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Wineries in the Northern Hemisphere
are readying for harvest. Harvest is a celebration of
man's sweat-equity in the land, and not long ago in
1750, when refined sugar was a luxury, sweetness was
derived from wine grapes, which can be twice as sweet
as table grapes--both being available only from August
- November. Thus, not only was fresh wine (remember
historically foot-trodden grapes fermenting on natural
yeasts to give you "wine" in less than 10
days) dripping down your chin but perhaps the only sweetness
other than honey you may have tasted since the last
harvest, a year ago!
Speaking of foot-trodden grapes, here are some happy
stompers from the Chateau Elan Vineyard Fest on August
24th. By the way, for all of you "cork-guessers"
at this event, you should know that no one guessed the
exact amount, BUT 4 people were within 10 and did receive
some smaller prizes: Kim Cater, LaDonna Hocker, Adam
Woodman, and Todd Sanson.
Wine
South Wrap-up
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The Atlanta Wine
School booth at Wine South offered visitors
the chance to win a "Pamper Me Package"
care of Chateau Elan Winery & Resort--an
overnight stay with breakfasts, golf for
four, and spa services. Out of the 500+
entries, Merritt Wright was the lucky winner.
Not only is she cute but her email handle
is spagirl--not kidding. |
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Leading up to Wine South,
four ticket purchasers were chosen for four
prize packages, ranging from wine dinners
to kick-off party tickets. Pete Wilder (center
blue shirt) and friends get a picture with
Kevin Zraly (far right) after his Sunday
seminar. Pete won the prize package that
provided four complimentary entries to Kevin's
"60-Minute Wine Expert" seminar
as well as four signed "Windows on
the World Complete Wine Course" books
from Kevin. |
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120 visitors to Wine South
cast their vote in a blind-tasting which
pitted our young Georgia wine industry against
behomoths Washington State, Italy and Germany
dubbed the Georgia Wine Challenge. How did
Georgia wines fare? Read
on |
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Wednesday,
October 19th, 7pm - 9pm
Kendall Jackson Winery has a hand-full of programs
that are designed solely around education--the
Chardonnay winemaking class is one. Chardonnay
is unqiue in that it is the wine of a "thousand
faces." Join us for a one-of-a-kind event
for Atlanta. More
Info |
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Sunday,
October 23rd, 5pm - 7pm
Join us as we exam and TASTE
the wines that started it all--European wines!
We will journey through the Top Three Global producers
of wine: Italy, France & Spain. More
Info |
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Wednesday,
October 26th, 7pm - 9pm
The classic "world of reds" format of
10 reds from 10 red wine production pockets around
the globe. We'll even be pouring Uruguayan Syrah
& Tannat--and read up on Nora
Faveluke's account of this wine region. More
Info |
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Two Six-week
Courses to Choose from:
Monday, October 31st
- December 12th, 7pm - 9pm
or Wednesday, November 2nd - December 14th,
7-9pm
Learn how to detect and identify tastes/smells
in wine; learn the prominent wine regions of
France, Italy, Spain & California; learn
how to store/serve/buy wine--all the while tasting
approximately 60 wines for learning AND pleasure.
More
Info
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The Wine Harvest
Weekend Photos
Christian Munoz, formerly of Vina Morande, is
now with the Chilean marketing co. Andes Wines
on what is probably the biggest promotional
stunt ever in the wine world -- Christian is
riding his motorcyle from Chile to New York
City. No kidding.
By now he should be in Mexico,
and after he makes a clockwise swath around
the US, with a potential stop in Atlanta on
September 12th (we'll let you know), he'll finish
in NYC. Photos
& More Info
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Uruguayan
Wines
Roughly the size of Missouri, Uruguay has a longer
wine history than the US due to the colonization
of Spanish missionaries. But as we've seen in
South Africa and other now-prominent wine regions,
the French--in this case two Basque winemakers--planted
the grape from Madiran known as Tannat in 1870
and the rest shall we say is history. Nora Flavelukes'
is a native Argentine whose wine consulting company
has provided a hands-on knowledge of this emerging
region's wine. Read
on |
The Dump Bucket |
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-
Ernest Hemingway on Wine...
“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and
one of the most natural things of the world that has been
brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater
range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any
other purely sensory thing.”—ERNEST HEMINGWAY, Death in
the Afternoon
- "Hey, Drink Me...I'm Fruity
& Soft!"
A talking wine label? Skepticism setting in....It's actually
more interesting than it sounds on the surface. The label
is essentially identical to today's paper stuck with glue
model, yet it is made from plastic, and can be easily removed
to play like a CD! The soothing voice will tell you tasting
notes, ideal food pairings, etc. More
here
- Buying Wine Online
The eBay of wine "WineBid.com" has a nifty little
business--but ultimately shipping & distribution is
an issue. I discovered just today that the 1997 Nieport
Vintage Port purchased from someone with good ratings was
broken in transit. Guess I won't be giving that as a gift!
If you want to wade through the mire of buying wine online,
here is an article written by one of our subscribers, Jim
Morris. Jim's
Article on Buying Wine Online
- Wine Magazine for Women
The magazine editor-in-chief says, "Most women who
drink wine don't care about rating systems or amassing their
collections -- they simply want to enjoy wine and its related
lifestyle." Hmmm. As an educator who has been in front
of over 5,000 people in the last year pontificating about
wine, who is it that I look out and see in the audience?
Women. Who signs up for intermediate level courses to find
even greater subtlety in wine? Women. So why I applaud the
magazine I am also stating that making it mushy & too
soft will not appeal either--these are not Redbook readers.
More
here
- The Mondavis Give and Give and
Give
Robert Mondavi, our elder statesman of wine, is credited
with such generosity. The most recent donation earned him
the name of the center; in this case, The Robert Mondavi
Institute for Wine and Food Science. Read
on
- Napa Valley--Small Producer, BIG
Contributor
The California wine industry is estimated to have a total
annual economic impact of $45 billion. Napa Valley, the
most prestigious label on CA wine, and some say the most
glamorous wine region in the world, accounts for 4% of wine
produced in the state, BUT 21% of the economic impact. More
- Moderate Drinking Advocate Gene
Ford Passes
Gene Ford passed away in early June at the age of 77. Mr.
Ford was credited with wine writing and education, snaring
many honors, but will best be remembered for his position
on moderate drinking and the innumerable health benefits.
His fantastic website (which is still up) is a repository
of information. Visit
the Website
- Vineyards at 10,000 Feet
California's Hess Winery owns Bodega Colome in Northwestern
Argentina and is growing grapes at 9,900 feet elevation.
More
- "Rocky Mountain High"
More Than Air
There are 50 wineries in the mountain state, most growing
the respected Vitis Vinifera species of grape-vine. Many
of the vineyards reside at elevations of 4,000 - 7,000 feet,
and the state already has two AVA's. Read
on
- French Biochemist Claims Cure
for Corked Wines
This guy claims he can chemically "reverse" the
tainted wine! HMMMMM. Someone please spend money on this
and let us know! More
here
- Tables Wines We Drink
I've always read that 70% of our domestic consumption of
wine is also domestic--specifically California. This new
study which shows the top 25 table wines also shows that
just shy of 70% of them are California. The
Study
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The October
issue of The Wine Report
features Chef Mario Batali. |
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