Talk-A-Vino

Meritage Time!

Today we don’t have the quiz to talk about, so let’s get right to the interesting stuff around the vine and web.

An interesting article by Mike Veseth, who writes an excellent Wine Economist blog, is on the subject of wine collecting. Mike just started writing a new column for Wine Searcher online wine magazine, analyzing the world of wine collecting. While the article is pretty technical, it still makes a thought-provoking read, whether you are the wine collector or not.

W. Blake Gray published interesting numbers regarding volume of wine imported into the United States from different countries. Which country do you think is a number one importer? And then which country will take lead if you will disregard “big brands”? Check it out here.

Believe it or not, but the Wine Til Sold Out (WTSO) is doing it again! Free up some space in your cellars, and get ready for next Tuesday, September 10th – WTSO Cheapskate Marathon is coming! The rules have not changed – starting 6 AM Eastern time, WTSO will be offering new wines every 15 minutes or sooner if sold out. The only notification mechanism is Twitter (no e-mails), all the wines are priced in $7.99 – $18.99 range, free ground shipping on the orders of 4 or more. Marathon will continue until 11 PM Eastern time. Featured wines will include (among many others) Maroon Cabernet 2010, 2009 Red Blend from Shadowood, 2010 Valley Gate Chardonnay, Diamond Ridge Pinot Noir, Redheads Moonlight Cabernet, Sacoya Sauvignon Blanc. Make sure your account has all the right information ready, as the wines will be gone in a blink…

Steve Heimoff ponders at an interesting question – what will happen with the wine writing going forward? While he doesn’t offer any radical predictions, I’m sure many of you have the same question in mind from time to time. Check it out for yourself.

Last but no least – an article by Alder Yarrow talks about name protection gone too far. As you might know, the new Apple iPhone line will include new colors, one of them being champagne. Now the Interprofessional Committee for Champagne Wine (ICCW) is now getting concerned with Apple’s use of the word Champagne as a color descriptor and wants to have them stopped. Talk about complete waste of money and lawyers not having anything better to do…

And I think we are done here. Happy Rosh Hashanah to those who celebrates, and happy Wine Wednesday to all of you! Until the next time – cheers!