VineBuzz

Every industry has emerging brands struggling to break out of their confines. Bold ideas in cross-breeding can propel their escape from those bonds.

Twenty-five retails stores in Calistoga, California opened their doors to "Cheers to Taste" on September 7, 2001 and hosted the pouring tables of wineries from all over Napa County.

On September 1, 2011 at #Napa #CabernetDay Tasting Sessions in the Marriott, a question arose about where Cabernet Franc is grown and used in wine.

Presentation on "The Cabernet Franc of the Loire Valley" for global #CabernetDay at the Napa Marriott on September 1, 2011 by Deborah Parker Wong The event was organized at this location by Bakas Media.

Yannick Amirault Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil 2009 Cabernet Franc Les Malagagnes (srp $30 U.S.), is on the north side of the Loire River.

Tom Wark, in Fermentation on July, 25, 2011, proposes a schema for measuring/scoring the quality of wine-writing. It is a starting point, rather than a final measurement system.

Mr. Wark describes reasoning for placing focus on three areas:

• Readership
• Commentary
• Paid Endorsement

I would like to add some dimension and robustness to "Commentary". It should spawn discussion threads that run wide and deep, with a long tail.

On May 14, 2011 Raymond Winery briefed a contingent of the wine press on transformations taking place throughout the Boisset Family Estates. Approaching the visitors' center, a Daliesque landscape offers clues to the innovative programs which lay in wait ahead.

Weeks often go by without a new favorite wine of the month(of any varietal) for me. Last month was exceptional in that so many presented themselves. The first week of every month gets its’ own favorite as long as I work diligently through the tasting proceedings in the monthly collaboration of wine makers at Cheers-to-Taste in Saint Helena, which I did a few days ago on February 2, 2011. It’s not fair to say that we all taste equally well from start to finish through a two-hour walking exam, but we all end up with a favorite of the evening, though probably not the favorite of the month.

On the afternoon of Thursday, October 14th, I delighted in visiting with the Yates family on their vineyard estate in the Mayacamas range near the Hess Collection in the Mount Veeder AVA at an elevation of between 1000 and 1200 feet.