Comments for The Amateur Wino

Comment on Galloni leaves Robert Parker’s publication The Wine Advocate: anatomy of a coup? And does TWA even matter anymore? by Alan

Alan — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 15:16:29 +0000

Thanks for the link, some cool stuff there. I think I’ll actually start to use my Pinterest account…

Comment on Galloni leaves Robert Parker’s publication The Wine Advocate: anatomy of a coup? And does TWA even matter anymore? by Shaun Crowley

Shaun Crowley — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:30:37 +0000

This is dated, and just the tip of the ice etc etc. but: http://blog.letspour.com/wine/10-pinterest-wine-boards/

Comment on Galloni leaves Robert Parker’s publication The Wine Advocate: anatomy of a coup? And does TWA even matter anymore? by Shaun Crowley

Shaun Crowley — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 13:22:38 +0000

It’s very good. The cycle of wine being an old, white, elitist pursuit is dying off. Literally. If you’re 21 right now you were born in 1992, which means by the time you were 8 (2000)… the internet was in full swing. If you’re a wine enthusiast you’ve NEVER had to wait to receive your WA or WS in the mail. If you’re REALLY into learning about wine at such a young age… You’re probably more familiar with Gary V than AG. People “come to wine” in a far more intimate way now and knowledge and opinions are more abundant than they ever have been. To boot, in the last 15-20 years wine prices have categorically SKYROCKETED. Whereas elite wines in the past were pricey, yet STILL obtainable… now they are neither for the budding oenophile. There is ZERO chance for 99%+ to even think about splurging on something like DRC. Can’t afford it… and even if you could they (retailers) wouldn’t sell it to YOU anyway. So there are now generations of wine aficionados that will ONLY be concerned about their taste, and the taste of their peers… and all the AG’s and RP’s of the world can sit up on high writing tasting notes all day long for DRC and Soldera (2007-12 RIP), and Screagle. It’s deaf ears from here on out.

Comment on Galloni leaves Robert Parker’s publication The Wine Advocate: anatomy of a coup? And does TWA even matter anymore? by Alan

Alan — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 03:17:19 +0000

Thanks for writing in, Shaun – very interesting point about Pinterest – I had no idea. I think TWA was good for Antonio in terms of expanding his name recognition, and even though he didn’t ultimately stay, being named at one point as Parker’s heir apparent made a lot more people sit up and take notice of him. Now, how he makes his solo venture work will be interesting to watch. Meanwhile, as you point out, most of the wine market won’t be looking for any of WA, WS, etc., but other, more mainstream sources, and that’s probably good.

Comment on Galloni leaves Robert Parker’s publication The Wine Advocate: anatomy of a coup? And does TWA even matter anymore? by Shaun Crowley

Shaun Crowley — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:54:37 +0000

Very well stated. Regardless of what has been said on the Parker board… I think your assumptions are correct. AG simply didn’t have the wherewithal, be it financially or emotionally to make the deal happen…as evidenced by THE DEAL NOT HAPPENING. Sadly for him, as good as a guy as he may be – or as gifted as a palate as he may have… he’s not a brand. He should’ve cemented his legacy with the PR, done well by Italy and stayed put. He had a great niche that still remains underdeveloped today to mass market consumers (ie Italian wine to most of the world still remains: Pinot Grigio and Chianti). Ebob is essentially dead. WB is thriving, but the community is largely alienating to the budding oenophile at large. More people follow wine on Pinterest than WB. As the world becomes more and more and more connected… “authority” figures on wine will be less and less important. Blogs such as this one, and even smaller ones should only grow.

Comment on Another look at top California cabernets from 2007 by Morten Pedersen

Morten Pedersen — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:48:01 +0000

A always like to read about wine and when I see pages like this I am looking up the best wines and trying to buy them locally.

Comment on Another look at top California cabernets from 2007 by Alan

Alan — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:21:48 +0000

Hi Stu, and thanks for writing in. That explanation makes a lot of sense, and I definitely do see the restraint in your wine – no need for California wine to have to taste like Bordeaux; it should just showcase the terroir of it’s origin, right? Your comments about benchland plots are consistent with my experience with wines like Quintessa with their Rutherford Bench site, and various wines I’ve tasted with Oakville bench sources. The Trivium was a nice first foray for me into the character of wines from the St. Helena bench. Readers, for more about this phenomenon, check out this article that I found while researching Trivium: http://triviumwine.com/wordpress/?p=63

Thanks again for your additional insights, Stu, and I look forward to trying your wine again in the future. Cheers,

Alan

Comment on Another look at top California cabernets from 2007 by Stu Harrison

Stu Harrison — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 21:37:57 +0000

Alan…
Your point about our not being totally ‘old-school’ (in taste profile) is probably accurate. We owe that, in large part, to the nature of the Lewelling Ranch. It’s an exceptional piece of property that tends to produce wines with more polished, softer tannins and rounded flavors. I think that’s the ‘bench’ influence. You see it in almost all the wines that come from Lewelling, and in fact in many ‘benchland’ vineyards on the western side of the Valley. It’s not surprising, therefore, that you listed the Mondavi Reserves as comparable.

To your point, I guess our manifesto is more about winemaking practice than flavor profile. Our approach today is similar to that practiced back in the 70′s in it’s simplicity and it’s restraint. It’s all we knew at the time! The fact is that we could never reproduce a Bordeaux’ taste from our small block in Lewelling, no matter how restrained our approach. That being said, Trivium’s more moderate practices produce an interesting contrast to many of the noteworthy wines made from Lewelling Ranch fruit. That’s where our ‘old school’ really shows.

Cheers,,,
Stu Harrison
Partner, Stanfield & Stuart Wine Co.

Comment on Pricey California cabs: will they last? by The Amateur Wino » Blog Archive » Another look at top California cabernets

Mon, 30 May 2011 18:51:05 +0000

[...] in November, I blogged about tasting a number of the best California cabernets out there, many of which were from the 2007 vintage, which has been praised by many critics as an [...]

Comment on Episode 3: Copain interview/pinot noir by The Amateur Wino » Blog Archive » Low-alcohol pinot: same as the Old Boss?

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:09:58 +0000

[...] like Copain (since a style change with the 2006 vintage), Rhys and Arcadian. I’ve profiled Copain wines previously on this blog, and I see Rhys talked about a lot – from an article by Eric Asimov of the New York Times [...]