Annoying Article About Wine Writing

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sat, 10/16/2010 - 2:43pm

Sooth.com's latest reverse snobbery is bashing the top five annoying wine words, to wit:

1) Unctuous
2) Confident
3) Serious
4) Cacophony
5) The finish lasted X seconds

When to bottle sulfite-free Cab?

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sat, 10/16/2010 - 11:54am

Clark
The 09 is in barrels. I've not had the nerve to taste it for a long time. It's the one we did without adding sulphites. What is the projected course of events, i.e. how long should it stay in barrels, and thereafter how soon should it be bottled? From the wine structure I guessed it would be a "2 to 3 year" barrel wine, but I've not done an so2 free wine before, so maybe it should reduce to 18 months?
Cheers
Edmund

Edmund,

How to Pair Wine and Music

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sun, 10/03/2010 - 8:37am

Clark:

Some time back (2007?) I remember listening to a show on NPR about the relationships between wine and music. I was intrigued by the idea – as a musician I have always felt that music affects many things.

Science and Politics

Submitted by Clark Smith on Wed, 08/25/2010 - 4:57pm

The recent attack by anti-GMO activists on an experimental planting of biotech grapes in a government-funded site in Colmar, France raises some thought provoking discussion about public safety, burden of proof and the nature of the public commons.

Science vs Biodynamics

Submitted by Clark Smith on Thu, 06/17/2010 - 4:49pm

Stuart Smith is hosting a lively discussion debunking biodynamics on his blog.

My contribution:

Field Oxidation

Submitted by Clark Smith on Mon, 06/14/2010 - 10:02am

Clark- can you elaborate on the following text from your TONG paper? Specifically, the relationship between "active tannins and sulfides"? Also, what do you mean by "field oxidation"?

"Alcohol adjustment enabled California winemakers to achieve full ripeness, but that resulted in new problems. Ripe musts full of well-extracted, active tannins produce stinky sulfides. These unpleasant but transitory compounds are a sign of healthy life energy, but they are disconcerting to the novice winemaker and require a new skill set.

Jesus Saves PEI Vineyards

Submitted by Clark Smith on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 12:00am

Apropos of nothing, I just had to repost this item off Jancis Robinson's blog commenting on her article about Canadian wines. It's among the funniest things I ever heard.

From Valerie d'E Miller, Millers Landing, Ontario:

Thank you for an excellent article on the Canadian wine scene. We have a small vineyard in Canada and have found the whole situation mighty frustrating. You covered it beautifully.

Minerality discussion

Submitted by Clark Smith on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 7:05am

I'm hosting a pretty thorough discussion on minerality at wine.woot this week. Recommended reading.

California Dreamer in Search of the Miraculous

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sat, 05/08/2010 - 12:56pm

Here's a link to my recent article interviewing my great friend Randall Grahm. It's not your typical RG article, and if you are a winemaker yourself, it contains much food for thought to ponder your relationship with the public and perhaps with your Marketing Department.

Sympathy for the Devil

Submitted by Clark Smith on Sat, 05/08/2010 - 12:00am

Interesting discussion on Snooth.com about Parker's closing his site.

I like this discussion centered around costs and value. A public posting board is like a public park, and it is easier to maintain than a building with sticks and bricks and a staff.

Postmodern Winemaking

Musings