Ortman Family Musings on Chardonnay

by Chuck and Matt Ortman
It has become fashionable in some circles to subscribe to the “ABC” school of white wine—as in, Anything But Chardonnay. A certain backlash against Chardonnay was inevitable, as is the case with anything that becomes wildly popular. But there is a reason why Chardonnay remains California’s dominant white wine. When done [...]

Kyle Meyer on Great Grower Champagne

by Kyle Meyer
Fear. It permeates the air when you walk into a fine wine shop or peruse the extensive wine list of a top-notch restaurant. Fear of the unknown. Fear of intimidating French verbiage. Fear of paying a high price for something you may not have heard of before.  Although the big Champagne houses feed [...]

Rick Moshin on Gravity Flow Winemaking and Pinot Noir

by Rick Moshin
While far from a new practice, gravity flow winemaking seems to have experienced a resurgence over the last decade or so in the United States. Before pumps and power, the most efficient way to move wine from vessel to vessel was to use the natural force of gravity and a nice slope. You [...]

Christian Roguenant on Burgundy, California, and Pinot Noir

by Christian Roguenant
When a new world winemaker claims to make a “Burgundian wine,” it is really an impossible statement. So many differences separate Burgundy and California that you cannot really compare the two regions.  A Burgundian wine carries the name because it was produced from within the rich environment of Burgundy, France, where vines have [...]

Dr. Tom Rice on Soil Science in the Vineyard

by Thomas J. Rice, Ph.D
Would you build a house without first having a plan and knowing the kinds of construction materials you would use? When vineyard managers plant rootstocks, choose grapevine scions, and implement a vineyard management system without thoroughly understanding the soils in which these plant materials will grow, they do much the same [...]

Party on a Dime: Fun, Frugal, and Fabulous

by Allison Robbins
What’s your fantasy of the perfect holiday party? Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Nobel laureate guests? Buff servants in harem pants serving exotic drinks? No matter how differently we see the particulars, there is a universal ideal to the dinner party fantasy: hosts and hostesses swirl at the center of the action, [...]

Travis Scarborough and Darryn O’Shea say “Hail to the God of White Wine!”

by Travis Scarborough & Darryn O’Shea
Chardonnay: the world’s most prestigious white grape. In the white wine world, Chardonnay is the heavyweight, the leader of all other white wines. It goes for more money than any other white grape around. Think of those magical Corton-Charlemagnes or those prized Montrachets. Only in Burgundy can Chardonnay command prices [...]

A Fresh Look at Chardonnay

Chardonnay tends to spark all kinds of lively conversation among wine lovers, including debates about the optimum ripeness point for harvesting grapes, preferred winemaking styles, and the best foods with which to pair this wine. Winemakers and other wine industry professionals in this feature lend their insight into this most adaptable and ubiquitous varietal.
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Darryn O’Shea and [...]

Véronique Drouhin-Boss on Pinot Noir in Burgundy and Oregon

by Véronique Drouhin-Boss
Pinot Noir! I am lucky to have the opportunity to make wine in both Burgundy and Oregon, two very different but very special places for Pinot Noir. People often ask about comparing wines from both regions, but the discussion is very short if you don’t consider everything else, including the climate, the soil, [...]

Artisano: Wine, Food, Art, Yum

by Rachel Duchak

In today’s gourmet food and fine wine world, the descriptor “artisan” gets rather overused, don’t you think? When the shelves of Costco and Trader Joe’s offer products with labels that announce themselves as “artisan,” what does it really mean anymore? Through such ubiquitous use, this once-illustrative word has lately begun to dissolve itself, [...]

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