From the monthly archives:

March 2007

Understanding Oak Aging …

by Marisa D'Vari22 March 2007

Interesting class at the Sommelier Society of America yesterday. Jordan Ross, an enologist who graduated from UC Davis and now works at Pasternak, was our speaker. Most people know oak is used to give flavor and complexity to wine, but…

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Wine Marketing Through Bottle Talkers

by Marisa D'Vari22 March 2007

We’ve all seen “shelf talkers” — those brightly colored promotional labels on supermarket shelves. Their purpose is clear. Unlike a good wine store, it would be difficult to confront an employee spraying water on the lettuce and ask about what…

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Marketing that Wine Club

by Marisa D'Vari21 March 2007
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… and we get email. Recently, an east coast winery marketing person emailed me to ask about how to market their wine club and increase profitability. Many of you know I wrote the book, Building Buzz: How to Reach and…

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Care for Tiger Bone in Your Wine?

by Marisa D'Vari14 March 2007

If you’re a wine geek you already know about “allowed” additives such as sugar or acid during vinification. Have you ever thought about … tiger bones? According to MSNBC, some Chinese winemakers are adding tiger bones to wine because: “Tiger…

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Red Wine Diet

by Marisa D'Vari13 March 2007

…. now that it’s almost spring, it’s time to think about that summer diet. Happily, if you drink red wine, you are in for a treat. Scientists have recently noted that red wine kills fat .. at least that’s what…

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Sips from Decanter Magazine

by Marisa D'Vari12 March 2007

Here’s some news from this month’s issue of Decanter magazine … — Bonny Doon producer Randall Grahm is building an all-Riesling winery in Washington State (a breakthrough for Riesling in the Chardnonnay-obsessed US). — In the UK, consumers are loosig…

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How to Taste at Trade Events

by Marisa D'Vari12 March 2007
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One of the pleasures of living in Manhattan and London are the trade event tastings. However, these are busy, crowded events and one can quickly become overwhelmed. Here is some advice for tasters: 1. Perform Internet research in advance, depending…

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Tasting Note Wine Trends

by Marisa D'Vari9 March 2007

If you pay attention to wine trends, chances are you make sure you pour your wine into the correctly shaped glass. This says a lot about you. However, if Pinotblogger is to be believed, your tasting notebook also matters. I’ve…

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Do you want to be a wine writer?

by Marisa D'Vari8 March 2007
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Do you want to be a wine writer? Or any type of writer at all? This month’s issue of The Writer has an article I wrote on the subject. Though my email address isn’t mentioned, lots of people have been…

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When servers snicker at your wine choice …

by Marisa D'Vari7 March 2007
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Actually reading this in print is quite disturbing, yet apparently it’s true: servers DO SNICKER when they silently disapprove of our choice in wine! Here’s a great case in point. In this Chicago Tribune link, a former Four Seasons Hotel…

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Just rec’d my Diploma from Court of Master Sommeliers!

by Marisa D'Vari6 March 2007
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So excited! Just twenty minutes ago received my Level one diploma from the Court of Master Sommeliers! Two very intense days of blind tasting with a room of very remarkable peers — sommeliers and wine directors have flown across the…

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Cardiovascular health with polyphenol and resveratrol

by Marisa D'Vari3 March 2007

Drink up to your cardiovascular health. More new studies suggest polyphenol and resveratrol in red wine can extend your life. Wine Spectator (subscription only, but worth it) reports that a team of Dutch researchers discovered long-term, light alcohol intake among…

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So many types of terroir under one label ….

by Marisa D'Vari2 March 2007
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“Can we take our name tags off before your picture?” — whoops, I should have listened to them, but I did want to show you a picture of the charming Michelle Armour of J.A.M. at an event she put together…

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