• Riesling and petroleum: For years, we've been told that fine riesling should have a bit of a petroleum smell -- nothing off-putting, but enough to be recognized. The Wine Curmudgeon used that fact to score some points at a big deal wine dinner several years ago. Now, says renowned Rhone producer Michel Chapoutier, that aroma isn't an asset, but a flaw. "That is a result of a mistake during winemaking," he told Decanter magazine. It's difficult to believe Chapoutier really meant that, and it's probably significant that he is releasing a line of riesling. Could this be a marketing ploy?
• Wine powered by solar energy: We've heard of organic wine, but how about solar wine? The Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group for solar energy companies, has launched what it calls "the Solar Wine Review. ... This exciting venture shares ... reviews of solar-supporting wineries, information about the wineries, an exclusive members-only discount code for purchasing the wine, recipes and more!" Among the wineries featured is Randall Grahm's Bonny Doon. The Wine Curmudgeon, who writes about wind energy, immediately called his wind editor and asked how we possibly could have been scooped by the solar people.
• Lost in translation: The Hong Kong website for the Wine Future consumer event has an interview with Robert Parker, the most important person in the wine world, that re-ran from a Lithuanian wine site. It's odd, to say the least, and I'm wondering how much of the interview was garbled in the differences between Lithuanian, Chinese and English. Parker, for example, notes that he is a "world-famous wine critic," which doesn't feel right. And did you know that if he couldn't be a world-famous wine critic, he wanted to be a guitarist?
I heard Parker always wanted to direct.
Posted by: Tom Johnson | May 17, 2011 at 06:14 AM