More major wineries have been sold in the US. This time, unlike some of the more recent major deals in the wine biz, two conglomerates are shuffling their portfolios. Constellation brands, one of the top two largest international wine conglomerates, has announced (AP commentary) that they are selling eight wineries to a new […]

Californian and American wine has lost one of its greatest leaders.

Robert G. Mondavi, wine industry scion and founder of the the famous eponymous Napa winery passed away at the age of 94 on Friday, 05/16/08.

Arresting and vibrantly engaging even towards the end, Mondavi is widely regarded as the greatest influence on American wine over the last four decades and an unstoppable force that led to the international renown that Californian wine in particular, now enjoys across the globe.

He was a leader that introduced and blended New and Old World fine winemaking techniques… (more after the break)

That’s the combination Sweet WillYum’s owner and baker Sue Kershner suggests for a quiet evening. Personally, I think Uncle Eric’s Granola Biscotti would go just as well with a mellow wine. What would you pair with Will’s Chocolate Chip Cookies? Or Chocolate Peppermint Dr. Patti’s?

Visit www.SweetWillYums.com today to order your Anise Biscotti or purchase other baked-to-order treats.

“Want to seduce someone this Valentine’s Day?” asks Natalie MacLean, author of Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass. “Just share a glass of wine (or three) with your sweetheart.”

“Wine is liquid sensuality: Its heady bouquet stimulates the appetite and its velvet caress soothes that desire,” she observes. “What other drink is described as both ‘voluptuous’ and ‘muscular’? And when you pair wine with the mouth-coating luxury of chocolate, the combination is impossible to resist.”

The creamy flavors of chocolate go best with sweet, full-bodied, high-alcohol wines, MacLean notes. She suggests wines to complement 50 chocolate dishes in her online matching tool at http://www.nataliemaclean.com/matcher. Just click on “desserts” to find pairings for chocolate mud pie to chocolate cheesecake.

“No other holiday celebrates the gift of wine like Thanksgiving,” says Natalie MacLean, author of the bestselling book Red, White and Drunk All Over: A Wine-Soaked Journey from Grape to Glass . “Wine is a taste of the harvest along with all the delicious dishes on the table. But actually choosing a bottle can feel like a thankless task, especially with so many flavors to match.”

Relax. Have a drink. And try some of Natalie’s suggestions for great wines to pair with Thanksgiving turkey and all the trimmings. In Red, White and Drunk All Over, which has just been published in paperback, Natalie discusses wine and food pairing for Thanksgiving dinner. A new chapter in the book also addresses the five toughest matches for wine: vegetables, spicy dishes, chocolate, cheese, and fast food.

So you’re putting together a dinner party/family gathering/holiday meal/fill-in-the-blank-event and need to figure out how much wine/beer/liquor you will need. There are a bunch of factors to consider, so go through my simple list of prep questions. We’ve created a drink calculator gadget that you can use on our site or install on your iGoogle™ homepage. Check it out now »

Drink Planning Questions
How many people attending your event consume alcohol? Take your full guest list and put a check-mark next to each guest that you think will be drinking (it may be easier to mark people who will not be drinking). Some guides tell you to categorize guests by light, moderate, and heavy drinker, but I think it’s safe to assume the theory of drinkativity: “light drinker + heavy drinker = moderate drinker.” A simple Yes or No is sufficient.

In one of the most surprising developments in the wine world since Ravenswood Winery infiltrated NASCAR, I recently found out that Maynard James Keenan of the hard alternative, industrial-tinged rock bands Tool and A Perfect Circle (and the new band, Puscifer) has started his own winery and vineyard [info courtesy of Rasputin Music’s Infamous, Incredible Newsletter].

The endeavor has actually been going on for 6 years, meaning that Keenan is already producing wine from his own vineyards in the Phoenix, AZ area.

Keenan has named his winery Caduceus Cellars, after the ancient Greek symbol of commerce (and somewhat inaccurately for medicine in North America). His estate vineyards are named Merkin Vineyards (no comment on that name, look it up for yourselves!).

Read on for more!

It seems that Jason and I aren’t the only couple enjoying WineLog together. Several WineLog users have listed in their profile that they are a husband and wife or girlfriend and boyfriend team, using WineLog together to track the wines they are trying together. Neat!

I’m sure every couple’s therapist would support a couple exploring a new passion or interest, so I am glad to see these types of users emerging on our site. Moreover, it’s hard to enjoy a bottle of wine on your own, without severely regretting it the next day, and it’s even more difficult to enjoy tasting several wines in one evening unless you are a twosome or more.

Check out these users…

Netflix is doing some very interesting things lately. They are totally expanding their community (formerly “friends”) features, and the writing at their new community blog makes them sound more like a 1-year-old startup rather than the relatively mature company that they are.

I often look to Netflix as an example, since they are pioneers in this online review space. So I really found a recent blog post about why they don’t have 1/2 stars very interesting.

Lots of users ask us to implement half stars, and I’ve been puttin it off for months. Mostly because I see it as an incrimental change, while there are tons of big changes to be done here development-wise. Partially I put it off because I like just five stars… having to choose between 3 and 4 (rather than settling on 3.5) forces you to really make up your mind about a wine.

I’ll now add Todd from Netflix’s explaination as another reason 1/2 stars a way off yet. From the post: (after the break)

I have to admit I tried hard over the years not to like Apple products. The elitist attitude always gives me pause. However, Apple’s ability to “think different” has won me over. Not only do I use a MacBook Pro, but I also got an iPhone. Our team ooo-ed and ahhh-ed with the user interface the first day over crab fries and cheesesteaks at Chickie’s & Pete’s.

So here it is, a month later, and I am still very impressed with the device. The ability to have a real browser is key to its success. I think this device and its successors, think “iPhone 2.0,” will further integrate our wine 2.0 business into every day activities related to wine. I certainly know it will at WineLog.

From my personal wine-on-the-go perspective, the iPhone has drastically changed the timing of when I record and look at details on my WineLog. While dining out, I can now access the full WineLog site (not the simplified mobile version) on my iPhone to search wines on the wine list and immediately log the wine.