Bordeaux says no to American ?chateaux?

Could sales of Chateau Buffalo spread like wildfire in wine shops on the banks of the Seine, elbowing French wine from consumers’ shopping baskets? That’s what a trade group from Bordeaux fears. The EU is considering a proposal to allow American wines to export to Europe using the name “chateau.” In France, to have “chateau” [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/m5hLlpXbYqI/

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Tasting Leelanau 2012 ? Tandem Ciders & Left Foot Charley

CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE I first noticed Tandem Ciders on someone?s Facebook posting, and with just a little bit of investigation, realized that this would have to be must-visit for Kim and this taster. We?ve found that we have an affinity for artisanal ciders, and the scuttlebutt about this Suttons Bay producer was all positive, [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/twGS3RjkOME/tandem-lfc

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I have seen the future of artisan wine, and it comes in a can

This may sound odd, but there is a link between packaging innovation and the increasing focus on biodynamics and ‘natural wine’, it just isn’t a simple one. I am not suggesting that natural wine producers are better served choosing tetrapacks, paper bottles or aluminium cans for their wines (although they might), but sometimes the simplest [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/4sUTVA9ewao/

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Winners of the Louis Roederer Wine Writing Awards 2012

Congratulations to the many winners of the Louis Roederer Wine Writing Awards presented tonight in London. Whilst the awards that Vrazon helped to create,the Born Digital Wine Awards, recognise the growing talent of content written specifically for online media, it is fair to say that this is not yet the mainstream of wine writing. Tonight’s categories [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheWineConversation/~3/zPEZ9O7k8nE/

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A ?Zinful? Experience

Last Saturday I was lucky to be able to attend the Zinfandel Festival at Fort Mason in San Francisco. ZAP, The Association of Zinfandel Advocates & Producers celebrates Zinfandel America?s Heritage Grape and is dedicated to preserving the history of Zinfandel through the Heritage Vineyard at UC Davis. It is the largest single varietal tasting [...]

Source: http://blogs.fairplex.com/blog/wine/?p=36

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Wine Word of the Week: Body

This week?s Wine Word of the Week is body. Official definition from Jancis Robinson?s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Body is the tasting term for the perceived ?weight??the sensation of fullness, resulting from density or viscosity?of a wine on the palate. Wines at either end of the scale are described as full bodied and light [...]

Wine Word of the Week: Body was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/Z54KCGm0gGQ/

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2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir: QPR Alert?

When Wine Spectator dropped a 93 point rating on the 2010 Calera Central Pinot Noir it was a second validation that this bottling has become one to be reckoned with in the California Pinot Noir value spectrum.

The 2009 vintage was rated 92 points by the Wine Advocate, and combined with its modest $24 release price and relatively high production levels (around 10,000 cases) the wine seems destined to join the likes of Siduri and Loring as perennial Pinot value plays.

I was just browsing through the Wine Spectator rating database and man...I had a hard time finding a 93 point California Pinot Noir for $25 or less. I had to go back into the early '90s to a time when Pinot was in its infancy in California and producers were just getting started with the grape to find a Pinot this affordable and highly rated.

But when you're buying by the numbers you're hanging your hopes on one person's palate. In the case of Wine Spectator that's James Laube who has a reputation with some for preferring ripe wines - and he states as much in his tasting notes for the wine: "very ripe but still complex". [Spectator online subscription required]

If we consult the wisdom of the masses we currently see a Cellar Tracker community rating for the 2009 at 89.1 and the 2010 is currently averaging 90.3.

If we run these metrics through the WWP QPR Calculator (what's that?) we get a 2.5: A Very Good value.

The wine is also referred to as the 35th Anniversary Vintage - and there's some confusion and duplicate entries on Cellar Tracker for sure. But there's no special bottling to seek out. If you're buying the 2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir you're getting the wine that Spectator rated 93 points. Here are my thoughts on the wine:

2010 Calera Central Coast Pinot Noir [35th Anniversary Vintage]
$24 Release Price
14.9% Alcohol
7,688 Cases Produced

Primary [very] ripe plum notes mug the otherwise nice Pinot characteristics lurking in the background. 14.9% alcohol (up from 14.2% in 2009) and it shows. The wine clings heavily to the glass and there's heat at the backend of every sip. An instantaneous aerator the first night and an evening of rest under stopper didn't help accelerate the aging process. Will this be better with time? I wouldn't count on it. But for $24 retail it's a decent wine I guess. I just can't see my way to 92 or 93 points.

88/100 WWP: Very Good

Where to Buy


In Massachusetts:
Elsewhere: Search on Wine-Searcher.com in your state

Question of the Day: Have you had this wine? If so, what did you think?


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WellesleyWinePress/~3/N9t4QEe48Ks/2010-calera-central-coast-pinot-noir.html

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