Drinks Archives - Vagablond

Virgin Wines

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 16:08:15 +0000

While young drinkers (21 and up, of course) aren’t dropping cheap beer anytime soon, the trend for more “refined�? beverages seems to be going more mass lately, with affordable wines being marketed heavily to older Gen Ys and young Gen Xers. Qualitatively, we’ve already seen the beginning of the “hip�? wine market with Sofia Coppola’s mini champagne cans, and young wine drinkers already gravitate towards affordable brands such as Yellow Tail. We’ve yet to really see a wine label aggressively target this demo, but now the category seems to be expanding.

Launched at New York Fashion Week, Virgin Vines is Virgin Group’s latest venture. Hoping to separate their wine from the stereotypically stodgy, sommelier-approved wine culture, Virgin is marketing the wine with the tagline “Unscrew it, let’s do it�?. With just two varieties (red Shiraz and white Chardonnay), the screw-top wine brand is hoping to make the wine purchasing process less intimidating to those lacking Sideways-level wine knowledge, while also offering something a few steps up from Boone’s Farm or even Charles Shaw (aka “Two Buck Chuck�?). Jakes Fault is another new wine label targeting young wine drinkers with the screw tops and a Shiraz-exclusive selection. Both Virgin Vines and Jakes Fault reportedly have a price tag around 10 bucks. As the trend for domesticity continues, we expect these new labels to do well on the dinner party circuit.

[Courtesy of TrendCentral]

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A podcast about Greek wine

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 12:32:15 +0000

Business Week has a special podcast interview with Kathy Spiliotopoulos of Nestor Imports talking about the “delights of Greek wine — it’s more varied and artful than most realize.”

You can download the .mp3 file here.

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Not just any Prosecco

Bill Bryce — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 11:49:15 +0000

Prosecco, the food-friendly, easy-drinking sparkling wine from Northern Italy, has become increasingly popular in the U.S. Many wine shops and restaurants now carry Prosecco, but quality can vary especially when dealing with lower priced offerings. One way to ensure that you’re getting the highest quality Prosecco is to look for producers from Conegliano—Valdobbiadene, Italy’s official DOC production zone for Prosecco and Prosecco Superiore di Cartizze. Located in the province of Treviso just 30 minutes north of Venice and reaching to the foothills of the Alps, the zone is home to 5,000 wine producers. A group of these producers, the Consorzio per la Tutela del Vino Prosecco, recently held a tasting in New York of the 2004 vintage of Prosecco DOC and Prosecco Superiore di Cartizze, which is made in limited quantities from the finest grapes.

The Vino in Villa New York event was held at the super stylish Cipriani 23rd Street and featured sparkling wines from 27 producers. These ranged from well-known names such as Zardetto and Mionetto to smaller producers such as Merotto and Bortolin that are not yet distributed in the U.S. The Vino in Villa name is taken from an annual three-day festival held in the Prosecco DOC zone in May. The namesake festival, at which 70 producers preview the latest harvest, is held at the historic castle of Saint Salvatore, property of the Collalto family who also produce Prosecco.

The Prosecco DOC zone encourages wine tourism and has a well-marked Prosecco Road, or La Strada del Vino. The Prosecco Road was one of the first wine routes to be created in Italy in 1966. The route goes through towns that are rich in art, history and culture, and the zone has a large number of hotels, wine shops, and restaurants to enjoy the welcoming atmosphere of the area and its tradition of wine and good food, including local dishes featuring risotto and polenta. For more information about Prosecco DOC and the Prosecco Road, check out the Consortium’s website at www.prosecco.it

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Ahh…the power of Tinsletown

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 11:10:07 +0000

Thanks to the movie ‘Sideways’ and the rave reviews one of the main characters gave the pinot noir variety, wine stores across America report soaring sales of Californian wine made from the delicate, thin-skinned grape.

Constellation Brands, for example, saw sales of its Blackstone pinot noir leap by 147% in the first three months after “Sideways�? opened in America’s cinemas in October 2004.

Read the full story over at the Economist…

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The Lenz Winery

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 08:56:07 +0000

Dry sparkling wines, crisp chardonnays and fantastic merlots have given the Lenz Winery a superior reputation. They’re a relatively small winery, making wines to exacting standards. Most of thier wines are estate bottled, meaning they are made from grapes grown entirely in their own vineyards.

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Is Wine Not Hip Enough?

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 08:07:07 +0000

Well, apparently there is room for improvement. Or maybe I should say room for further marketing opportunities? The young, trendy and fabulous are a target market for a new wine product launch…setting a trend for more to come?Via
Yahoo! News

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To Wait or Not to Wait?

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 07:35:07 +0000

Delayed gratification. One of the human behaviours that doesn’t come quite naturally. On the contrary, it has to be instilled into our little toddler brains as early as possible. “You can’t eat your chocolate pudding until you finish all your broccoli!” Oh! The misery. As we grow older, we should be able to experience the exquisite pain of waiting for something in order to enjoy it more…but with wine, waiting for it to age may not always be the best idea. Sometimes you should reach for that chocolate pudding right away!Via North Lake Tahoe Bonanza

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The Champagne Surprise

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 07:25:15 +0000

What do you know? A supermarket brand champagne beat the more expensive competition in an international wine challenge. Never judge a book by its cover…or its price!
FERMENTATIONS

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Sommelier Newsletter launches next month

Sylvia Davis — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 07:01:15 +0000

Wine International is teaming up with leading sommeliers around the world to bring you an exciting new product – the Wine International Sommelier Newsletter, in association with Wine Australia. To sign up to the newsletter, click HERE now

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