Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and forums

Al Osterheld

I opened one a couple years ago that was in a great spot, although it certainly had some oxidative character. As others have noted, it's part of the nature of the beast with aged white Rhones.

-Al

Al Osterheld

As far as comments that Tablas Creek might be sending gifts to Tom because he's an influencer, I think they send the gifts to members of their rather large wine club (I think now more than one wine club, haven't kept up). I received the gift, along with annual gifts since I joined their wine club so...

Al Osterheld

Maybe the thief likes Valtellina, but more likely just saw a "free" bottle of wine and now wonders why they didn't grab the other bottle instead.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I love the wines Bob makes (and Louisa and Ethan, too) . Hope it turns out well for them. The sale to Terroir looked like a good move, until the founder had his problems. But, the heart and soul and art of Qupe was all Bob, no matter the name on the label.

-Al

Al Osterheld

No, that was the law, but the Supreme Court ruling changed that, as I understand it. It no longer matters if the retailer has a presence in the state to which it is shipping. The retailer's home state can collect the tax on shipments going out of state if it chooses (and what state won't?). Yes, th...

Al Osterheld

Years ago when it was on newsprint and the internet was just an idea, it was useful to keep up with winery news (things like wineries closing, being bought, merging, expanding, etc.). Then it went to the glossy coffee table format and became less interesting.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Mel Knox wrote: ↑
February 11th, 2019, 10:10 pm
Thanks, Al. I was passing along old news.

It's an interesting story and a surprising connection. The Tolmachs were at Filoli almost from its beginning as a public site and worked there for 35 years.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Jeffrey and Lucy Tolmach moved back to the Ojai area, I think now live and farm on Ojai Vineyards property.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I think it’s part of their orchard and is mainly table grapes. The orchard was neglected for years and later restored starting in the mid 1990s, not sure how many of the vines were original although the orchard supposedly only has historically accurate fruit. Adam Tolmach’s sister-in-law was involve...

Al Osterheld

FWIW, while I stopped following it a long time ago, the trustee is still unwinding the Premier Cru estate in bankruptcy court.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Actually, I think many of them will start buying more wine. Will it be to the same degree as previous generations? I don't have a strong feeling either way, but the article that started this thread pointed out some reasons why they might not. The financial factor that has been the basis for much of ...

Al Osterheld

To be honest, while it was the intentionally eye grabbing title of the article that started the discussion, I don't think anyone who has posted thinks millennials are killing wine. In any case, we shouldn't look to them to save wine (or not), rather it's up to the wine industry to provide a compelli...

Al Osterheld

I think the real question, a central question that was raised by the article, is whether millennials will become interested in wine as they acquire additional discretionary income in similar percentages to recent generations. I think that's not clear. If it was just about financial aspects, that's a...

Al Osterheld

Like any "generation", the boomers aren't a uniform group. The younger half of the boomers also faced some challenges acquiring the same things as their parents and gave rise to a group called yuppies who share some features with millenials and who were written about in fairly similar ways. They wer...

Al Osterheld

The tax liability is poorly correlated with boomer vs millenial status, much more strongly dependent on other factors. In any case, the changes aren't a huge factor in disposable income for most people buying wine. Millenials do have challenges related to finding a steady job with a good income, but...

Al Osterheld

Casey Hartlip wrote: ↑
February 4th, 2019, 6:52 pm
Funny, nobody ever wants to work in the vineyard.

And after you've made it sound so rewarding!

-Al

Al Osterheld

Let's hope the millenials don't figure out who ruined things for them. Ah, they will, of course, maybe they will be forgiving.

-Al

Al Osterheld

In person, chip+PIN cards and Apple Pay (or similar) are better than chip -no-PIN cards, are better than swipe cards, all better than cc # over the phone or web. Apple Pay (and probably similar) are pretty secure over the web. Don't know about Venmo, not very confident with Paypal as an account base...

Al Osterheld

The US does seem very different to the UK - online banking is huge here - cheques are virtually dead and I can send money all over the world from my banking app on my phone (which is linked to my iPhone's facial recognition for security). If someone does give me a cheque though I can pay it into my...

Al Osterheld

Yeah, that's why I have never signed up for PayPal and do not intend to. Well, that and the fact that I can just ignore all those phishing emails about my PayPal account being hacked. Somewhat more recently, PayPal can used as a processor to clear CC charges.I'm not entirely happy with that, but hop...

Al Osterheld

I think that's not analogous to John's point. The people who do not talk about a no-hitter during a baseball game don't suffer economic losses from their silence like the importer who holds off showing or selling the wines they've just imported. Also, neither John nor I claim we are certain that the...

Al Osterheld

The most compelling evidence that travel shock does occur is the fact that importers often don't want to pour wines that have just arrived and will hold off many weeks or longer. That is also my take, I also think the import process is a bit different from driving a wine home. That's why I quoted G...

Al Osterheld

I think Square is mainly used by wineries for credit card processing without enhanced features, much as PayPal can be used. I’ve never signed up directly with PayPal, don’t plan to.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Apple Pay! (As an option)

-Al

Al Osterheld

FWIW, the K&L Champagne buyer believes that imported Champagne need to rest for some time (weeks, not sure how long) before they show well. I also recall him stating the Blanc de Blancs recover more quickly than Blanc de Noirs.

-Al

Al Osterheld

What? No love for the spinal tap, ‘go to 11’ joke?

I thought it was good.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Picpoul Blanc does well in Paso Robles, although the wines I've had tend to be a bit of a different style as the grape in Paso tends to produce a somewhat richer wine while still holding good acidity.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I remember being offered Vieux Telegraphe at $96 a case on pre-arrival from Kermit. Always someone older, I suppose.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I'm also a fan of the Gramercy Picpoul. I think the vineyard that pulled their Picpoul was Olsen, the past couple of vintages were from Los Oidos although there was very little of it available from the 2017 vintage. Definitely buy if you can.

-Al

Al Osterheld

The thing that turned me off a lot of recent CdP is not ripeness and heat, but that many had an very overripe, roasted fruit quality. It was first prominent in many 2003s, but then seemed to become much more common. I haven't had the wines in Asimov's article. But, if they lost that quality and had ...

Al Osterheld

Matrot is also off my list for older bottles or aging. A local supermarket had some 2010s and 2011s at decent prices about five years ago. They were showing well so I just bought them and drank them (a bottle at a time).

-Al

Al Osterheld

No, I don't have hydrogen peroxide at home. To be honest, I didn't find it that difficult to get things started if I put the wine in a wide mouthed container, got some oxygen in there (helps reduce the SO2), and added something to kick things off. I intended to use a vinegar culture from a local win...

Al Osterheld

I think it's SO2 as much as sterile filtering that makes it a challenge to get good acetobacter growth in leftover wine. It also helps if the wine is placed into a container with a larger mouth. I've made vinegar from wine, just takes some effort to get it started (I used an apple cider vinegar with...

Al Osterheld

Something like 40% of the workers not working are contractors rather than federal employees. They can't be required to work without pay (would violate FLSA and state laws), but they typically are not paid for the time they were furloughed, they simply lose that income.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Last year, I think they had a total of 200 bottles of the Oakville Farmhouse. From their release letter, it sounded like they had less in subsequent years.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Birth year! That was the start of my junior year of high school, although I do remember it as a very good year. Roughly 15 years ago, I was buying Scotch a lot faster than I was drinking it and this is one of those bottles.

Al Osterheld

It's not a producer I've bought frequently, but I have a 1972 22yo Mortlach cask strength open at the moment that's quite nice.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I’ve heard of most of them, although haven’t had those specific wines.

-Al

Al Osterheld

If the Coravin limits the pressure to 25 psig, why do you need 150 psig to get the same flow rate?

-Al

Al Osterheld

The Granholm decision pointed a way for states to collect sales tax revenue from out of state entities by requiring the entities to obtain a license to ship into the state that makes collecting and remitting sales tax a requirement. This was done in California with the additional requirement of reci...

Al Osterheld

Possession is fine, production and sale are banned. As far as “free” Foie, that hasn’t been tested in court and some restaurants were picketed a few years back.

-Al

Al Osterheld

From her article today: Many of you have asked: Why doesn’t this list of 52 include Santa Barbara? Or Lodi? Or Amador, El Dorado and Calaveras counties — the Sierra foothills? Be assured that coverage of those regions (and others) is coming. When we launch coverage of a new region on The Press, it r...

Al Osterheld

Southern Rhone Blanc (CdP) can go pretty well, too.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Paul Bara is still nice, hard to get for sub $40, though.

-Al

Al Osterheld

From a quick search, the people on that list seem to fall in may different categories from serious wine writer, wine blogger for the serious wine crowd, more classic millennial social media influencer, and marketing consulting to wineries hoping to use social media to reach certain (mainly younger, ...

Al Osterheld

They didn't include San Francisco wineries. What an outrage!

-Al

Al Osterheld

Supreme Court did not ban it, the just declined to hear a case appealing a lower court ruling that upheld a California law banning the sale and production in California. I don’t agree the the ban, but California banned it. The Harris Ranch aroma was called the money smell by one of our neighbors bac...

Al Osterheld

They did a bunch of different wines, the project was called Colloquy, and I think all the wines were 2001. Varieties include Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon (may have only been used in blends). There were several different variations, eg, different oak and clonal variations with th...

Al Osterheld

Surely you know better than to get involved in winemaking.

-Al

Al Osterheld

What is Costco?

It's good to have minions. Or, possibly, to have no kids.

-Al

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