Dr Vino's wine blog

Are you baffled by restaurant wine lists? Check out a story I wrote with Ray Isle in the current Food & Wine magazine called “Deconstructing a Wine List.” Text here, but the images make it worth seeking out in print.

France: INAO, the national appellation authority, has voted to have a two tier AOC system. The first will be basically the way it is today; the second will allow new winemaking techniques (such as oak chips) that are now allowed in the EU. [vitisphere]

Bordeaux bargains: “I think there are tremendously satisfying wines in the $25 to $35 range, especially compared to California Cabernets … Your garden-variety Napa Cabernet goes for about $50,” says David Netzer of Wine House. [SF Chronicle]

Dan Berger on the 30th Anniversary of the Judgment of Paris: “The message of 2006 is that the French remain in the driver’s seat when it comes to classic Cabernet Sauvignon-based red wines with terroir character.” [Appellation America]

Hip-hop artist Jay-Z flushes “Cris” and hints at a switch to Krug–as I predicted!

Vijay Mallya speaks out on why he bowed out of bidding for Taittinger: “We bid but (French Bank) Credit Agricole was the winning bidder. There was a sentiment that Champagne assets should remain in French hands. So, we gracefully bowed out of the process. I am not prepared to get into a bidding war because that would have diluted shareholder value of United Spirits. That was something I was not prepared to do,” he said. [link]

Coffee may protect against cirrhosis. Study participants who drank four cups a day had 80 percent less incidence. [WSJ]

Whole Foods will cease the sale of live lobsters. [AP]

tags: wine | appellation | France