VINOGRAPHY: a wine blog

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2007 Anaba Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast

One of my greatest pleasures remains my "discovery" of small new wineries, and the opportunity to watch them mature over time. Of course, three vintages isn't exactly a lot of time to watch a winery mature, but it's quite exciting to see the third vintage of a winery that seemed to hit it out of the ballpark with their very first release. A couple of years ago some bottles showed up on my doorstep bearing the name Anaba in beautiful looping script. I was immediately intrigued to note that the first releases from this new Sonoma County winery were Rhone... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on September 2, 2010 10:25 PM

Filed under: Boutique Wines , Red Wine , Wine Reviews

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Give Them Some Wine!

The thought of being trapped underground for any length of time is enough to send some people off the deep end. The thought of being trapped underground for 3 months without any wine is a whole different ball game. In the event you missed the news, an underground landslide has trapped 33 Chilean miners about 700 meters underground since August 5th. Already the group has been trapped longer than any other in history. The miners are miraculously in good health and reasonably good spirits. One of them has proposed to his girlfriend. They've made videos for the world. They're getting... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 31, 2010 11:01 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News

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Vinography Images: Winemaker's Cottage

Winemaker's Cottage This is a photograph of the cottage where the winemaker for J. Bouchon winery lives in Chile's Maule Valley. I never really imagine myself as a winemaker or winegrower (I'd much rather just drink the stuff, and I tend to kill plants) but if I were so inclined, I'd definitely want to live in the middle of my vineyards. It seems to me that if you are going to tie your livelihood to plants, and if you aspire to grow them to the peak of perfection, you should live with them for as much of your day... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 27, 2010 11:25 AM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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2008 Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Spätlese, Mosel, Germany

There are a few categories of wine that qualify for the designation of "I just don't drink nearly enough of this stuff" in my house, and one of the top candidates is German Riesling. When it's good, it's just so damn good. It goes so well with food, and it makes you happy. What's not to love? Of course, to the uninitiated (and that applied to me about six years ago) it can be an intimidating landscape to navigate. The inscrutable labels, the different levels of sweetness, the unfamiliar quality designations -- they all contribute to an unease for many... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 26, 2010 11:06 PM

Filed under: White Wine , Wine Reviews

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This Year's Candidates for the Vintners Hall of Fame

Many of you had a lot of things to say a couple of months ago when I wrote a post entitled Who Should Be in the Vintners Hall of Fame? It was great to see such a passionate tide of enthusiasm for inducting various winemakers and historical wine personalities. Those of us that make up the nominating committee talked a lot about many of the names suggested, and about many of the names that weren't suggested, and after much debate and voting, we've come up with the names for this years ballot. That ballot has been mailed out to the... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 25, 2010 9:30 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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Joy of Sake Tasting 2010: San Francisco 9/9, and NYC 9/23

I absolutely love the fact that we've reached a point in this country where I don't need to explain why a sake tasting in San Francisco or New York might be an enjoyable way to spend an evening. In the six and a half years since I've been writing this blog, sake has gone from obscure to obvious, hardly known to hip. The availability and visibility of sake in the US has blossomed, driving by fine dining establishments and the increasing popularity of all things Japanese. Despite this, however, the average wine lovers' knowledge of sake is extremely limited, mostly... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 24, 2010 9:10 PM

Filed under: Sake , Wine Activities

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1997 Calera Wine Company "Mills Vineyard" Pinot Noir, Mt. Harlan, CA

Those of you who know me well understand the soft spot I have in my heart for iconoclastic winemakers. The crazier the better, in my book, but at the very least, so steadfastly committed to their idea of what makes for great wine that they're willing to persist in their quest even when everyone else says they are nuts. And that's exactly what most people said when they spotted Josh Jensen driving up and down California in his beat-up Volkswagen stopping here and there to get out of the car and sprinkle hydrochloric acid on the ground -- even those... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 23, 2010 10:45 PM

Filed under: Older Vintages , Red Wine , Wine Reviews

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Taste of Beverly Hills: September 2-5, Beverly Hills, CA

Food and Wine Magazine knows when it's onto a good thing. Building on the success of the long running and incredibly popular Aspen Food and Wine Classic, the magazine (actually it's publisher, American Express) has branched out to bring a similar, if somewhat abbreviated version to South Beach in Florida, and has become a major sponsor of the Pebble Beach Food and Wine event in Carmel, California And now Food and Wine magazine has launched the Taste of Beverly Hills, a four-day extravaganza of food, wine, cocktails and music at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Attendees to the event will have... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 21, 2010 4:40 PM

Filed under: Food Activities , Wine Activities

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Vinography Images: Southern Pinot

Southern Pinot One of my greatest regrets from my trip to Chile last year was that I didn't have the time to get down to the tiny region of Biobio to check out one of the new frontiers of extreme winegrowing. One of the most southerly winegrowing regions in the world, this small, cool appellation has begun to yield some very interesting fruit, but perhaps of most interest is the Pinot Noir, shown here in all its Fall harvest glory. There aren't many wineries down in Biobio, but many top producers are starting to put in vineyards there, so... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 20, 2010 9:18 PM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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The Philosophy of Wabi-Sabi and Wine

Perhaps as unlikely as it may seem, one of the keys to my appreciation of wine lies in an esoteric principle at the heart of Japanese culture and philosophy. The 18 months I spent living in Japan were among the most intense of my life, and some of the most rewarding. I developed a deep appreciation for many aspects of the Japanese culture (not to mention the food), even at the limited level of understanding I was able to cultivate without speaking the language beyond the first-grade-level tourist vocabulary I attained by the time I left. In particular, I am... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 19, 2010 9:45 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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A Glass of Wine to Keep You Sane

I've long said that wine helps me maintain my sanity. Well it turns out I may have been more right than I know. Researchers have recently discovered that while it doesn't necessarily make me smarter (damn!), it may help me stave off dementia or whatever special breed of insanity waits for me in my old age. Chalk up another superpower for wine. Of course like all studies, this one has its limitations. Thankfully it wasn't performed on lab rats, but actually featured real people. Norweigans, specifically -- about 5000 of them. So the surest way to make sure that your... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 19, 2010 5:03 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News

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Judging Lake County Wine

I'm up in the heart of California's Lake County, in the Guenoc Valley, in the process of tasting somewhere around 150 different Lake County wines over the next 36 hours. I'm a judge at the second annual People's Choice Wine Awards here in Lake County. This event is fairly unique as wine competitions go. A panel of judges picks a group of top wines in several categories, and then about a month later, they are showcased blind at an event for the public, and the top wine in each category is selected by popular vote. I'm participating as a judge... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 17, 2010 9:01 AM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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Henschke Wines, Eden Valley, Australia: Some Current Releases

While many may argue about just which individual wine represents Australia's finest expression of Shiraz, few could argue that when considering top producers of Australian Shiraz, Henschke shouldn't be on the short list. For more than 140 years, across five generations, the Henschke family has been growing grapes and making wine in a little corner of the hills surrounding the Barossa Valley. For the last 30 years, the winery has been run by Stephen Henschke and his wife Prue, with increasing help from their children. The history of the Henschke family is in many ways the history of the Barossa... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 15, 2010 10:57 PM

Filed under: Wine Reviews

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2010 Sonoma Wine Country Weekend, September 3-5, Healdsburg

Most people, when they come visit me in San Francisco and ask to be taken to wine country, assume that they're going to Napa. But at least half the time, that's definitely not where we end up. My well meaning friends aren't the only ones who seem to forget that Northern California has many different "wine countries." Napa casts a long shadow, as it were. I've got a bit of love for every piece of wine country we've got here in California, but there's a special place in my heart for Sonoma County, both because it is the place of... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 13, 2010 7:55 PM

Filed under: Wine Activities

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Are You an Imbibing Idiot?

Thank goodness for the Internet, as we all need a good laugh now and then. In the latest round of research that makes you scratch your head and wonder, "what on earth were they after?" it turns out that people who order a glass of wine at lunch during a job interview are stupid. Or more accurately, ordering a glass of wine while you're in the middle of a job interview (and you happen to be in a restaurant or bar, that is) will cause most people to unconsciously think you're dumber than you are. Nevermind that drinking while in... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 11, 2010 10:01 AM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants , Wine News

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Vinography Images: Sunset Valley

Sunset Valley This is a great view of the Aconcagua valley, one of the more stunning wine regions in Chile. Dotted with small towns alongside the river, with stark mountain slopes that spring up steeply from the alluvial plains, if you like wine (and avocados, which grow on nearly every slope not planted with grapevines) the Aconcagua valley is an Eden of sorts. -- Alder Yarrow INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location on your computer to save the image. Mac users... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 10, 2010 10:11 PM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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Introducing Photographer Matt Wilson

One of my little side projects around here is to bring you beautiful images of vineyard and wine country landscapes on a fairly regular basis under the banner "Vinography Images." I've had year-long partnerships with some of the best wine photographers in the world, and I'm thrilled to introduce my latest partnership with photographer Matt Wilson. I first encountered Wilson through his portraits of some of Chile's youngest winemakers, and went on to enjoy his excellent landscapes of South American vineyards. Matt lives in Chile and has photographed all over Chile and Argentina, as well as other wine regions around... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 10, 2010 8:53 PM

Filed under: Vinography Images

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2008 Clos de la Siete Red Wine, Mendoza, Argentina

Fifty miles south of the city of Mendoza the valley of Tunuyan feels less like a valley and more like a vast, kneeling supplicant to the immediate, looming bulk of the Northern Andes mountains. Though the valley floor is massive -- sweeping away from the jagged, snow capped peaks in every possible direction as if it were trying to get out of the way of their falling bulk -- you never get the sense that it is very flat. No matter where you stand, the world seems to be constantly tipping up towards (or down away from, as the case... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 7, 2010 4:06 PM

Filed under: Red Wine , Wine Reviews , Wines under $20

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Wine Provides Superpowers

I knew it. I just knew it. It was only a matter of time before science finally caught on to something I've known all along: if I drink enough wine, I get superpowers. Scientists have been getting closer and closer to this discovery for years. Why just a few days ago I got definitive proof that all this red wine I'm drinking will make me live longer and be healthier. But up until recently scientists still hadn't managed to unearth the true secret properties of wine that have given me the power to tell really funny jokes, be more attractive... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 4, 2010 9:43 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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The Mysteries of Time and Wine and What Matt Kramer is Missing

Wine writer Matt Kramer has long been the primary reason I subscribe to the Wine Spectator. I really enjoy his use of words as well as his sensibilities when it comes to the world of wine. The piece he published today on the Wine Spectator web site (which for some reason I cannot fathom, is actually readable by the general public for once) is a great example. While it rambles a little more than usual for him, his article "What Makes a Wine Ageworthy" captures part of the essence of what makes wine magical, namely that some wines, given time,... continue reading

Posted by: Alder on August 3, 2010 9:09 PM

Filed under: Ramblings and Rants

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