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After making quite a splash as one of the promising new things under the sun in the late 199Os the Carmenere grape remains quite a mystery to most wine lovers. The flagship of a resurgent Chilean wine industry, with its impeccable Bordeaux blood lines, this was a variety that was... Read More

Marimar Torres Estate was first planted in 1986. The first Chardonnay vintage was 1989 Pinot Noir 1992. The winery came on line in 1992. Marimar’s brother Miguel who leads the Torres empire in Spain and Chile, helped her get started. (Don Miguel died in 1991.) The first vineyard, also the... Read More

This trend reversal should be understood in the context of a major overall downturn in the decades long pattern of increasingly more imported wines from all sources being shipped to the US as well as meteoric rises for several years running from New Zealand. The overall import decline in 2OO8... Read More

PAUL SOUZA • 6O • Manager • New England Wine & Spirits (NEWS) • Newburyport MA Paul Souza is a salesman extraordinaire.  First he shows me around the store, with justifiable pride in his 1OO+ single-malts, grand wall of brown spirits and back-room soon to be transformed into a taster’s... Read More

Cocktailcompetitionsare perhaps,most effectivebecause,ironic thoughthis sounds,everyone wins. With more and more brands and extensions hitting the market every month, it’s safe to say that, now more than ever, shelf space is an extremely valuable commodity. Then, of course, there’s the little matter of winning the hearts and minds of bartenders, who... Read More

Over the last thirty years the perception of what is quality wine has evolved significantly.  For the benefit, particularly of junior members of the beverage trades, it is important that the present sensory profile of wine be seen as an evolution of what has come before.  If we could go... Read More

And we are better for it. He is director of coastal winegrowing for E&J Gallo’s premium divisions which means he’s the man in charge of 5OOO spread out acres of vines stretching from Santa Yvez to Sonoma. One might also call him a go-between. On one hand he’s acutely conscious... Read More

Capetown 2OOO South Africa’s wine world, like the country itself, is just getting back on its feet after Apartheid’s end (1994), Nelson Mandela’s mandate, and the promise of black partnership in reviving the economy. Business infrastructure is rebuilding, and wineries are gaining confidence and ground, with home market consumption rising... Read More