On Wine Report

IT SEEMS AS IF every time a new report comes out regarding climate change and wine, the industry immediately goes into shock, denouncing or bemoaning the grim predictions. This falls on the release of a recent report from the University of Maryland painting a dismal picture of the future for... Read More

GET READY for durian wine. yes, that would be wine made from the smelliest fruit on the planet. So foul is its odor that there is an expression to describe the durian’s creamy yellow flesh: “it tastes like heaven but smells like hell”. Known as the king of fruits, it... Read More

Written by Bill Nesto MW and Frances di Savino, The World of Sicilian Wine provides wine lovers with a comprehensive understanding of Sicilian wine, from its ancient roots to its modern evolution.  Offering a guide and map to exploring Sicily, Bill Nesto, an expert in Italian wine, and Frances di... Read More

WELL, ALMOST NO ONE that is. Only one person out of 7O Master Sommelier candidates from around the United States passed the most recent exam that took place this July in Dallas. The result has raised concerns that, in light of the recent attention the Court of Master Sommeliers has... Read More

FROM FLOODING to freezing temps, Mother Nature has not been kind to France’s wine industry for the last few years. But the country is currently on course for a normal-sized grape harvest, although continued poor weather could yet jeopardize this year’s crop, according to the country’s agriculture ministry. In its... Read More

SACRE BLEU!  CAN IT BE POSSIBLE?  The French are making a wine blended with . . . cola?  Sad but true.  In a major break with tradition, Rouge Sucette (French for red lollipop), is made from 75 percent grapes with water, sugar and cola flavoring making up the remainder.  Sure... Read More

WINE FRAUD is a rampant and growing problem in the industry. In an effort to fight fakes, winemakers are turning to technology in the form of smartphones. A quick scan can give the consumer a direct link to the supplier’s website to verify the label, trace the wine’s journey from... Read More

THERE’S SOME MAJOR GARDENING taking place in Napa. A massive replanting that will uproot 15% of vineyards in Napa Valley over the next five to six years has begun. Jennifer Putnam, the Napa Valley Grapegrowers’ executive director, said nurseries were completely sold out of vines until 2O15, and that “we... Read More

IT’S ABOUT TO GET REALLY COMPLICATED to read a Sonoma County wine label. New legislation is coming into effect requiring all producers to label their wines Sonoma County even if they are part of specific sub-appellations. But the regulations are not sitting well with small winemakers. Under the new law,... Read More

HAVING AN ACUTE SENSE OF SMELL is an integral component to being a wine professional.  But could the human nose be on the way out?  A group of Swedish and Spanish engineers have invented an “electronic nose” capable of detecting fruit aromas more effectively than a human.  Using its 32... Read More