[Winter Warmers]

Victor - I know better than that! You are too humble - your wine knowledge is too well known to get away with that here!

I will absolutely concede the point that anyone that wants to learn about Port will do fine tasting through the Taylor or Fonseca range.

I will disagree that the Graham's style is "extreme".

As the topic is also about Sherry - would you agree that Lustau is an excellent starting point for a rookie wanting to taste the various styles?

[Winter Warmers]

Sorry if I misunderstood your reference, but I took your comment to mean that Graham's was not a premier Port producer when instead you meant Graham's was not to your personal taste. My apologies.

Certainly there can be more than one "definitive" Port house in different styles because those styles are known and appreciated. There is more than one definitive Bordeaux Grand Cru Classe - I think the same would apply to Port. Without a doubt, Graham's is the definitive rich style of Port as much as Petrus is the definitive style of merlot in Bordeaux.

Yet the question here is from someone who is just entering the world of Port and tasting through the entire range of Graham's would be an excellent starting place for anyone looking to experience every category of Port at a top level. While tasting ranges of single Quinta wines is a fascinating experience - it is not perhaps the starting place for someone who wants to learn the basics of what Port is all about. Perhaps what is right for a taster as sophisticated as you Victor is not exactly right for rookies just starting out.

[Gambero Rosso Editor Slams Gaja]

It is hard to argue or dispute the quality of all the red wines produced by Gaja. You may personally not like the style (and certainly not the price), but wines that have been recognized as excellent by so many people for so long usually merit that praise - if not the prices charged. Bottles of 1978 and 1982 that I have in my cellar are extraordinary bottles by any standard.

Over the 25 years I have known Angelo, I have always found him gracious and his hospitality to be exceptional. Wineries that achieve "rock star" status often have to attempt to control visits otherwise they could not function. The Gaja winery is a working winery - not the show pieces you see in the Napa Valley. For instance, at Vega Sicilia you are met by a gate and an armed guard. Neither Vega or Gaja can welcome unannounced appointments because they are not set up to do so and the demand is too high. Also, it is normal in Europe to expect appointments for winery visits.

The main question here is how can the Gambero Rosso, after showering praise and glory for years, now decide the wines of Gaja are "cold and soulless". What this brings into question is not the quality of Gaja's wines, but the integrity of the Gambero Rosso.

The debate should not be whether Angelo Gaja is a nice guy, but if Gambero Rosso is a reliable source of information.

[Winter Warmers]

I think, y'all, it's part of my cynicism as a wine buyer that makes me doubt perceived wisdom of any wine. I am not slamming Graham or anybody else, but rather view the blanket 'sun-shines-out-of' worship of any producer as being wrong.

I certainly don't disagree with a bit of cynicism. The wine industry has earned a bit of that. I will say that in almost 30 years of tasting Graham's their wines have never disappointed me.

There are certain producers like Grahams and Lustau that seem to work on a different level.

[Gambero Rosso Editor Slams Gaja]

You have to understand Berlusca and the the boys - they are used to controling courts and such and will be confused by the USA - but we digress - back to wine!

[TDG Wine Camp: The Food (wine) Chain]

What I'm seeing, and what I would ask Craig, is what is the lifespan of the "small, fast fish"? Small, independent beer wholesalers who started particularly to carry high-end beers (imports and craft brews) generally follow a pattern of starting up, taking off like a rocket fueled by hard work and a genuine demand for their beers...and then being bought by a huge wholesaler who promptly drops their brands, or worse, keeps them and refuses to sell them.

Unfortunately their lifespan is often not long. They are often purchased by large distributors trying to eliminate competition. All to often, start-up distributorships are under-capitalized which means that as they expand they reach a point where selling becomes an economic necessity.

[Gambero Rosso Editor Slams Gaja]

Sam - you are right on the money. The Gambero Rosso works at the same high ethical standard as the Italian Parliament. Perhaps Andreotti can be the next editor.

[Gambero Rosso Editor Slams Gaja]

This is certainly a bizarre story. The Gambero Rosso has been almost as responsible as Gaja himself for projecting his wines into the price stratosphere.

[Gambero Rosso Editor Slams Gaja]

One of Italy’s most esteemed producers has been described as ‘cold and soulless’ by the editor of the Guide which has honored him more than any other Italian producer.

[Winter Warmers]

I'm not a great fan of Graham's either. One port house that's made superb progress in Vintage wines (it was always great in cask-aged ports and in its unique Garrafeiras) is Niepoort.

Graham's is considered a definitive style of Port by every major wine publication. On what do you base your dislike of this (for lack of a better word) revered producer. I would most appreciate if you could expand on your dislike of Graham's and perhaps find supporting criticism of any of the wines produced by Graham's.

By the way I enjoy the wood ports of Niepoort very much. However, vintage port is not their thing as they say. It is good to hear that they are improving in this category. However, even in wood ports, their area of specialty, I would be surprised to find many experts that prefer Niepoort over Graham's.

[Winter Warmers]

For Oporto start with Graham's which does not make a port that is not excellent.

?????Modest surprise at this?????

Perhaps you are just winding us up.

I think that the acceptance of port as an A1 wine in general presents problems. Okay, you've chosen a good name.

I'm not sure what you mean?

Vintage Oporto is one of the most collectible wines on the auction markets not only today, but historically. Who doesn't accept vintage Port as an A-1 wine? Port houses don't have trouble selling vintage Port, but they all would like to sell more wood and ruby.

I suggested Graham's because for any novice (or expert for that matter) tasting through all of the types of Ports offered by Graham's will give you an experience in every category of port in a classic and well executed style.

[Winter Warmers]

For sherry start with Lustau - and read THIS.

For Oporto start with Graham's which does not make a port that is not excellent.

[Florida Jim's Under $20 wine list]

I believe you will find that eGullet uses state of the art technology and offers a quite a sophisticated search feature. You may find all of Jim's posts right here by simply clicking on his user name and then selecting "find all posts by this member" or you may use the regular built in search engine.

[First time pasta maker]

"Pasta" is not a monolithic thing with only one recipe. First of all in Italy "pasta" also refers to dough, cake or a piece of pastry and of course the topic that is being debated here.

A trip up and down Italy will quickly convince you that what we english speakers generally refer to as "pasta" covers a broad range of products. These range from tajarin (which is more eggs than flour) to the hard semolina pasta of the south - two very different products yet both "pasta". The type of flour used depended on the wheat grown in each region. I had an excellent pasta made from rice flour in Veneto - where they grow a lot of rice.

It is also worth noting that "pasta" is hardly an exlusive Italian dish and is served the world over. To insist on one correct diffinitive recipe is rediculous - even within Italy. The recipe for tajarin and orecchiette is hardly the same (nor are the sauces best with them), but they are indeed both pasta dishes.

There is also the clear division between sauces which are better for fresh pasta and those that show there best with the firm textures of dried pasta. Then there is the entirely unique catagory of stuffed pasta which also changes in character from region to region and country to country.

[Great Wine Costs at Least $100]

No wine is worth more that $30, but to drink some wines , you just have to pay more.

It costs a lot more than $30 to produce a bottle of Château d'Yquem, what with the huge cost of its labor-intensive viticulture yielding a glass of wine per vine, and that after five or six 'tries' or separate pickings. Ditto for the greatest Trockenbeerenauslesen or Eisweine. Otherwise, there is a thing called 'the market', and if there is demand of some wines at some price points, the market rules. It doesn't cost more to build a Mercedes than an Audi, but for equally sized cars the Mercedes will always be more expensive: the market!

Victor and Boris_A are, of course, quite right here. There are certain great dessert wines that cost far more to produce than dry wines.

But then again you have great dessert Sherry from ancient soleras selling for well under $50. The cost of production is high here also because of the extended aging and the work intensive solera system.

[Great Wine Costs at Least $100]

I live in the California wine country and I make wine. What determines price seems to be the price per ton of grapes, and how much profit you expect to make. Barrel price i.e. $800 for French oak is the same whatever kind of wine your making. Cellar cost's are the same unless your storing it longer. Some wineries trade upon their reputation and that sets the price. I remember when a good cabernet was $25. You charge what the market will bear.

By the way my 900sq ft tract house is worth $450,000 so land prices do come into play.

Don't forget the cost of the $20 million "show" winery that so many wineries build in California. That adds a bit to the cost of the bottle.

Perhaps no place in the world has such arbitrary price policy as Napa and gets away with it.

[Great Wine Costs at Least $100]

Once a wine gets serious attention from the press the inexorable string of price increases begin as the producer (or importer) reaches for that magic $100 a bottle price point. There is more than profit motive going on here. Ego and the desire to be recognized is a major factor. This is why even a new wines are released at extremely high price points. Winery owners are driven to have their wine be more expensive than their neighbors. After all they reason, my wine is at least as good as theirs. This ego combined with a good health profit motive continues to drive more and more wine over the $100 threshold.

Does a wine have to cost over $100 a bottle to be a member of the great wine club?

Should anyone buy wines that are over $100 a bottle when there are so many outstanding wines that sell for less? What the point?

[Hottest Small Wine Brands of 2003]

Where's the link to the rimshot?

[The Raccolta Newsletter 2/20/04]

Perhaps as people become more aware of international pricing at places like eGullet it will become more difficult for large importers like Kobrand and Paterno to place 40 or 50% margins on wines.

Well we can dream anyway.

My guess is they raised prices because Oreno made it into the Wine Spectator 100.

[The Raccolta Newsletter 2/20/04]

Kobrand

...good answer.

[The Raccolta Newsletter 2/20/04]

Wholesale pre-sale??? Retail prices here are around Euro 40.

[Pinot Gris passes Chardonnay in Oregon]

Pinot gris, which in 2002 moved ahead of chardonnay as the state's favorite white-wine grape, came in second again in 2003, at 4,689 tons. The figure represented an increase of 17 percent over 2002.

[Americans Take It By the Glass]

At bars, at parties, at receptions and family gatherings, more and more people are drinking wine the way they used to drink spirits and beer, as a social gesture. It is an American phenomenon because so few of us have ever shared the Old World tradition of wine with meals. Wine by the glass probably represents 10 percent to 12 percent of all table wine sales volume in the United States, said Jon Fredrikson, a California wine industry consultant.

[Burgundy producers break from BIVB]

We have grouped together some of the family domains in the area,’ Emmanuel Guillot of Domaine Guillot-Broux told decanter.com, ‘our first objective is the promotion of our wines. We are also encouraging a certain work ethic. We chose the word “artisan” carefully.’

[Hottest Small Wine Brands of 2003]

Unique packaging: Putting a cartoon animal on the label seems to help sell wine. Most in the wine trade are familiar with Yellow Tail, the best selling brand from Australia that features a Wallaby on the label. Two other popular brands rely on animals: Toasted Head by R.H Phillips uses a fire-breathing bear while Leaping Horse, a brand produced by Ironstone Vineyards features a cartoon horse. A wine brand discussed in the article below relies on a 47-lb. rooster.