A bluntly-curated selection of absolutely random recent bits from around the wine and drink world.
It’s been a busy couple of weeks and if you’re in California and were thinking that you’d want to unwind by going up to wine country, be advised that Heitz Cellar’s tastings are no long free. Under new-ish ownership for the last four years, the price has gone up slightly with the offer starting at $125 per person. Man, inflation, what ya gonna do?
In continuing to show that they’re like, supper cool “vintners”, Avaline has announced that their wines are now available in cans, something which they’ve gone on a media blitz about despite the fact we’re all waiting for them to be in bins. Potentially leading them bin-ward is another media blitz about the fact that the American Alcohol and Tobacco, Tax and Trade Bureau says that their claim of “clean wine” is essentially the bullshit it sounds like.
In case you missed it, Tempranillo, now at nearly a million hectares planted, is indeed Spain’s #1 grape variety (solo en castellano, lo siento). This will come as bad news to those of wine nerdom who enjoyed the ability to tell people that it was actually Airén, which was the #1 grape variety that you never hear of. Oh well, Tempranillo Blanco, anyone?
In a case of “dry means dry”, Alsace producers are trying to have it codified that Riesling can only be dry which will probably disappoint some and excite others in manners unmentionable. Full debate to follow in some annoying Twitter thread.
Only in the United States can someone sue for accessibility issues at wineries and have it be the case that it’s those suing who benefit monetarily from the suit and not making sure that the winery in question is simply compliant for all. Oh, and this is about their websites, not the winery premises.
It’s quite clear to see that Israel is attempting to wine-wash their image through um, well, wine. Somehow they didn’t get the memo that what didn’t work for South Africa won’t work for them.
Lastly, some good news on the pandemic front (“Huh?” Oh yeah, it’s still here) in that some lab coat types at Yale seem to have created a drug that prevents the loss of taste and smell. Now if they could only invent one that stopped people from voting for Trump we’d really be on the path to redemption.
For better of for worse, that’s it for this week.
