New and notable wine headlines, including tales of ‘juiced’ wine tourists

Handpicked wine stories from across the Web…

Getting juiced at wine tastings
“California vintners aim to cork the problem of limos and tour buses bringing partyers to their venues.”

Australian wines sell for $130,000
Barossa Valley Ares Shiraz, Aphrodite Cabernet Sauvignon and Aerope Grenache — that’s right, just three bottles — from Australia’s Two Hands Wines.

Two-Buck Chuck ain’t that bad
Another wine reviewer discovers an age-old truth, and serves up a little backgrounder on the Charles Shaw legend.

More on the Befuddlement of Liquor Laws
In case you didn’t get the message from the earlier, aptly named ‘Befuddlement of Liquor Laws’ story.

Drink No Wine Before IT’S Time
Reflections on encountering old friends, late-night rituals and selecting the right wine at the right time.

Sure, Screw Caps Are Fine—But on My Wines?
“Am I a dinosaur? Should I be on the lookout for tar pits? Anyone? Anyone?”

Why Do Wines Go On Sale?
Finally, somebody asks. And somebody answers.

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The Web’s latest wine buzz, 10/3/07

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A recent trip to central New York state’s Finger Lakes region served as a double eye-opening experience for Financial Times wine columnist Jancis Robinson — first, the “exceptional quality” of the Rieslings made there and, second, “how little they seem to be appreciated, or even known, in New York City.” An abundance of tourists and the warming effects of the lakes have helped an increasing number of wine producers sprout up in the essentially white-wine area, says Robinson. And they’re getting an assist from their U.S. Senator, Hillary Clinton, seen by locals as a “true missionary” for the wine-growing industry because of her advocacy in Washington. Robinson’s column also cites six “excellent” regional wines, including dry and sweet Rieslings.

Speaking of Rieslings, Food & Wine serves up a “brilliant” Australian pairing of, well, food and wine. The focus is on renowned Riesling maker Jeffrey Grosset and superstar chef Neil Perry, both of whom, well, like to eat and drink. And eat and drink they do — with the meeting’s menu including the kind of chicken curry “you find bubbling in a blackened pot on fishing boats throughout Asia” to go with a 2005 Grosset Piccadilly Chardonnay — one of a half-dozen wines (all recent releases, because, Grosset explains, “I don’t rate older wines as being necessarily better than younger ones, just different”). About as mouth-watering as a food/wine story can be.

Maybe the cork ain’t dead yet? It’s becoming increasingly clear to winemakers that using screw caps means being “extra careful” during their wine making, according to this New York Times piece by Erik Asimov: Screw caps prevent the dreaded cork taint that causes an estimated 5 percent of corked wines to go bad, but it turns out that screw caps are now recognized by some as occasionally having their own problems — something called “reduction,” which in layman’s terms translates into aromas such as burned rubber, cabbage and rotten eggs.

Web sips: Wine headlines, 8/21/07

Handpicked stories from across the Web…

To Screw Cap Wine Bottles or Not?
Quick answer: Like everything in life, it’s not so simple, according to this informative Q&A that explains the differences and why you have to match the wine with the stopper.

Reader mail meets impossible food wine pairings: nori!
Hint: It has something to do with dried & seasoned seaweed, and a French boyfriend.

‘Pretty fantastic’ grape harvest underway
Some positive but counterintuitive news from California’s North Coast: A smaller than average harvest is predicted, but that typically means “well-developed grapes and good prices.”

Wine as a health drink
Wine has now been officially declared as being good for your health, says a high-ranking official in the Indian federal state of Maharashtra.