Thursday, May 20, 2010

Current Events in Wine



This Just In!



Corporate chain restaurant P.F. Changs announced today the release of Vineyard 518, a "green" approach to wine production made by Mendocino based Wattle Creek Winery. There are two flavors presently being produced for the restaurant, a Sauvignon Blanc & Syrah. The wine is organically grown and packaged in recycled materials to reduce the carbon footprint.

The interesting thing here is that while this is a great idea, one has to wonder why the PF Changs chain has no national corporate recycle plan for its stores. Most of these spent packages will be tossed out in the general garage along with all their glass and cans. It kinda makes the attempt at being eco-friendly somewhat hypocritical.

In other News...

Seems odd that a professional soccer team would agree to a sponsorship from a winery? If beer can do it with the NBA, NFL, MLB & NHL; then why not a winery and a UK based soccer team?
Manchester United has agreed to accept Concho Y Toro, based in Chile, to be their sole wine sponsor. That's the curious part, a British Soccer team and a Chilean wine company. Makes you go hmmmmm. Aren't English wines on the rise and in need of exposure and don't the Chileans have a soccer team? Must be the money.

Also on the new front;

Decanter Magazine has announced a series of wine classes under the title Decanter Education. The classes have gathered several well versed and knowledgeable wine educators to lecture on some very noted wine regions.

Yet this seems a bit incestuous.

The classes are announced as "comprehensive" and "masterclasses"; but not a single new world wine region is listed in the course selection? An over sight? Maybe, but one would guess they either couldn't get a new world wine authority to lecture or more probably, didn't want the Euro wine courses to be out sold by more popular wine regions.

of particular note...

It was announced this week that the Chinese will be the biggest investors of 2009 Bordeaux futures and not Chinese consumers but speculators. So I wonder, where did the communist based Chinese speculator come from? How is this investor able to spend for 09 Bordeaux futures when they don't pay current living wages to their population? How is there such a thing as a wealthy communist?

Since scandals in recent years by the Chinese in tainted dog food, sub-par dry wall and toxic jewelery; one has to wonder if these "speculators" will re-release the 09's in say 2030 as gray market knock-offs. makes a Bordeaux Lover mighty nervous.

more to come....

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