Wine & Value: Push, Pull, Squeeze
A cynic, according to Oscar Wilde, knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. For some reason, this characterization is often associated with “dismal science” economists like me. Today’s...
View ArticleStrength in Numbers: VITÆVINO and Wine’s Global Battle for Hearts & Minds
There is a lot of work to do to restore wine to the place (in the market, in society) that many of us believe it deserves. Here in America, for example, we have recently concluded the successful launch...
View ArticleNA Wine & the Second Glass Test: Bolle Bubbles, LVMH’s Bet, South African Spritz
“LVMH Bets on Booze-Free Bubbles at $100-Plus a Bottle” was the Wall Street Journal headline. The story, which you may have read when it came out last month, is that luxury goods conglomerate LVMH was...
View ArticleFrom Sharecroppers to Superstars: Family Wineries in Italy
The arc of the Italian wine industry bends towards quality in the 21st century, something that has become increasingly clear to Sue and me as we have visited many of Italy’s important wine regions in...
View ArticleUnderstudy to Center Stage: The Unexpected Rise of Cabernet Franc
Wine made from Cabernet Franc is generally paler, lighter, crisper, softer, and more obviously aromatic than that of its progeny, Cabernet Sauvignon. This is how the authors of Wine Grapes, my...
View Article2025: Wine & the Age of Uncertainty
The Unified Wine & Grape Symposium, North America’s largest wine industry meeting and trade show, is only a few weeks away. I will be in Sacramento to moderate the State of the Industry session,...
View ArticleNon-Alcoholic Wine: Three Questions
Sue and I continue exploring the world of non-alcoholic (or alcohol-removed) wines. NA wine is one of the few growing categories of wine (if it is wine — see below), so it makes sense to see what’s...
View ArticleCru Cerrati and Ruchè: Piemonte Wine’s Past, Present, & Future
What do you remember about the hit 1985 film “Back to the Future”? Doc? Marty? The “Chuck Berry” scene? How could you forget that time-traveling DeLorean sports car? I don’t know if anyone thinks much...
View ArticleAmerican Wine 2025: Field Notes from the Unified Symposium
Sue and I recently attended the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California, North America’s largest wine industry gathering. Attendance was about 10,000 for the meetings, seminars,...
View ArticleThe Three Faces of the American Wine Dilemma
We live in a time when problems we face are complicated but many of the answers proposed to address them are very simple. I am suspicious of simple answers to complicated questions, both in general...
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