David White, a wine writer, is the founder and editor of Terroirist.com. His columns are housed at Wines.com, the fastest growing wine portal on the Internet.
Earlier this year, the number of wineries in the United States passed 8,000. When the news hit, Napa Valley tech entrepreneur Paul Mabray took to Facebook to remind his followers that "in a world of infinite wine choices, the only differentiator is service."
New Zealand is home to about 700 wineries. And even though the nation is best known for a single variety from a single region, its winemaking history goes back to 1819
Wine demands to be shared.
Enjoying a glass alone is fine, of course. But there's an emotional component to wine appreciation. That's a big reason why enjoying a bottle with friends is always more meaningful than drinking alone.
"Nature is larger and bigger than all of us. It's crazy to think that man can dominate nature."
Anselme Selosse issued this profound statement while explaining his winemaking philosophy one recent morning at his small property in Avize, a village in Champagne's Côte des Blancs.
One hundred years ago, the Wine Society, a wine club in London, offered its members a Beaujolais from the appellation of Moulin à Vent for $29 per case. It offered cases of Burgundy from the appellations of Beaune and Pommard for around $36 each.
"When I was in college, we drank beer. When my sons were in college, they drank draft beer. But when my granddaughter was in college, she'd get together with five girls, go out to a restaurant, and they'd each put $10 toward a $60 bottle of wine."
"Raise your hand if customers regularly come in and ask for a good Cabernet."
I recently issued this directive to a group of 40 sommeliers, retailers, and other wine industry insiders from across Washington, D.C. Unsurprisingly, just about every hand shot up.
"I don't understand why the D.C. public doesn't realize its Sonoma and Napa is just a day's drive. It's an easy, straight shot out of the city, and there are incredible wines," exclaimed Sebastian Zutant, the co-owner of The Red Hen, a popular restaurant in the nation's capital known for its serious yet quirky wine list.
"Representing real people who make real wine has always been very important to me," explained Danny Fisher, the general manager and beverage director of Ripple, a wine-focused restaurant in Washington, D.C. "When you're drinking wine -- or any kind of beverage, really -- you want to know that someone has put time and effort into it. It shouldn't be mass produced, toyed with, or manipulated."
Fisher and I were chatting about the wisdom -- or foolishness -- of loading up a restaurant wine list with small-production, unfamiliar offerings.
Spring has finally arrived. Lemonade stands will start popping up soon. And when the mercury rises, it's nearly impossible to pass one without making a purchase.
If you ask a typical wine consumer to imagine a California red, they'll almost certainly think of Cabernet Sauvignon. If you ask that same consumer to imagine a white, they'll almost certainly think of Chardonnay.
"The wine world is a big, fabulously diverse place, and arguably the greatest pleasure that oenophilia offers is the pleasure of discovery -- of finding new grapes, regions, and wines."
These words appear in The Wine Savant, a new book from Michael Steinberger, the former wine writer for Slate and a current columnist for Men's Journal.
"Although modern consumers are far more concerned about the origins of their food than they once were, keenly eyeing the source of that organic spinach, their concern goes out the window when it comes to wine."