Bottle Juice

…Daniel likens the DAOU climate with that of Oakville in Napa (and, as you will see below, that is one of his favorite AVAs), and the calcerous soils around him with those of France.

Daniel does not add acid to his fermenting grapes, as his vines per acre are almost 3.5 times what others nearby have, while his clusters per vine are two to three times smaller. He believes these factors combine to allow proper ripeness and vine stress, which results in soft tannins and solid acid levels. …

• Topics: Daniel, DAOU, Vineyards, Paso Robles, Daniel Daou
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• Decanter Blog: Stephen Brook - "There was some speculation about the absence of the newly promoted St Emilion first growths - Pavie-Macquin and
• Wine Pictures from BKWine: The big rabbit is hiding here somewhere (Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte, Bordeaux)

Regular Retail Price: $ 65.00

The Wine Spies One Day Price: $ 44.99

Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: California: Oakville ( Napa)

Volume: 750 ml

Alcohol %: 14.5

• Topics: Cabernet Sauvignon, Wine Spies, Oakville, California, Day
• napaman.com: GIII - It could stand for Gorgeous Grape Growing!
• STEVE HEIMOFF| WINE BLOG: Suckling, ‘07 Napa Cabs, 2010 vintage, Top 10 Wines of the Week
• Alltop RSS: Bell Wine Cellars 2006 Syrah, Massa Ranch, Yountville, Napa Valley - 2 Pack - $44.99
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• On the Road with the Grape Guy: Report form ... 6th Annual Stem Wine Group Tasting - September 20, 2011
• Wine Compass Blog: Cakebread Cellars 2008 Benchland Select Cabernet Sauvignon

This year's keynote speaker is James Conaway, author of Napa: the Story of an American Eden and the recent Nose. I'll be bringing my yellowed copy of Napa to get an autograph.

Sessions

These breakout sessions are about either wine or science - or both - and can be very interesting.

One session in Charlottesville, gave us packaged food items to sniff while tasting wines that embodied those flavors. In the Neuroscience of Wine session in Portland, we learned how …

• Topics: British Columbia, Penticton, Live Blogging, Breakout Sessions, Okanagan Valley
• Black Cloud - Unmatched Pinot Noir: Pinot Noir Examination with WinePlus
• Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog: Canada's Direct Wine Shipping Prohibition About to End
• Wannabe Wino Wine Blog: 2013 Wine Blogger Conference
• winehiker witiculture: The 2006 Township 7 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Wilf's Wine Press: Sunshine into Wine.....!
• Serious About Wine: Student Work : Erica Craig

…not restricted to specific grapes. It may not be traditional to grow Tempranillo in Napa or Cabernet in Santa Maria, but you're welcome to do so. The AVA just specifies where the grapes are grown, and it's up to you to make your case for the quality of the end product. And central to the growing significance of terroir has been wineries' efforts to support their claims to quality by geographic designation. After all, while Cabernet-Sauvignon could be grown anywhere, …

• Topics: American Viticultural Area, California, Burgundy wine, Cabernet-Sauvignon, New World
• Alltop RSS: 2008 Mohua Pinot Noir Central Otago
• Jason's Wine Blog: 2009 Perrin Cotes du Rhone Reserve
• McDuff's Food & Wine Trail: Notes from a Sunday
• STEVE HEIMOFF| WINE BLOG: Annals of labeling: Winemakers should put the correct appellation on the label
• The Wine Spies: 2008 Olivia Brion Heron Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir
• Wine Spies: Today's Deal: Olivia Brion 2008 Heron Lake Vineyard Pinot Noir

Napa's Kitchen Door has teamed up with one of California's top breweries - Firestone Walker Brewing Co. - for a celebration of craft beer, great food and fun people. Kitchen Door, recently honored as a Michelin Guide Recommended Restaurant as well as one of Bon Appetit's 7 Best Restaurants in Napa Valley , will be pairing five delicious courses with six incredible beers from Firestone Walker.

Tickets are very limited for …

• Topics: Bon Appetit, Walker, California, Restaurants, Kitchen Door
• Off The Presses: Christina Turley Goes Home
• The Wine Economist: Washington Wine's Identity Crisis
• Bigger Than Your Head: Shafer Vineyards: The Current Releases
• The Rosa d'Oro Vineyards Blog: Lake County Wineries in San Francisco August 20th
• STEVE HEIMOFF| WINE BLOG: Friday Fishwrap: tourism fights, Napa warming and Madonna!
• Blog: Behind the Wine: Randy and Debbie Lewis (Lewis Cellars)

It's funny that I label this as " Napa Valley" when it's produced in Knights Valley, but it really does have more in common with Napa than Sonoma. Unfortunately this was cloyingly sweet and medicinal when first opened; probably lightly corked. With over two hours of air the funk blew mostly off. The nose is muted but shows prune and sweet cocoa. Semi-sweet blackberry, powdered sugar, and maraschino cherry. Medium-length and medium body. Personally I preferred the 2000 vintage.

• Topics: Knights Valley, Napa Valley, Sonoma
• napaman.com: Sonoma's Newest Winery Makes an Offer You Can't Refuse!
• Bigger Than Your Head: Wine of the Week
• Wine Spies: Today's Deal: Ehret Family Winery 2008 Bella's Blend
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• The Wine Spies: 2009 LaZarre Wines Edna Valley Sauvignon Blanc
• Wine Economics: How Reliable are Wine Descriptions? It Depends!

…petulance, never that). The Frisk wines, imported by Old Bridge in Napa, were previously made in an area of Australia's Victoria region called Alpine Valley. What to call this color? Topaz? Copper? Coral? Embarrassed peach? In any case, the wine, made all in stainless steel, offers notes of melon, sour cherry and pomegranate with a tease of cloves and an initial tantalizing strain of candied orange rind. Clean, vivid acidity keeps it dry from mid-palate back through the spicy, slightly …

• Topics: Lodi, Grenache, France, Dry Creek Valley AVA, Frisk
• Organic Wine Journal: Awards at Organic Wine Review

…story, As much as I wan to see East Coast wineries thrive, I am not interested in seeing Napa and Bordeaux suffer. This is troubling news at best. - C. DeVito

By Rebecca Forand/ South Jersey Times

April 14, 2013 at 6:00 AM, updated April 14, 2013 at 6:07 AM

Twenty years ago, no one would have thought of South Jersey as a valuable wine growing region, but over the past decade more and more vineyards have been established and the area's wines have begun to win prestigious …

• Topics: New Jersey, Bordeaux, South, Jersey, Napa Valley

Kayla asked to review Celebrity Vineyards : From Napa to Tuscany in Search of Great Wine by Nick Wise. This is an attractive volume, beautifully illustrated and printed on high quality stock. The book's sixteen chapters provide detailed case studies of wineries associated with the A (for Mario Andretti and Dan Aykroyd) almost to Z (Formula One driver Jarno Trulli and football coach Dick Vermeil) of international wine celebrity. (I wish soccer star Zinedine Zidane…

• Topics: Great Wine, Magny, Parisians, Kelsey, Erin
• Benito's Wine Reviews: Book Review: Into Wine by Olivier Magny
• Alltop RSS: Handicapping the James Beard Wine/Beer/Spirits Writing Award
• My Wine Education: GIVEAWAY #2: Blood Into Wine AND Chef In the Vineyard
• wine book club: Great Wine Made Simple By Andrea Immer
• New Zealand Food and Wine TV: Christchurch/Southern New Zealand wins wine capital of the world title
• Alltop RSS: Wine Discovery New Zealand 2010 International Conference

Etude is a pioneering winery in the Napa Carneros region started by noted winemaker Tony Soter in 1980. The initial release was a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, but Soter quickly moved into Carneros Pinot Noir (first release was in 1982), Napa Valley Pinot Blanc, Napa Valley Merlot, Carneros Pinot Gris, ...

• Topics: Los Carneros, Napa Valley, Tony Soter, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir
• Wine Spies: Today's Deal: Cornerstone Cellars 2009 Stepping Stone Cabernet Franc
• STEVE HEIMOFF| WINE BLOG: Giving Sauvignon Blanc its due
• WineSpiritsDaily.com - Wine & Spirits Daily: Artesa President on Being in the "Dirty Middle"
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