shopping trip to Costco in Waltham, MA and they had what I thought were some very good deals for wine enthusiasts.

First off was a nice price on Riedel stemware. $99.99 for 8 Vinum Bordeaux stems. Compared to around $25 per stem that you typically see these going for this is a fantastic deal. Riedel sells these for $177 (buy 6 get 2 free supposedly). Amazon sells them for around 2 for $50:

...so $99 for 8 Vinum stems at Costco ($12.50 per stem) is a great price. If you're not near a Costco that carries these -- or if you're looking for a dishwasher safe, lead-free option -- I continue to think these Schott Zwiesel Tritan Fortes are the best $10 stem you can buy:

Next up was a closeout on the Vinturi Wine Aerator:


Vinturis normally sell for closer to $30 on Amazon. The price ending in "7" at Costco is our cue that it's a closeout so buy now if you want one at this price. Full video review of the Vinturi wine aerator here.

So two nice deals and we haven't even hit the wine section yet.

For those unfamiliar with Massachusetts liquor laws, it's illegal to sell wine contingent on a club membership so alcohol needs to be sold separately from other goods. Non-Costco members are allowed to buy alcohol without a membership. So alcohol is sold past the register in a separate caged area. Crazy, right?

Anyway, they've usually got pretty good deals on wine but the inventory is rather static. When they do get something good in it goes quickly. If you had a mole inside Costco it would be handy.

They had a few wines I took note of that I hadn't seen before.

First was the 2010 Beringer Knights Valley Cabernet for $14.99. With no tax on alcohol in MA this is a phenomenal price. The lowest I see nationwide on wine-searcher.com is $16.98. The 2009 rendition of this wine was rated 91 points by Wine Spectator. I popped a bottle tonight and it's a very nice bottle of $15 Cabernet. I'd say 87-89 points in my book.


They also had the 2009 Robert Mondavi Napa Cabernet for a little over $18. That's nothing new, but as we wander around the wine world seeking out obscure producers, Mondavi is one to come back to for palate calibration. I'll let you know if it's worth mentioning when I open it but I expect it to be what it always is: A solid Napa Cab for less than $20.

Finally, the Vieux Telegraphe CdP has clicked over to the 2009 vintage. At $58.99 it's on par with nationwide low pricing, but 2010 is a regarded as a better vintage. Maybe buy a bottle of the 2009 and stalk the bin to see if it ever clicks over to the 2010 vintage. Let us know if it does in the comments okay?


Don't forget - Scoop the Spectator 2012 runs through Friday. Get your entries in if you haven't already.

I've got a bunch of good stuff in the hopper for future posts including a write-up on the best California Pinot Noirs available at Warehouse clubs now. The suspense! Subscribe to the WWP to receive new posts via email.


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/_ZvoG3c0pTI/costco-value-alerts.html

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Obama gives Boehner a birthday Brunello

At the White House yesterday, our political leaders met to find a way from steering the country over the fiscal cliff. Even though their positions still seem far apart, the general tone afterward was positive and one of comity (probably better than comedy, in this situation). Setting the mood early, President Obama publicly wished Speaker [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/94VMYhR0-Gk/

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Platinum and Gold Finished Corkscrew

If you want to have the most expensive corkscrew in the world, then Sveid?s offering will be your ultimate choice. Each one of this is made to order with fifty-two pieces. Most of these are aviation titanium, and is specially packaged in an elegant presentation box. The Sveid corkscrew is extremely customizable, with a fingertip [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/vagablond/ysSN/~3/qF1Fnr0Mzt4/

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There?s no future for wine

Try this exercise. Imagine the world in 50 or 100 years. Picture the innovations, the changes to everyday life, and the things that will remain the same. How will life for you or your kids be different? [Maybe have a glass of wine while you think about it, why not?] Here’s a shortcut. Think of [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/6-feNK_xsaI/

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Five Easy Winter Projects for Winery Marketers

It’s November, post-Harvest and going into slow season for winery marketers.  Thought I would put together a short list of projects that may make your life easier in 2011 with a little time put in during the winter. 1.  Claim your winery on location based services and review sites. Even if you don’t use the [...]

Source: http://familylovewine.wordpress.com/2010/11/21/five-easy-winter-projects-for-winery-marketers/

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