The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) has revised its labeling policy on organic wines. They are doing this in the interest of clear disclosure to the consumer.

Wine labeled with a “Made with Organic Ingredients” statement, and which contains organic and non-organic grapes, must indicate the presence of non-organic grapes on the label.  In addition, wines restricted to an “Organic Ingredients” statement must indicate the presence of any non-organic grapes in the “Organic Ingredients” Statement.  An example of such a statement is “Ingredients:  Organic Merlot grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, tartaric acid.”  Such a wine will also have to bear a Percentage statement such as “55% Organic Ingredients.”

If you care about the minutiae (government speak) you can read the full article here.

As Keith Olbermann says in his new show segment, this is a “WTF!?! Moment.”

Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo PENS!

The Wine Century Club just celebrated their fourth anniversary. To commemorate the event, they asked their members worldwide to taste unusual wines and report the different varietals tasted as comments on their website. Their goal was to have members taste at least 100 different varietals (including grape blends) on their anniversary. What an awesome exercise.

They actually managed to taste 159 varieties in one night. Here’s the list:

Viura (synonym: Macabeo), Malvasia (synonym: Malvasia Fina), Grenache Blanc, Chambourcin, Tinta Roriz (synonym: Tempranillo), Touriga Franca, Touriga Nacional, Malvasia Istria, Refosk (synonyms: Terlano, Teran), Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Coda di Volpe, Regent, Negroamaro, Primitivo (synonym: Zinfandel), Freisa, Feteasca, Babich, Lasin, Plavina, Codega, Rabigato, Donzelinno, Viosinho, Arinto, Falanghina, Vermentino di Sardegna, Trebbiano, Grechetto, Montepulciano, Cannonau di Sardegna (synonyms: Grenache, Garnacha), Nero d’Avola, Sagrantino, Incrocio Manzoni, Susumaniello, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Grignolino, Malbec, Norton, Syrah, Verdelho, Chenin Blanc, Tinta Cao, Tinta Amarella, Petit Verdot, Petite Sirah, Gwass, Resi, Himbertscha, Humagne Blanche, Amigne de Vetroz, Lafnetscha, Petite Arvine, Heida, Eyholzer Roter, Humagne Rouge, Gamaret, Cornalin, Koshu, Picpoul (syn: Folle Blanche), Prosecco, Tocai Friulano, Verdicchia Nera, Moscato, Nebbiolo, Treixadura (syn: Trajadura), Godello, Loureira (syn: Loureiro), St. Laurent, Cinsault, Viognier, Negrette, Gruener Veltliner, Vidal Blanc, Assyrtiko, Garganega, Rousanne, Marsanne, Pinotage, Albarino, Pinot Noir, Müller-Thurgau, Feteasca Regala, Dragon Eye (aka Longyan, a native Chinese varietal), White Feather (aka Baiyu, aka Rkatsiteli), Vignoles, Muscat Canelli, Chardonnay, Gamay, Mourvedre Cabernet Franc, Aglianico, Pinot Meunier, Carignane (syn: Carignan), Prieto Picudo, Vilana, Graciano, Mazuelo, Arinto, Moschofilero, Harslevelu, Kekfrankos (syn: Blaufrankisch), Corvina, Covinone, Tinta Negra Mole, Bukettraube, Semillon, Muscadelle, Grapello, Marzemino, Barbera, Procanico, Trincadeira, Aragones, Souzo, Alicante Bouschet, Pinot Gris, Airen, Palomino, Pedro Ximenez, Mavrodaphne, Xynomavro, Agiorgitiko, Carmenere, Tannat, Pecorino, Rondinella, Molinara, Marselan, Auxerrois (the white one and not a synonym for Malbec), Gaglioppo, Bosco, Albarola, Parellada, Xarel-lo, Lagrein, Traminette, Edelweiss, Vespolina, Dornfelder, Neuberger, Bastardo, Mencia, Zammarica, Verdello Tinta, Serodio Tinta, Welschriesling, Romorantin, Obaideh, St. Pepin, Insolia, Teroldego, Torrontés, Symphony, Sangiovese, Savagnin, Poulsard, and Trousseau.

This is seriously sick (in a good way.) I never heard of half of these. Time to get Mike and Deb to report how many of these grapes they have tasted.

We are so excited to announce this event. Dreadnought has partnered with The Penn Avenue Fish Company to present “Gills and Grapes.” It’s a five course seafood dinner with unique wines from Dreadnought’s cellar. Imagine PAFC’s passion for fish combined with Dreadnought’s delight in the unexpected!

Here are the facts:
Wednesday, July 22nd
At the Penn Avenue Fish Company, 2208 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh's Strip Distrcit
6:00 PM.
$100.00 per person.
Capacity is limited to 24 people, and pre-paid non-refundable RSVP is required by calling (412) 391-8502.

Because of the limited seating for our wine dinners, and their popularity, they tend to sell out fast, so to insure your spot at the table, make haste.

Wine tune your summer by calling us today to experience “Gills and Grapes.”

It's been hardly a decade since the long-maligned metal screw cap started appearing on quality wines, and during that short time, many wine enthusiasts have moved from snobbish rejection to closer analysis and on, for many, to enthusiastic acceptance of a wine bottle closure that cannot impart cork "taint." Then there was wine-in-a-box. The verdict remains out on this trend.

Now get ready for the next big thing! With consumers, manufacturers and governments world-wide looking much more closely at the "carbon footprint" of consumer goods in an age of environmental concerns and rising fuel costs, the glass wine bottle is coming under critical scrutiny.

"Glass is one of the heavier packaging materials, which has made wineries investigate alternatives," reporter Jo Burzynska wrote last month in The New Zealand Herald. Just as wine makers Down Under were first to embrace alternative closures, this same region - around the world from export markets in North America and Europe - may take the lead in ditching glass in favor of lightweight wine containers.

"Australian winery Wolf Blass has just released part of its range in plastic bottles in its local market, which it claims are 90 per cent lighter than standard glass and able to keep wine in good condition for a year due to new technology." Burzynska added, however, that the relatively short shelf life of wine in plastic bottles rules it out for wine that are cellar worthy.

The new plastic bottles are made from the recycable PET plastic and are made to look the same and hold the same amount as glass bottles - only they are an eighth of the weight.

Looking at the advantages on offer, it starts to make a lot of sense. According to the UK Government’s packaging agency, the Waste and Resources Action Programme, reducing the weight of all glass wine bottles to the lightest available would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 90,000 tons for that market alone. Less energy is used to make and transport them, and you can happily breath a sigh of relief when you drop one and it just bounces off the floor, as opposed to smashing into smithereens. In addition to this, they are perfect for those summer festivals, barbecues and so on.

Until the technology is improved, the one overwhelming con in the plastic bottle trend is shelf life. But if you’re thinking green - think recyclable plastic.

Two days ago I posted a story about the fact that people are drinking more rosé wines, and now we have this story coming from Europe.

The European Commission announced on Monday that it had dropped plans to allow rosé wine to be made by mixing red and white wines. This is considered a victory for wine producers in France and Italy, who claim that the practice of mixing will usher in the “industialization” of the wine industry.

The decision came following intense lobbying of the commission, the European Union's executive arm, by organizations representing Europe's wine-making sector.
'It's important that we listen to our producers when they are concerned about changes to the regulations,” EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel said in a statement. “It's become clear over recent weeks that a majority in our wine sector believe that ending the ban on blending could undermine the image of traditional rosé . I am always prepared to listen to good arguments, and that's why I am making this change,” she said.

Winegrowers fear such a move could lead to thousands of job losses and endanger their traditional rosé, made by the more time-consuming method of leaving crushed red wine grapes to soak with their juice.

The practice of mixing reds and whites is used by New World wine-makers in countries like Australia, South Africa and the US.

Let the debates begin. It’s always the traditionalists vs. those pesky nonconformist radicals who like and invite innovation. My two cents: change can be good. Although I generally like a traditional rosé made from red grapes, I have tasted some exceptionally interesting and unexpectedly pleasant rosé blends.

Very superstitious - the writings on the wall.

Go PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I follow wine trends. It’s one of the things I do. Last year saw a unique trend in the wine world; people went absolutely crazy for rosé wines.

I’m not referring to ‘blush,’ which are high-production sweet wines usually adjusted with doses of sugar and coloring (ugh!), but to the refreshingly crisp, fruit forward yet dry, pink wines.

Rosé wine is typically lighter in body, meaning lower alcohol content, and very young, usually the first wines of a vintage to hit the market. Although many people think it is a mix of red and white wines, Rosé is typically made from red wine grapes. (Some winemakers do blend in a touch of white.) Wine gets its color from contact with the skins. If there is no contact, the winemaker produces a white wine. Very little contact, say two to three days, will give a winemaker rosé.

What is making rosé wine’s popularity grow is a number of factors; the wine itself is good, it’s generally cheaper to produce, and the wines are very aromatic with aromas of fresh cut flowers, ripe red fruits like strawberry and cherry. And, the easy approachability combined with the lighter body make them great summertime wines.

So stock up now and be a part of the unexpected.

Reposting this pic. It worked on Tuesday and I'm a superstitios guy!

Go Pens and start chilling the Sparkling (see post below) for after the game!

I just read this article in the New York Times. Sweet redemption. For years, I have been telling people that most white wines are served too cold. When we dine out we consistently request no ice bucket “please.” Since the New York Times wine writer agrees hopefully more people will believe this. The only wines that I think should be very cold are sparkling and Champagnes. Although I understand that some folks like their whites freezing and their pork well done (and dry), personally I want my white wines served around 65F and my pork pink. Personal choice: it’s a good thing.