Dr Vino's wine blog

SIPPED: baton passing
Robert Parker has announced editorial changes at the Wine Advocate, including the fact that he will no longer be reviewing the wines of California. Antonio Galloni will assume those duties and add the Cote d’Or and Chablis to his bailiwick that already includes all of Italy and Champagne. And who said criticism was getting more regionalized?

SPIT: recession
The drinks division at LVMH reports a 19% rise in revenues to €3.3 billion. Dom Pérignon and Krug were standouts. [Guardian]

SIPPED: creative shipping
Maryland wine consumer can’t have wine shipped to them. So many have it shipped to friends in Virginia or offices in DC (remember how DC is the thirstiest non-state in the nation?). It’s a miserable inconvenience and the Maryland law should simply be changed. [WashingtonPost.com]

GULPED: Trenta
Good to know: the Starbucks “trenta” size can also serve as a decanter. [cockeyed]

SPIT: repurposed content
Snooth.com, a site that ranks high in search results yet often offers frustratingly little hard information, has been scraping Cellartracker content, the Vintank blog suggests. The Snooth co-founder admits the content has “slipped through” their Ph.D. programmers since 2007 and apologizes. The Cellartracker founder comments on the post to say he has emails from 2008 contradicting several points in the apology post. As they say in the Twitterverse: oh, snap!

SPIT: sex
According to a new study, wine grapes lack genetic variation because of asexual reproduction, making them susceptible to pests and/or disease. This may raise use of pesticides or fungicides to unacceptable limits, which leaves growers three options: developing genetically resistant grape varieties, going organic, or cross-breeding grapes to have naturally sturdier varieties. [NYT]

SIPPED: cool wine
FedEx announces temperature controlled trucks to certain hubs, but the last stage of delivery will be in regular trucks. Is half a trip better than none? [winebusiness.com]

SPIT: frozen grapes
The head of the Canadian Vintners Association points the finger at China in recent icewine fraud. [Reuters]

SIPPED: bidding
The auction of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s wine in Hong Kong grossed $5.6 million, surpassing estimates. Sotheby’s cited the consignor’s “proven reputation.” [AFP]

SPIT: suds
Australians are drinking less beer than any time in the past 61 years, according to government statistics. Don’t worry, they’re not on the wagon: wine is growing in popularity. Will “wine” ever be Australian for “drink”? [smh.com.au]

SIPPED: silence
Michael Madrigale, who runs the innovative wine program at Bar Boulud, has put together some “silent movies” that show his nightly by-the-glass pours from large format bottles. This one is for the rare Yvon Metras Felurie ’09 from magnum; other videos include an ’06 Barbaresco from Jero anda ’70 Jordan Cab from mag.

SPIT: recycling bin
WANTED: empty bottles of 1982 Lafite in “best condition possible.” Price: 2,900 yuan. [Montreal Gazette]

SIPPED: profiting from pain?
The yen’s strength compared to the euro is not lost on a bigwig enofile at Japan’s Ministry of Finance. [great pic - WSJ]

SPIT: social networking
As a sidebar to our recent discussion about who makes money in wine writing, Gary Vaynerchuk has decided to pull the plug on Cork’d, the social networking site he purchased in 2007.

SIPPED: wine from the pre-score era
In an Armenian cave, archeologists have discovered the world’s oldest winemaking paraphernalia–including animal horns as drinking vessels–dating back 6,100 years. But how did the consumers know if it was any good since it didn’t have a score out of 100? [NYT]

CHUGGED: Pinot?
If you missed the Japanese remake of Sideways, check the trailer above. Glad the dump bucket scene was included! For more details, check out the Wine Economist’s post who says that they changed several key plot details, notably making it a paean to Cabernet, not Pinot.

CONQUERED: world wine bars
The Bordeaux wine trade unveils a plan to boost sales of lower priced wines from the region. A part of that is opening wine bars selling only Bordeaux in London, NYC and Hong Kong. I can hear the dust falling in the NYC one already! [theaustralian.com.au]

SIPPED: bargain bubbly?
Champagne under $20? A blogger explores who makes the Kirkland Champagne at Costco ($19.99). [Goodcheapvino.com]

SIPPED: honey laundering
Off topic, but check out this fascinating story about fraud in the world of honey. [Globe & Mail]

SIPPED: boom times
Wine auctions brought in a total of $408 million, nearly doubling the 2009 take according to Peter Meltzer. Hong Kong boomed, with $165 millon in wine auctions, surpassing New York’s $154 million. According to the article, the five largest auction houses by wine gross are: Acker worldwide, Sotheby’s worldwide, Christie’s worldwide, Zachys worldwide, and Hart Davis Hart Chicago. The highest price paid for one 750ml bottle was $232,692 for 1869 Lafite. Bottoms up!

SIPPED: chemicals
Chinese Central Television, an outfit not known for investigative journalism, has outed 30 wineries practicing wine adulteration in Changli County of Habei Province, leading to their closure. [ShanghaiDaily.com]

SIPPED: the stuff of sitcoms
Not all the “hot” wine was mulled over the holidays: two thieves broke into rapper 50 Cent’s Connecticut mansion; one was found in the closet drinking wine from his cellar. [People]

SIPPED: the hard stuff
A Napa vintner is distilling sauvignon blanc vodka and selling it as varietal and vintage. After six distillations, is there really any trace of either? [winesandvines.com]

SIPPED: the free stuff
Samples of wine and spirits can now be poured in California grocery stores. Happy shopping! [sacbee.com]

SPIT: basement dwellers
The WIne Advocate publisher asserts that “two dozen troublemakers,” basement-dwelling, “generally single men” led to eBob paywall. He also hints at his heir apparent. [winebersekers]

SIPPED: wine frontiers
Remember those vines planted in Norway? Well, now there are also vines planted in Tanzania, specifically the flat area around Dodoma (come on, Arusha, where’s cuvée Kilimanjaro?). [allafrica.com]

SIPPED: spitting!
“The length and precision of the stream are just unbelievable.” No, this is not something from Urology. They actually have a wine spitting contest in France! [France24]

SIPPED: tariffs
Will India develop a thirst for wine? Maybe after it reduces its thirst for 150+% tariffs & taxes. [WSJ]

SPIT: human interaction
Remember those wine vending machines in PA? WalMart wants in. Redbox DVD? Check. Wine from kiosk? Check. Humans? Nil. [The Consumerist]

SPIT: 7-eleven wine
Millennial “would rather die” than drink wine sold at 7-Eleven. [Thomson Family Vineyards]

SIPPED: bankruptcy
A&P grocery stores, which purchased Best Cellars in 2007, filed for bankruptcy yesterday. Given that Royal Ahold (owner of Stop & Shop) is already circling, the new, merged company could be called Stop & P. [Bloomberg]

SIPPED: foreign ownership?
Speaking of distress sales, a French blogger wonders if a Chinese bidder may emerge for Heidsieck Champagnes. Sure, one may come forward, but it will have to do better than India’s United Breweries, which received a “frosty reception” bidding on Taittinger in 2006.

SIPPED: miracles?
FIJI water LLC, which recently shut down production in a showdown with Fiji’s (military) government but then caved, will be turning their water profits into wine. In a merger of all caps, FIJI will be acquiring JUSTIN vineyard in Paso Robles. The FIJI CEO noted that JUSTIN has “fantastic products” and is “not a distressed asset.” According to Bloomberg, the Resnicks, the billionaire owners of FIJI, are the biggest growers of citrus, pomegranate, almonds and pistachios in the U.S.

SIPPED: another round
Will the Supreme Court extend to wine retailers their previous decision that liberalized winery shipping? We may find out since the Specialty Wine Retailers’ Association has appealed. [AFP]

SPIT: bubble pricing
An economist has some advice to wine collectors: Sell your Lafite. Now. [WSJ]

SIPPED: boats and dragons
And you thought our Cuvée 88888888 was brazen! File under: “How to succeed in China: get personal and put a boat or a dragon on your label.” [decanter.com]

SIPPED: end of an era?
“I think we’ve just come out of 15 years of wine criticism where there was really only one point of view.” SF mag tracks the evolution in California wine styles.

SPIT: inoculated discussion
If you’ve ever had a question about yeasts in wine, it’s likely been discussed on this epic thread on Wine Disorder.

SIPPED: critiquing the critics
Robert De Niro honors Francis Ford Coppola’s cinematic achievements–by commenting on his wine (and their scores). Be sure to check out the video for the PinotShiraCab! [LA Weekly]

SIPPED: 19th century Champagne
Remember those old Champagne bottles found by divers in the Baltic? Well, they were popped open last week and one taster said that the Veuve Clicquot had “immense concentration.” Must not have been yellow label, then!

SPIT: glycoproteins?!
New research suggests that glycoproteins in wine may be the cause allergic reactions. Will we see a Surgeon General’s warning for glycoproteins on the label before we see any mention of possible health benefits of wine? [Science Daily; Journal of Proteome Research]

SIPPED: Burgundy woos China
A Chinese film star inaugurated was scheduled to inaugurate the annual Hospice de Beaune auction, where the catalogues also had Mandarin on the cover. Burgundy officials announced a €400,000 to “conquer the Chinese market.”

SIPPED: Lafitte
A Chinese businessman has purchased a dormant Bordeaux label–Chateau Chenu Lafitte–for his son. “Our objective is to sell the wine in China.” [Sud Ouest]

Sipped: Dining arbitrage
Thomas Keller dinner in Hong Kong, $835; Per Se, $275 (wine not included). [WSJ]