Category:Wine Curmudgeon

Happy birthday, Wine Curmudgeon

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On


We celebrate our first birthday here on the blog on Nov. 16. Since that ?s a Sunday, when I don ?t post, I thought I ?d commence the activities today. Of course, the gang will be at Wine Curmudgeon world headquarters this weekend for the big blowout, where we'll be popping Cristalino, sharing bottles of Bogle and Solaz, and passing around all the Gascogne wine we can drink.

Thank you for participating. This has been tremendous fun for me, much more than I thought it would be. I started the blog a year ago for several reasons, none of which involved having a good time. (That I was wrong isn ?t a big surprise, is it?)

The blog has allowed me to write about a topic I like, learn even more about wine, and meet people I would not have met otherwise. Plus, I get to fight the good fight ? for regional wine, against scores, and for a sensible, level-headed approach to wine.

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Restaurant wine: An inside look

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Restaurants get a lot of criticism from the Wine Curmudgeon ?- poorly executed wine lists, crummy service, and armed robbery prices.

But that doesn ?t mean they aren ?t trying to do better. In the past couple of weeks, I did a couple of functions with representatives of two important U.S. restaurant chains. At each, I said I wanted to write about what they thought about wine and the problems that many restaurants have, and promised them anonymity. They agreed. What they told me was quite encouraging.

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A new look for the Wine Curmudgeon

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Call it whimsy. Call it branding, since I'm coming up on a year of doing this and all the experts say you ?re supposed to refresh your look at about that time. Call it TypePad ?s fault, since the platform that I use for the blog has upgraded its design capabilities.

The changes should make the blog more streamlined, simpler to use and and easier to read. The navigation bar on the top has simpler subscription options (no more of that silly-looking box that was always mistaken for a search gadget). Plus, you can send me an email by clicking on the link in the navigation bar in the upper right hand corner. I also added a category on the left sidebar for Texas and regional wine, since that has developed into one of the focuses here.

Still to come: An actual search engine and maybe even some ads.

Take a look and let me know what you think in the comments.

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Tuesday tidbits 50: Munson bio, wine shipping, Beaujolais nouveau

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

? Munson bio wins award: Roy E. Renfro Jr. and Sherrie S. McLeRoy have won the international Gourmand Award ?s Best Wine History book for their Grape Man of Texas: Thomas Volney Munson & the Origins of American Viticulture, published by the Wine Appreciation Guild. This is a big deal; Munson was the Texan whose pioneering work with grapevines helped save the French wine industry during the phylloxera epidemic a century ago.

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Wine drinkers like cheap wine

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Yes, I know ? one of those dog bites man headlines. But sometimes, in the wine business, not everyone gets the obvious.

Hence the headline, from this story: ?"The consumer has definitely changed buying habits," says a buyer for a major American liquor chain. "They are buying wines, which is good for us, but they are being more careful. People don't need another $50 cabernet. What they need is a really good wine at $10."

Note to major American liquor chain: Look here. Sigh. How long has the Wine Curmudgeon been saying this? When can I get quoted as an expert?

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DrinkLocalWine.com

by Wine Curmudgeon Posted On

Drinklocal_small
Our regional wine site is ready to go. When U.S. regional wine week kicks off on Monday, we ?ll have more than two dozen reports from across North America, covering everything from Canadian fruit wine to Texas reds. I'll have three of my favorite Texas wines for the site, as well as some regional wine-related coverage on the blog all week.

So the next time you ?re in a supermarket, liquor store, or restaurant, drink local wine.