Category: Opinion

The problem with Sober October is that it suggests a binary option. A year ago, I would have said that an Anti-Alcohol Neo-Prohibitionist movement was ...

Want to learn about younger wine consumers? Watch and listen. By Randy Caparoso (with Anna Delgado)   “When was the last time a wine writer sat down to have a glass with a young person?” Anna...

Old vines are an essence of why great wines have always had an enduring appeal. By Randy Caparoso   Just minutes before the virtual awards webinar showcasing the 2024 Old Vine Hero Awards (presented...

Therapists weigh in on factors that influence the industry’s glass-half-full mindset. By Jeff Siegel   The litany of bad news — falling sales, attacks by health officials, overproduction and declining...

At 2024 ZAP, it became clear that California Zinfandel has finally grown up By Randy Caparoso There is, undoubtedly, no organization that’s done more for a single varietal category than Zinfandel Advocates...

When it comes to wine choice, consumers have always been more sophisticated than industry professionals.  By Randy Caparoso   I started out on Burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff.  Not...

A writer remembers words of wisdom from a true winemaking legend. By Randy Caparoso   The late André Tchelistcheff, Beaulieu Vineyards‘ winemaker from 1938 to 1968, was a giant among men. Not...

The shrill talk about the American wine industry having a “problem” defies all logic and common sense. By Randy Caparoso   Like everyone else in the wine industry, when Rob McMillan of Silicon Valley...

Fred Franzia brought millions of consumers into the wine business who had never thought of drinking wine. By Steve Kemiji I’m not surprised at the lack of insight and knowledge being displayed in the...

Today’s cutting-edge wines are more terroir-expressive than the usual commercial styles. What I don’t get, though, is how formulaic it’s all become.  By Randy Caparoso I love alternative...

Are regional sustainable winegrowing certification programs a boon for the industry? By Randy Caparoso For the longest time, a certified USDA organic seal on a food or beverage product has been the signpost...

An outdated classification model will cause more problems than it solves. By Randy Caparoso Who doesn’t love the UK wine trade? Most of us in U.S. wine-related industries have grown up hanging on...

They want what they want. —Randy Caparoso What do wine lovers want? On one hand, every other day there seems to be a new “natural wine bar” popping up in cities big and small. On the other...

The wine world has always been full of myths—mystique and imagination play as big a part in our enjoyment of wines as facts and figures. People like mystique. Yet, almost all myths are eventually dispelled;...

Consumers are not stupid. There, that’s the crux of this entire op-ed. Although I do have something to add: If consumers are stupid, it’s only because We assume that about them. We treat them...

Terroir as like a tree falling in a forest. Just because you don’t hear it, it doesn’t mean it didn’t fall. —Randy Caparoso I think that the one aspect of terroir-related qualities that we...