Monthly Archives: February 2008

Wine in a Beer Keg!

The MAS Wine Co., which brews its red and white wines MAS Vino and MAS Vino Blanco at the Jepson Winery in Hopland, CA, is seeking to spread the word about its unusual products. MAS distributes nearly all its wines in something near and dear to the beer brewers’ and lovers’ hearts — stainless steel kegs, a far cry from cork and bottle and screw tops in the wine domain.

“Through our colleagues in the beer industry, we’ve placed our red and white kegs in stores and restaurants in all of the Bay Area’s nine counties, Eureka, Mendocino and Sacramento County. We’re off to a great start,” said MAS President Andy Woehl.

MAS is an 18-month-old startup with officers and investors based in San Francisco, Sacramento and Sonoma County. The company has a Web site and a mailing address in Cloverdale where its winemaker and production chief live.

“No bricks and mortar. Just wine,” Woehl says.

The company’s airtight, 15-liter kegs hold 20 bottles of wine and keep wine fresh for 60 days. The company is also introducing 11-liter kegs that hold 15 bottles of wine. The kegs are manufactured in Germany and reduce energy consumption and waste associated with packaging, delivering and storing glass bottles. The kegs are delivered in a just-in-time distribution system. The wines are blended with grapes grown in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

“We went to the beer industry because they are the people who know all there is to know about selling beverages in kegs to a large customer base,” Woehl said. The company’s main product is wine by the glass from kegs directed at a target audience of young professionals 25-40 years old who are educated, interested in wine and eat out several times a week. The kegs are at two-dozen restaurants, hotels and other eating and drinking establishments in the Bay Area.

Source: Dowd’s Wine Notebook.


Wine Critics Speak Out Against Heavy Bottles

Typically when I choose a bottle of wine it is based on its varietal, winery or, on occasion, a fantastic label I can’t pass up. But I haven’t noticed the particular weight differences between the glass bottles.

Apparently, some wine makers are using bottles with excess weight which isn’t as environmentally friendly compared to those bottles whose weights are much less. Plus the added weight is costly and those costs are passed onto the consumer.

If you feel passionate about being green, join a couple of wine critics who are ousting the irresponsible with their ‘name and shame’ list of the heaviest offenders.

By Laura Malesich. Source: Luxist

Z Gallerie Skull Red Wine

Most of the time wine is presented as upscale, reserved, and elegant, but Z Gallerie went a slightly different direction with with Skull Red Wine. The label art, designed by and for Z Gallerie exclusively, is a fairly gritty looking black and white human skull.

I like it, and although it is a little “dark” in mood I think it still has an interesting elegance about it — just with an extra edge. The wine inside is a 2005 Miramonte Cabernet Sauvignon with blueberry, blackberry, and bing cherry notes along with lavender, fresh mocha, and toasted oak.

By Rigel Gregg. Source: Luxist

Languedoc Wines Shipped by Sail

Going green is permeating more and more parts of manufacturing, business and retail everyday and the French wine industry is no different. To reduce the carbon load incurred during shipping, fifty Languedoc wine producers have been selected to ship their wines via boat to Dublin, Ireland and eventually other locations.

The first shipment of wine by sail since the 1800′s it is certainly a step in the right direction for the environment. These vessels will also serve as a wine tasting spot — a chance for the wines to be promoted locally. Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voila (CTMV) is making waves bringing 60,000 bottles in the first shipment which will return to France carrying an equivalent weight of crushed glass to be recycled into new wine bottles.

Sounds like a win-win to me!

By Laura Malesich. Source: Luxist

SpinWine

Wine lovers are always on the lookout for new ways to enjoy the wine drinking experience, and I think this invention looks pretty interesting.

SpinWine is a descendant of SpinWater, which “enhances the characteristics of fluids.” When wine is poured out of the bottle through the SpinWine device it spins through an open cup chamber and around a double helix before falling into your glass. The process supposedly causes chemical changes in the wine that result in richer better flavor.

Thoughts? Have any of you ever tried one?

By Rigel Gregg. Source: Luxist

Able Grape: Wine Search Engine

The beta release of Able Grape, a search engine for wine information, went live on Monday night. Able Grape aims to be the world’s most comprehensive, up-to-date, and authoritative source for online wine information. Able Grape is a little different than your usual search engine, with numerous wine-specific features and a few twists to help you find things faster.

Able Grape is the inspiration of Doug Cook, a former search executive at Inktomi and Yahoo and began a couple of years ago whilst he was studying for the WSET Diploma qualification, and realized just how difficult it can be to find up-to-date, trustworthy wine information on the web. He found himself digging through a lot of commercial, introductory, or out-of-date content to find a few nuggets of good information. So he decided to make a web site sharing the sites he’d found with others. But soon enough, serious obsession set in, and the modest bookmark list grew into a full-blown search engine with more than 32,000 sites and some 10 million pages.

The guiding philosophy has always been the same: build the tool that we ourselves would want to use for wine research and learning.


Calling all wine bloggers

Calling all wine bloggers. The European Wine Bloggers Conference 29-31 August 2008 is just around the corner.

Although this event is primarily European focused, any wine blogger is welcome to help shape the event or even attend, whether you are based in Europe, North America or further afield. If Rioja (one of the world’s best known, but least visited, wine regions) is just too far for you, you might even join in and meet others willing to help organise an event more local to you – in fact we believe a California event is also in the planning stages.

As well as talking, there will be great wine, fabulous food, wine tastings, visits to wineries and a stunning wine museum, and the chance to take a look around the vineyards. Did we mention the wine?

Sometimes you need a special excuse to do something a little out of the ordinary.

New Winery To Open By Golden Gate Bridge

As the first ever urban winery inside a U.S. state park, Foggy Bridge will set up shop near the Golden Gate Bridge at the Presidio, a former military base.

Whose behind this? Daryl Groom, the former senior red wine maker from Penfolds in Australia and Geyser Peak in Sonoma. Expecting to produce 8,000 cases, the products of the winery will include a Napa Cabernet, Santa Maria Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and a Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc. The winery will include a tasting room as well as Left Bank Brassiere headed up by Chef Roland Passot.

As much as I love driving around Napa Valley when I come to the city, I think it’s great to see the historic Presidio providing a local winery-experience without the long drive. Foggy Bridge will open summer of 2008.

By Laura Malesich. Source: Luxist