Good Reads Wednesday

September 1st, 2010

by Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines (Seven Artisans, Sly Dog Cellars, Red Côte)

jeff-smEvery Wednesday I post my recommendations of the best of last week’s postings concerning wine, whether blogs or news. I list them in the order I read them, so you shouldn’t infer anything about the order in which I list these posts.

One daily glass of wine ‘can double risk of breast cancer’

SOPHIE BORLAND

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1305576/One-glass-wine-day-double-risk-cancer.html

Even moderate alcohol consumption increases the risk of one type of breast cancer in this study.

Wine, alcohol, and tax – in Wine & Spirits magazine

Dr. Vino

http://www.drvino.com/2010/08/24/wine-alcohol-tax-wine-spirits-magazine/#more-7473

An interesting summary of findings concerning the accuracy of the stated alcohol content on wine labels.

Structure, or lack thereof: California’s bogeyman

Steve Heimoff

http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/08/24/structure-or-lack-thereof-californias-bogeyman/

I’m in total agreement with Heimoff’s view that California wines need more structure (i.e., tannin).

Is The Recession Ending In the Wine Industry?

Wark’s Fermentation

http://fermentation.typepad.com/fermentation/2010/08/is-the-recession-ending-in-the-wine-industry.html

Wark’s view that things are getting better in the wine industry, based largely on increased job listings. Not sure if he’s right, but we can all hope.

For keeping up to date with what’s going on the in wine world, the best all around source is http://winebusiness.com.

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Is Wine Healthy?

August 30th, 2010

by Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines (Seven Artisans, Sly Dog Cellars, Red Côte)

jeff-smAs I was reading the report of a recent study showing that alcohol consumption increased the rate of at least one kind of breast cancer, the whole subject of the health of wine re-presented itself to me.

This is a subject that I find fascinating, and I always read through the reports of any new study on the subject that appears in the wine-related websites I routinely read.

I have to admit to a certain bias since I would, of course, like to conclude that wine is a healthful beverage. That bias is not just as a wine producer, but also as a consumer, where I would like to think that my imbibing is protecting me from certain diseases and, in general, adding to my lifespan.

Certainly, if you’re trying to find evidence that wine is healthy, there’s lots of studies you can point to. Population studies seem to show that people’s that consume wine live longer. Of course, these studies are very difficult to analyze, since there are all sorts of other factors that could account for the result. Still, when so many different countries where wine consumption is relatively high seem to experience increased longevity, you would hope there’s something to the connection.

There’s certainly a lot of evidence out there as well that alcohol consumption in general, and perhaps wine consumption in particular, is good for the heart. I think it would be fair to say that moderate alcohol consumption is the key, since the benefits seem to disappear with high levels of consumption.

But for every indication that wine is good for you, there’s another study which points in the opposite direction. Certainly, there is mounting evidence that at least certain cancers are more common among alcohol consumers (such as the recent breast cancer study).

Nor can there be any denying that excessive consumption has obvious and incontrovertible downsides. Whatever may be the benefits long-term of alcohol consumption, one drunk driver can render all those benefits irrelevant. Having been rear-ended by a driver whose blood alcohol level was well beyond the legal limit, I can attest that only the good fortune that no other vehicle was coming the other way when I was pushed in to the intersection prevented me from being another drunk driving statistic.

Nor can we ignore the fact that excessive alcohol consumption leads to some very bad health consequences (cirrhosis of the liver, DT’s).

It seems that if there were a clear case that wine was a net benefit or net detriment, then that case would be made already. But I think what we’re going to continue to get is a series of studies that tend to establish that wine is good for some things, and bad for others. Undoubtedly, many of these studies will look compelling, but then fail to withstand the test of time as other studies show different results.

I think my sense of the issue is that moderate wine consumption probably is a net benefit, if only because the afflictions where it seems to be helpful are more prevalent than those where it seems to be harmful (e.g., heart disease is more common than is cancer). I think, however, that the net benefit is much less than at least some in the wine business would argue for.

It would do us well to keep in mind that few of us drink wine primarily for its possible health benefits—we drink because we enjoy it. I would certainly like to think that something I enjoy as much as wine is healthful to boot. While I’m not sure of what effect wine will have on the quantity of my life, I have little doubt that it increases the quality of my life. If it adds a few days to my life, so much the better. And if it should turn out it subtracts a few days from my life, then I guess that’s something I’ll just have to live with.

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Good Reads Wednesday

August 25th, 2010

by Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines (Seven Artisans, Sly Dog Cellars, Red Côte)

jeff-smEvery Wednesday I post my recommendations of the best of last week’s postings concerning wine, whether blogs or news. I list them in the order I read them, so you shouldn’t infer anything about the order in which I list these posts.

“Killer” California Chardonnays

Bob Ecker

Here’s Bob Ecker’s Killer Chardonnay article, that I referred to recently in my article on Chardonnays at http://artisanfamilyofwines.com/blog/?p=1267 . Most of the recommended wines are balanced with good acidity, the antithesis of the traditional buttery, overoaked version of this grape.

When wine goes bad: a critic’s take on low scores

Steve Heimoff

http://www.steveheimoff.com/index.php/2010/08/17/when-wine-goes-bad-a-critics-take-on-low-scores/

Heimoff’s discussion of the plethora of lower quality wines he’s been reviewing lately.

Ravenscroft Glasses, are they players?

Wine Blog

http://www.wine-blog.org/index.php/2010/08/17/11810/

This post highlights the importance of the glass in tasting wine.

Pairing whites with the thermometer – summer edition

Dr. Vino

http://www.drvino.com/2010/08/19/drinking-white-wines-temperature-summer/

We commonly think of wine pairings with food. This post focuses on the importance of pairing with the weather, an obvious but largely ignored subject.

A Tasting Primer: Easy Tips to Learn About & Enjoy Wine

Michael Tennant

http://palatepress.com/2010/08/a-tasting-primer-easy-tips-to-learn-about-enjoy-wine/

An excellent primer on wine tasting.

Cool summer means more precautions and a little prayer for wine grape growers

Jessica Yadegaran

http://www.mercurynews.com/food-wine/ci_15830922?nclick_check=1

Opinions are all over the place concerning how our cool growing season will affect the ultimate harvest.

Napa Dramatically Reduces Grapevine Pest

Jane Firstenfeld

http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=news&content=77583&htitle=Napa%20Dramatically%20Reduces%20Grapevine%20Pest

A summary of where we stand in the battle against the European Grapevine Moth. Much progress, but still a long ways to go.

For keeping up to date with what’s going on the in wine world, the best all around source is http://winebusiness.com.

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Are California Wines Bound to Get Worse?

August 23rd, 2010

by Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines (Seven Artisans, Sly Dog Cellars, Red Côte)

jeff-smI was talking the other day with my friend Arthur (The Wine Sooth), and he raised an interesting question: In light of the pressure on the part of producer to maintain profits while maintaining competitive pricing, are we likely to see an overall decline in wine quality as a result of the current economic downturn?

I have to admit that I’d never really thought about this before, but it’s kind of an obvious question to ask as more producers struggle to maintain their revenues and market share while facing an increasingly cash-strapped and reluctant buying public. I’m not really sure of the answer, but there’s certainly both a pro and a con side to this issue.

On the “Pro” side (quality should decline), most obvious is the fact that reducing retail prices while maintaining positive revenue means more and more of the wine on the market has to come from mass-production Central Valley vineyards. These grapes, nothing special to begin with, are then rammed through a fermentation and aging process (if any) that emphasizes doing things on the cheap (to maximize net profit). As more and more wines on the shelves are made of 100% or 25% low-quality Central Valley fruit, on average, we’d expect to see a greater level of mediocrity. As more poor quality California wines enter the market, the lower the overall (average) quality of California wine. It’s a fact of life that fine winemaking and $7.99 retail really don’t pair very well.

But I think it goes further than that. As a producer, can you (or should you) spend the same amount of money to make what used to be a $30 wine that now only fetches $15-20 a bottle? Likewise, if you’re a grape grower who used to get $4,000/ton, and you can’t even get half that now, are you able to (or can you afford to) put the same amount of effort into farming? Measures that lower the cost of growing or producing wine will in all likelihood result in lower quality wine.

Additionally, when you’re already struggling to make a small profit on your wines and you pride yourself on making a high-quality product, why would you want to expand production, or even maintain production, beyond what you’re pretty certain you can sell? It follows that if less high end wine is being produced, the overall quality of wine has to be affected.

Also on the “pro” side is the consolidation that’s taking place in the wine business. To some extent, this is due to the ongoing trend of larger companies buying up smaller ones - a trend that’s accelerated in these hard times. In addition, larger companies are gaining market share at the expense of smaller companies that can’t compete in the lower end of the market. Either way, if you believe, as I do, that smaller wineries as a rule make better wines, the declining market share of smaller wineries should translate into lesser overall quality. It’s a matter of the proportions of what’s on the shelves.

That’s the “pro” side of the argument. But there’s a “con” side as well.

Grapes from the most prestigious areas (e.g., Napa, Sonoma) are still being grown and harvested and turned into wine, and it’s unlikely this will change to any significant degree. So if the best vineyards are still being harvested and wine is being made from them, we should expect that the quality at the high end, as always, will be maintained. Or, at least, that’s the argument.

Also on the “con” side is the general trend towards improvement in grapegrowing and winemaking that we’ve witnessed over the last few decades. This improvement, though minimal from one season to the next, over a period of years has to help the general level of wine quality irrespective of the prevailing economics in any particular year. Even in the Central Valley. And the argument can be made that if, after an economic recovery, wines labeled California continue to be made from Central Valley fruit, market pressures will drive improvements in growing in that region – leading to better (if still not stellar) wines.

And the ultimate “con” argument is that the present economic pressures will dissipate, and we’ll be back to business as usual in a few years. That raises the question whether we’re witnessing a basic change in the wine business that won’t be undone whenever the good times return. Its really going to depend on the consumer, who may, or may not, have permanently altered their view of what’s an acceptable wine. I guess, in the end, that’s the $64,000 question.

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Good Reads Wednesday

August 18th, 2010

by Jeff Miller of Artisan Family of Wines (Seven Artisans, Sly Dog Cellars, Red Côte)

jeff-smEvery Wednesday I post my recommendations of the best of last week’s postings concerning wine, whether blogs or news. I list them in the order I read them, so you shouldn’t infer anything about the order in which I list these posts.

Grape growers cool with mercury-shy summer

http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_b772c54a-a5cb-11df-b425-001cc4c03286.html

The reactions of various grape growers to the cool growing season. Not exactly panic yet, but concern and uncertainty about what the balance of the season will bring.

STEINER: “PEOPLE WITH CANCER SHOULD BE FORBIDDEN TO EAT TOMATOES”

Biodynamics is a Hoax

http://biodynamicshoax.wordpress.com/2010/08/14/steiner-people-with-cancer-should-be-forbidden-to-eat-tomatoes/

This post is most interesting for its nutty quotes from Rudolf Steiner, the founder of Biodynamics.

For keeping up to date with what’s going on the in wine world, the best all around source is http://winebusiness.com.

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