Wine

The Endless Row McMINNVILLE, OR: Domaine Drouhin Winery estate Pinot Noir vineyards unroll over the hills of the Willamette Valley. The cities of McMinnville and Newburg are the epicenter of Oregon's wine production. INSTRUCTIONS: Download this image by right-clicking on the image and selecting "save link as" or "save target as" and then select the desired location on your computer to save the image. Mac users can also just click the image to open the full size view and drag that to their desktops. To set the image as your desktop wallpaper, Mac users should follow these instructions, while PC users should follow these. PRINTS: Fine art prints of this image and others are available at George Rose's web site: www.georgerose.com. EDITORIAL USE: To purchase copies of George's photos for editorial, web, or advertising use, please contact Getty Images. ABOUT VINOGRAPHY IMAGES: Vinography regularly features images by photographer George Rose for readers' personal use as desktop backgrounds or screen savers. We hope you enjoy them. Please respect the copyright on these images. These images are not to be reposted on any web site or blog without the express permission of the photographer.

Wine is one of the most sensitive measures of climate change. A rise in temperature during the growing season can easily result - indeed has resulted - in riper grapes and fuller-bodied wines. Drought in areas such as much of Europe where irrigation is banned can leave grapes shrivelled and more.

I have never yet devoted this column to a restaurant I have not previously eaten in. But such is my enthusiasm for the aspirations that lie behind Gustu in La Paz, Bolivia, which opened on 18 April and is already employing 30 young, marginalised Bolivians, that I trust I will be forgiven on this.

Food-related events around New York.

Robert Sietsema has been a food critic for several decades.

The national finals of Speed Rack, a competition for female bartenders, is in its second year.

There is a lot of confusion about tamarind products.

Mark White sets up Costata in the same location as Fiamma Osteria, where he started 11 years ago.

Continuing the significant changes unfolding at the Wine Advocate over the past six months, the publication has announced new terms and rates for trade subscribers. Previously, subscriptions were line-priced at $99 a year. Going forward, trade subscriptions will be $199. What do they get for the extra fee? Employees can use the same login. And trade accounts get to reproduce the WA’s scores and tasting notes as shelf talkers. This is a bizarre choice for at least three reasons: it’s hard to enforce, any enforcement would breed ill-will among the trade, and it significantly reduces free marketing for the publication in the form of shelf talkers. Retailers who use scores are not loyal to publications; rather, they are mostly loyal to high scores and will use whichever is highest and free of legal entanglements/copyright issues. Further, the new T&C insist on the shelf talkers use RPWA–Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate–for the publication as well as identify the critic by initials and use the publication’s logo. I guess the new owners are making a calculated risk that by doubling the price, fewer than half the trade subscribers will bolt and they will still come out ahead on revenues. To me, it’s hard to see how these changes will expand the audience for “The Independent Consumer’s Guide to Fine Wine.” If you’re in the trade, what do you think of the new rates and terms? The post The Wine Advocate introduces new terms for the trade appeared first on Dr Vino's wine blog.

Just catching up with this story…last fall, Rogue Ales in Oregon announced they had sourced a new yeast strain from an unusual place–the brewmaster’s beard! Given the huge correlation between the hirsute and the hipsters, beard yeast could be the yeast El Dorado for “natural” wines. I guess the only question would be if it had to be labeled as such? The post Yeasty boys: beard hair powers fermentation appeared first on Dr Vino's wine blog.