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Do Wine Bloggers Know What They Are Talking About?

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No they don’t, according to a study referenced in yesterday’s post over at Vinography that is bound to ripple through the wine blogosphere in a rare meme-like fashion. And I have to agree with Alder’s key point that most mainstream wine consumers do not trust online sources as much as personal recommendations from friends and wine professionals or from established wine critics.

While I’d like to take a look at the source report to analyze their methodology, I don’t have a spare £1,300 handy for the privilege. All I know is that I make buying decisions based upon blogger reviews but it’s almost exclusively from bloggers I know and have tasted the same or similar wines before with over an extended period of time (like on Twitter Taste Live, at a large tasting or the Wine Blogger’s Conference). Since there are so many wine bloggers coming into the medium, I find it difficult to calibrate my palate to most so I can imagine the average consumer casting a wary eye on the lot of us.

via Vinography

Update: Robert and Ryan across the pond at Wine Conversation has taken a closer look at the study press release. This garnered some great comments including one by an author of the report in question. Good stuff.

Occam’s Razor & Wine Preservation

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Wine bottle and glass
Photo by Ryan Opaz via Flickr

How to preserve left-over wine is one of the most common questions I receive. And I usually answer with my two favorite methods, either inert gas such as Private Preserve or a pump system like Vacu Vin. Both will preserve unfinished wine for up to a week although I generally recommend 2-3 days for best results.

So I had to smile when I came across another method in my travels posted on the Wall Street Journal Wine blog. It employs Occam’s razor — the hypothesis with the fewest steps and new assumptions — to extend the preservation of unfinished wine for up to 3 months. Since air is the enemy of wine, why not put the left-overs in a smaller bottle?

Brilliant and obvious.

via Wall Street Journal

Why Is California Syrah So Hard To Sell?

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Syrah vineyard post
Photo by kasei via Flickr

I tasted today at Pax Mahle’s new venture, Wind Gap, and his Syrah stood out from the other wines, particularly from Griffin’s Lair Vineyard. That’s to be expected since his method is almost the same as when he made wine, and built his reputation, at his eponymous winery. The difference is the fruit is not picked so late to make almost over the top wines that have challenges aging and staying in balance. I was impressed with his evolution as a winemaker and will post my notes on all the wines tasted shortly.

But as I tasted the rich yet aggressively mineral Griffin’s Lair Syrah I reflected on how difficult this wine would be to sell. First, this is not a wine someone new to wine would appreciate. Complex in aroma with plenty of bacon and black and blue fruits, the flavors are tight with a minerality that make it difficult for many mainstream wine drinkers to appreciate. But this Syrah was one of the best I’ve tasted in a long time and more closely paralleled Syrah from the Rhône. And it’s price, $48, seems very fair for the quality.

Even with that going for it, Syrah at this level is challenging to sell and I can’t figure out why. So when I read Gerald Boyd’s post at winereviewonline.com today I was hoping there would be something there that explained it. Sadly, he’s as perplexed as me.

So what’s the deal?

via Wine Review Online

Wine Family Tree Reveals Close Relationships Among Varieties

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Wine Family Tree
Chart via New Scientist

New research by a Stanford University team led by Sean Myles has revealed that many wine varieties are more closely related than previously believed. As reported by New Scientist, the researchers show how few crosses have been made over the past 6,000 years of vine domestication which could help in developing new cultivars with disease resistance.

What is most surprising to me is how central the Traminer grape is to the lineage of many of the noble European varieties. For the details, put on your vine-geek hat and check it out here.

via New Scientist

Emilio Estevez, Method Vintner

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Casa Dumetz Pinot Noir labelThere are a lot of celebrities who are vintners. And there are some who are actually really into the process such as Maynard James Keenan and Tom Smothers. But I don’t think I’ve seen a more obsessive celebrity vintner than Emilio Estevez who was profiled in the New York Times yesterday.

His passion for wine led him to plant 800 Pinot Noir vines around his Malibu home. He’s even started his own brand, Casa Dumetz, producing about 600 cases of Viognier, Syrah and Pinot Noir.

Don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to trying his Pinot which is blended with 20% Grenache. Creative but somehow seems expected from a Malibu AVA wine 😉

via New York Times