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Can You Beat This? Kokomo’s 100-Point Score in the North Coast...

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When winemaker Erik Miller got the call informing him that his 2015 Gopher Hill Pinot had just garnered a 100-point score, and oh, by the way, it took Best of Show at the 2018 North Coast Wine Challenge, he didn’t quite know what to expect.

Man of Steele: 50 Harvests and Counting

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There aren’t many of Jed Steele’s contemporaries still making wine. Most have hung up their hoses and gone fishing, or passed on to the great vineyard in the sky. Few have as many stories to tell as this man. And far fewer have made as many wines from as many different places. And fewer still can claim to have been at the forefront of the creation of two powerhouse AVAs: Mendocino and Lake County. 

What Do Women Want?: When Women Judge Wine for Women

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Cindy Lauper said it best: girls just want to have fun. And women pretty much want the same thing. Women in the wine industry just want to make wine fun. Women winemakers mostly want to make wine that’s fun, and have fun doing it. Otherwise, what’s the point? And in general, we wine women are just like other women: we mostly want to drink wine that’s fun.

Close Calls as 44 Best of Class Wines Clash in Dan...

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As we gathered for the judging of the sweepstakes wines at the Dan Berger International Wine Competition earlier this month, the suspense was killing us. Did any of the wines we loved on our panel make it? Not that it really mattered. We trusted all the wines would be great. And we knew there would be some Berger ringers: we anticipated a Gamay Noir, as he mentioned it the night before at the judges dinner, graciously hosted by the generous Cline Family at their stunning Jacuzzi facility, where they served grass fed beef from their Meadowbrook Ranch accompanied by a panoply of produce from their Green String Farms. The meal was as memorable as the bottle of 1978 Ahlgren Zin brought by long-time judge Tom Bohr.

Wine’s Most Inspiring People 2018: Defender of the Consumer Palate and...

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Tim Hanni, one of two resident Americans to receive the title Master of Wine and well-known industry myth-buster, would like the wine industry to stop foisting untruths upon an unsuspecting public. “The whole business of wine education is sadly wrong and does no service to consumers,” he says. “It’s group think. We really don’t know anything about consumers. The industry has its head up its anatomy.”

Rosé Revealed: 9 Winemakers Share Their Styles & Approaches

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Rosé is definitely the big buzz these days, with wine drinkers of all ages, and not just millennials (21 to 39) going crazy for rosés of all hues. Pantone’s 2016 color of the year was, unsurprisingly, Millennial Pink, and it is still showing up all over.

Increased Competition for Labor Leaves Wine Hanging

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The numbers don’t lie: there has been a steady loss off immigrant labor back across the Mexican border for the past 10 years, and it’s creating a true brain drain.

Allies or Adversaries: The Wine & Weed Debate

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Do you think that pot will take a huge bite out of wine sales or is this just a tempest in a teapot? Maybe. Maybe not. It depends on which state you’re in, literally and figuratively.

Seismic Shift at Big Basin Vineyards: “At the Time, I Didn’t...

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by Laura Ness Owner/Winegrower Bradley Brown of Big Basin Vineyards has been on a long, tumultuous journey as a self-taught winemaker in the middle of...

California’s Greatest Grape Pruner Shapes Concannon Grounds by Shear Magic

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by Laura Ness With a simple pair of shears and a compassion for saving trees and bushes others thought were simply in the way, the...

Opportunity Knocks: Challenges for Winery Associations

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Regardless of the size of a winegrowing region or the number of wineries or vineyards in it, the biggest challenge is continuing to attract visitors in an ever-evolving marketplace. For many of them, add the challenges of a not large enough budget, not enough hours in the day, and not enough hands on deck.

Next Generation Santa Cruz Mountains: Carrying on Paul Draper’s Legacy

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Draper recently announced his retirement after 46 vintages, turning over the keys of the kingdom to a new group of winemakers in the Santa Cruz Mountains, eager to make their mark, yet cognizant of the enormous footsteps left by his departure, not to mention the pressure of sustaining that larger-than-life legacy.

Top Somms Advise Vintners on How to Get on Their Wine...

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Sommeliers and wine directors see and taste a lot of wines. What gets their attention? What’s the best way to get attention? We asked them. They were not shy.

Inside the Mind of a Sommelier

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Coming up with one of those enormous mega wine lists that typify the high-end dining experience seems a daunting task. What goes through the mind of a sommelier in putting that together? If they’re motivated by garnering an award from Wine Spectator, they know the territory they need to cover and some of the big names they need to include. But not all sommeliers and wine directors are driven by awards.

Wine Buyers Return to Sonoma County Barrel Auction 2016 with Praise...

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by Laura Ness In just two short hours and 71 lots representing 14 of Sonoma’s 17 appellations, the inaugural Sonoma County Barrel Auction raised $460,000....