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Tuesday, December 16, 2014

It's on the Internet, so it must be true!

One of the stories making the rounds in the digital winesphere is about a recent segment on the Canadian radio show This is That. The segment featured two Canadian wine producers from the Okanagan Valley and the Niagara region. The host began by asking his guests what makes Canadian wine so good. From that point on, the two guests attacked and disparaged each other (and denounced innocent New Hampshire's wine industry in the process). The Sean Connery-esque Daniel Semple even quipped that the Okanagan pinot noir brought by the other guest "may have just been some garbage." At that point, physical violence ensued.

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Crossing the Border Guards

Wine appellations fascinate me because my of my interest and background in geography. I often feel like the father in My Big Fat Greek Wedding because I think almost everything has its roots in geography (I mean, describing the phenomena of the Earth is what geography is...). In particular, American Viticultural Areas, or AVAs for short, really intrigue me. Not because they are great in and of themselves, but that they reveal the cultural and political aspects of wine appellations more readily than those in Europe. And yes, culture and politics are just as geographical at heart as soil and climate.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Taste of Vail preview...

Wine festivals aren't my favorite events. They are usually crowded and impersonal. I have gone to a few Colorado specific festivals for pleasure and for work in the past. I have not had the pleasure of attending either of the two big ones in Colorado, Aspen Food & Wine and Taste of Vail. Sadly, I usually think of them as they are happening, and in the case of Aspen cannot afford the high entry fee. I was invited as media to Taste of Vail last year, but was not able to attend. I will put it on my calendar because it seems to offer a variety of wine events that don't seem to encourage the drunk fest of just a big tasting.