Does it matter to you where a wine comes from?
According to a Swiss Institute study referenced by Willamette Valley Vineyard’s founder and winegrower Jim Bernau, it does: on average, our decision to purchase a particular wine is based 45% on where it comes from; price factors in at 25% and vintage is only 11%. And we want that information to be correct: 94% of consumers surveyed by the Wine Origins Alliance favor laws that protect us from misleading wine labels. Continue reading
There was a lot Steiner and his compatriots did not know in 1924. What they did know was that the new chemical farming strategies that were taking over the world were destroying the land and our food. They may not have known why, but they knew something was wrong. At least they had the courage to seek a solution.
Our job as biodynamic farmers is to continue the experiments as he requested until we find why biodynamics works, which it does.
There is something clearly working here and in the face of climate change we better figure out what works.
Striving for Demeter certification is like a jazz musician practicing scales over and over again. It is only after they master their instrument that they can improvise and truly create something new.
So writes Craig Camp in his recent and evocative essay “Looking at Steiner in the Rearview Mirror” — the Steiner in the title is the “father” of biodynamics, Rudolf Steiner.
April is Earth Month, and the Wine Pairing Weekend crew and I invite you celebrate the earth by going green with your wine selection — scroll down to see titles and find links to our suggestions!
And if you ask me, the best way to do that is by choosing biodynamic wines. Continue reading
Sampling Montinore’s biodynamic bubbles in their Oregon estate tasting room near Portland
Monday April 22 is Earth Day, and the whole month of April is Earth Month.
So what should you be drinking to celebrate? How about biodynamic wine? We’ve got a bottle of biodynamic bubbles from one of the world leaders in biodynamics, Oregon’s Montinore Estate, that we recommend you toast with (see below).
I took this photo on a visit to the Montinore tasting room last fall; read more about the biodynamic calendar here
And The Wine Pairing Weekend crew is getting into the swing of Earth Month by searching out and writing about biodynamic wines of the world– and what to pair with them this month. Read the invite post here; in it I explain about biodynamics and share wo biodynamic reds from Mendocino’s Bonterra. Continue reading
our line-up of German Riesling
Last summer when we paired four Riesling from Alsace with fondue, we thought it would be so much fun to get together in the winter by the fire and do it again but with a potluck of German Riesling and German food along with fondue.
Ask and ye shall receive!
Just in time for this month’s Wine Pairing Weekend’s deep dive into Germany with host Nancy Brazil, Continue reading
A little less than a year ago, on Monday December 4. the Thomas Fire erupted near Thomas Aquinas College between Santa Paula and Ojai off highway 150. In spoken word performance piece that I co-created with Rasika Mathur and performed with her at the Lobero Theater, I point out that the Thomas Fire was started by “Thomas” Edison and I ask whether it will convince Doubting Thomas of climate change. At the event, Rob Write also performed the song featured in the video below.
This was on the heels of Continue reading
If you, like me, can’t get enough of #Merlot even after a month of #MerlotMe, you might want to check out “Masters of Merlot: Seminar, Tasting and Walk-around Reception with Merlot’s Biggest Champions” Continue reading
So if you’ve been on the prowl here at Wine Predator a time or two, you may have noticed that we love to pair Merlot with salmon, especially Washington Merlot like we did here with these. But when my husband came home from the store with a beautiful steak, I thought I’d look through my #MerlotMe samples for something that was blended with a Cabernet for that night — but something that would pair well with salmon for the following evening when Sue would be coming over!
That’s why I chose this Nine Hats Merlot from Washington– it’s mostly Merlot but it has some Cabernet Franc in it too. What a winner with both the turf — beef — and the surf — salmon! Continue reading
wine predator.............. gwendolyn alley 