A wine buying guide for the curious wine enthusiast.
Can’t Keep ‘em Down on the Farm After They’ve Seen Puhree In 1976, an Englishman who owned a wine shop in Paris hit upon the idea of holding a blind tasting pitting ten of France’s and California’s best producers against one another. He enlisted nine French wine experts as judges; the French wines included the …
An American in Paris Steven Spurrier is an Englishman who once owned a wine shop in Paris that catered to the English-speaking expatriate community. In 1976, in order to drum up interest in his business, he hit upon the idea of holding a blind tasting pitting ten of France’s and California’s best producers against one …
Continue reading “Chateau Montelena Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay”
Note: This isn’t really a blog post, but rather a long-form essay. If you would prefer a printed copy for reading, the PDF is here. For an edited “Reader’s Digest” version of this essay that is about half as long, the PDF is here. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction Spanish Colonization The Spanish Mission System The …
Beaulieu Vineyard is one of California’s oldest and most celebrated wineries. It was established by Georges de Latour and his wife Fernande in 1900, and is situated in the Rutherford AVA in Napa Valley. De Latour was born October 20, 1856, in Bordeaux, France. At the age of twenty-six, he immigrated to San Francisco, where …
Continue reading “Beaulieu Vineyard Georges De Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2019”
In 1881, Josephine Marlin Tychson and her Danish husband, John, traveled from Pennsylvania to St. Helena in the hope of alleviating his tuberculosis and becoming vintners. They purchased 147 acres of property just north of town from a retired sea captain, William Sayward, who had earlier bought the land from Charles Krug. They planted Zinfandel, …
Continue reading “Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2017”
x “I came into the field of wine [at a young age], not because my parents were wine drinkers, but because I was given a microscope when I was 12 years old. I heard about these things called yeast, and I wanted to see what they looked like under a microscope. I was told if …
Eric Flanagan did not come of age with a background in the wine business, or even farming. After graduating from college in 1985, he embarked on a banking career, which he pursued until 2013. His job during those years took him on journeys around the world. He had always had an interest in wine, …
Wine is ancient, relatively simple (i.e. you can make wine at home, but not a cell phone), essential for wine lovers like us, but also highly competitive, perhaps now more than ever. So, marketing is essential for producers to differentiate themselves. Marketing roughly covers four areas: labels, advertising, influencers, and other channels. But first, some …
Continue reading “A Short History of Wine Marketing, Particularly in California”