Sucking Grapes

HOW OLD ARE “OLD VINES”?

Something I see on wine labels more and more is the term “Vieilles Vignes”, or “Old Vines”. “Old Vines” here is not just the translation of the French word, but a description you can also find regularly on so-called New World wines. I am well aware that the use of the New World denominator is fraught with problems, one of them being the suggestion that “New” stands for young, inexperienced, recent, commercial and technology driven (and therefore the reverse of “Old”: traditional, artisanal, historical, experienced), but there are old vines out there. (more…)

HOW TO ESCAPE BOREDOM THIS SEASON BY DOING WHAT YOU ARE NOT TOLD

Every year out of the corner of my eye I see Christmas approaching and still it manages to take me completely by surprise. I am especially amazed by its capacity to present itself as something truly inevitable. I secretly hope that in some years it just won’t turn up (more…)

A NEW STUDY TRIES TO REVEAL OUR DRINKING HABITS - AND PREDICT OUR SPENDING PATTERN

As marketing proclaims to be the miracle tool that can help in selling anything, even in the most hopeless of cases, it is hardly surprising that it is playing a leading role in the modern wine trade. My understanding of it, admittedly, is rather simple: to guarantee success the first premise of marketing is to perform in-depth research into a market and create a product or service this market would be willing to purchase, and NOT the other way around. (more…)

A LA RECHERCHE DU TEMPS PERDU WITH THE PRINCE OF PINOT

The discoveries that typos can lead to! I was looking for some information on Pinot Noir, the sacred grape of our days, and while pottering through the net searching for Dominque (sic) Laurent I stumbled on a tasting note from the „Prince of Pinot“: (more…)