There’s a new wine column which appears to be well worth seeking out. Eater.com has started a new feature called Vintage America: A Brief History of Wine in America. It’s a weekly column penned by Talia Baiocchi. She will explore winemaking across the breadth of the nation.
In the introductory column, Baiocchi remarks on the path wine took from Bordeaux to Thunderbird, and the hard climb to respectability the American winemaking effort has endured. She writes of how the American wine industry has grown by embracing those who were put off by wine snobbery, of how the domestic wine industry “offered a way in to those who had once felt marginalized by a culture of wine that was not their own.”
Touching on the more accessible jargon used for describing wines and the “democracy” of the 100-point scale for rating wine, Baiocchi outlines the rapid rise of the American wine culture since the 1970s and promises to reach back further into America’s winemaking history. She also promises to delve into wine from states other than the big four producers of California, Oregon, Washington and New York.
That is of particular interest to me, since I recently began an effort to taste wine from all fifty states. You can follow my “Wine Country” series on the Now And Zin Wine Blog, and follow Talia Baiocchi’s column on Eater.com.
In the introductory column, Baiocchi remarks on the path wine took from Bordeaux to Thunderbird, and the hard climb to respectability the American winemaking effort has endured. She writes of how the American wine industry has grown by embracing those who were put off by wine snobbery, of how the domestic wine industry “offered a way in to those who had once felt marginalized by a culture of wine that was not their own.”
Touching on the more accessible jargon used for describing wines and the “democracy” of the 100-point scale for rating wine, Baiocchi outlines the rapid rise of the American wine culture since the 1970s and promises to reach back further into America’s winemaking history. She also promises to delve into wine from states other than the big four producers of California, Oregon, Washington and New York.
That is of particular interest to me, since I recently began an effort to taste wine from all fifty states. You can follow my “Wine Country” series on the Now And Zin Wine Blog, and follow Talia Baiocchi’s column on Eater.com.
This is the final article in my 
La Fenêtre’s Joshua Klapper talked about picking fruit in the same way a gambler talks about the time his team beat the spread on the last play of the game. Klapper was absolutely riveting as he spoke of determining when grapes were ready to be picked. “Throw all that scientific junk away. Look at them! Listen to them! The grapes’ll tell you when they’re ready!” His tone softened somewhat when he recounted how - with the pickers working on getting his grapes into trucks - he saw other winemakers roll the dice and leave their fruit on the vine another day. The weather that day would prove to be hot enough to ruin a substantial amount of that fruit. Those winemakers did not listen to their grapes. La Fenêtre’s 2008 Sierra Madre has a wonderfully smokey, floral nose and a dark, brooding presence in the mouth.
Wes Hagen, the winemaker at Clos Pepe Vineyards, was drawing a crowd again this year. His way with a story and easy manner with strangers turn him into a people-magnet at wine events. He vacated the table for a while, and enough of his adoring throng dissipated so that I could have a few pours with his second-in-command. The Clos Pepe vertical tasting of the last four vintages of Pinor Noir showed the ‘08 and ‘09 to be bright, fresh and well scrubbed, while their older brothers were very interesting indeed. The 2007 Clos Pepe is fantastic, with an edge that is almost like citrus. The ‘06 vintage has a minty aspect to fall in love with.
Norton Virginia 2008
Rappahannock Cellars Virginia Red Dessert Wine 2007
Stone Hill Winery Norton 2006
Cross J Vineyard Norton 2006
Stone Hill Winery Missouri Port 2007
