NoBullGrape

Couldn't have said it anywhere near as well

Guest columnist Richard Olsen-Harbich of Long Island's North Fork winery Raphael has a great piece on the importance of location -- everywhere around the world -- at the always interesting Lenndevours.

As he says:

Remember a merlot grape -- the same merlot grape -- grown in upstate New York or Sonoma or Bordeaux will not taste the same even if we used exactly the same processing techniques. It's the terroir stupid!
In our arrogance, we sometimes forget how little influence we have over the natural world. I want to know what goes into my wine if that’s not too much trouble. (And please don’t bother to tell me its organic -- that’s a topic for another post.) But when I’m enjoying wine from another region, I want to imagine what that part of the world smells like, tastes like and what the people drink. Maybe its because I can’t afford to travel there myself so enjoying the wine is the next best thing to being there.

As you think about going to pick up your turkey, take a read here.

Names, location talked about everywhere!

Tom over at  Fermentations makes some very good points about the previously mentioned Center for Wine Origins.  By the way, they seem to have launched a very nice web site since we last spoke about them.

I highly recommend reading Tom's piece.

In addition, Daniel Sogg of the Wine Spectator does a great job outlining how the California Supreme Court (protecting the name Napa against the Fred Franzia's of the world who want to use the words on bottles that do not include grapes from Napa) are in direct opposition to the position of the US Government (read Wine Institute) in the Wine Accords.

In the end, all 3 -- Sogg, Fermentations and the Center for Wine Origins -- come to a similar conclusion.  Place names matter and semi-generics should cease being used.  As Fermentations makes clear, these names do not inherently guarantee quality, but -- whether it is a truth-in-labeling issue or time for everyone to stand on their own two feet -- they certainly should only be used by these particular regions. 

Wait I missed some really good winery blogs!!!

As I have said before, winery blogs give all of us who don't live near a working winery wonderful insight into the very interesting harvest period.  I provided some winery blogs earlier, but have been notified that there are more.  Wonderful!

Here's an  list of some I had missed.

In particular would like to point out Dover Canyon Winery as they have a great blog and were kind enough to shoot me a note.  Looks like they will be picking very soon.

Anne Amie Vineyards

Atelier Winery

Match Vineyards

Oklahoma Wine News (Nuyaka Creek)

Preston Vineyards (Lou's Musings)

Sokol Blosser
BIG CONGRATULATIONS ON JUST GAINING ORGANIC CERTIFICATION!!!!

Wood Family Vineyards

The  Winery Website Report where many of these came from also has a blog.  They are certainly right to note that the lack of blogs among the zillions of wineries out there is quite amazing.  I hope this trend changes as the more I know about a winery, its commitment to its particular land and the people behind the label, the more likely I am to buy their wine.  Kudos to those already doing this and looking forward to discovering many more winery blogs in the coming months.

Learning about harvest via wine blogs

The Northern Hemisphere harvest season is in full swing.  It is a great time to learn about what goes into your wine.  This year it is even better as there are a number of cool blogs run by vintners that give you unparalleled access.  Remember, winemaking is VERY HARD WORK.  Therefore, don't give up on blogs that don't post much as they have their hands full right now.

Here are a just a few of the ones I like (and I'm sure there are many that I have yet to discover):
Domaine de la Gramiere -- The first harvest of a US family seeking to make organic wine in Languedoc
Anomaly Vineyards -- Napa vineyard that is about to start picking.
Carolyn Tillie's Ultimate Grape Vine Blog -- Great photos, insight, etc. on the situation in her part of California

Terroir, Napa Declaration and Terry Theise

Great entry on the Dr. Vino blog that ties together past events that we have discussed here, future conferences and the excitement that one of the better importers of quality wines finds from the impact that unique places have on wine.

Great places need great people

One of the hopes of this blog is to not only focus on the great winegrowing locations of the world, but the people who are behind some of the best wines that come from these places.   In part, I have been inspired by a recent blog that announced they will be following the path of an Argentine winemaker, a distributor and a retailer for a year.  This will provide a great insight on three views on the wine business.  I urge you to join me in following The Real Wine World,.  I have visited Susana Balbo and Pedro Marchevsky at the Dominio del Plata winery outside of Mendoza, Argentina.  I am very excited that they will be the winery that will be followed for a year.    Pedro and Susana are gifted growers and winemakers who are commited to making the most out of the land they have bought in Mendoza (yes, it is as breathtaking as this picture makes it out to be).  Their wine is great and their perspective over the next year should make for an interesting story.