The moment you pry open the heavy wooden doors at 2520 Second Avenue in Seattle, you’ll be struck by the magnitude of The Local Vine’s Wine collection. An eternity of bottles soars to the ceiling, some accessible only by ladder. Selection is just one of the many reasons The Local Vine is a Luxist nominee in the best wine bar category.

Founded in 2007 by Harvard Business School graduates Allison Nelson and Sarah Munson, The Local Vine boasts both an air of sleek sophistication and a refreshing accessibility. Free wireless internet, down-to-earth advice on wine, and a casual atmosphere complete with a fully functional fireplace make it more like a coffee house than a strict wine bar.

And there’s plenty of wine to go around. The Local Vine’s list consists of over 100 wines by the glass, with a focus on wines from California, Oregon and Washington. Oenophiles with more exotic tastes won’t be disappointed, as the menu is packed with vintages from all around the world, ranging in price from $5 to $485 per glass.

If this all sounds very appealing but you’re thousands of miles away from Seattle, don’t worry. The Local Vine ships its wares all around the world, and its monthly wine clubs offer an easy and customizable way for patrons to indulge in communal wine enjoyment. Memberships range from the Picks of the Month Club ($49/month), which includes two reds and a white delivered to your home, all the way up to the Collectors Club ($600/quarter), which brings six rare wines to your doorstep every three months.

Source :: www.luxist.com

Pop quiz: What’s the one product on store shelves that decreases in price when it has a label marking it as organic? As most wine snobs know, the answer is organic wine. Next100 points us to a study (PDF) from researchers at the University of California claiming that wines with an eco-label sell for 20% less than similar vintage bottles. Oddly enough, organic wines without an eco-label cost 13% more than wines from the same year, grape variety, and appellation. So what do consumers have against organic wine?

The biggest problem, the researchers claim, is that most people don’t know the difference between “wine made from organically grown grapes” and “organic wine.” Organic wines have to be free of sulfite preservatives. Without sulfites, wine spoils more quickly, which causes the overall quality to go down. But wines made with organic grapes can contain sulfites–and they are often higher quality than similar wines with non-organic grapes. And biodynamically grown grapes? Many people don’t even know what the word “biodynamic” means. The bias against eco-labeled wines is so strong that many wineries opt out of including any sort of organic label at all.

All of this indicates that the wine industry needs to figure out a more informative eco-labeling system if it wants to catch up to, say, the produce industry, where organic products command a premium. In the meantime, you all now know to search for wine made with organic grapes for a good deal.

Source :: Fast Company

Whole Foods Markets is making a big push toward cork recycling. Every Whole Foods Market will have a collection box for wine corks. The program will be available in all 292 store locations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The program is a partnership with Cork ReHarvest and Whole Foods is the first national retailer to launch a cork recycling program. They first started cork recycling a couple of years ago with a pilot program in some northern California stores.

The corks will have different second lives depending on where they are located. West of the Rockies, corks will be delivered to Western Pulp and will be turned into recyclable wine shippers containing 10 percent cork. In the Midwest, corks will be sent to Yemm & Hart, which produces cork floor tiles. And on the East Coast and in the UK, corks will be transported to Jelinek Cork Group, one of the oldest cork manufacturers in North America, where corks will be made into post-consumer products.

Source :: www.luxist.com

On April 16th -18th in New Orleans, more than 50 of the nation’s top sommeliers will be on hand to pour some of the world’s most sought after wines at the Independent Champagne and Sparkling Wine Invitational (ICSWI), the nation’s first ever conference devoted exclusively to independently produced champagnes and sparkling wines. Industry experts will educate attendees, pouring wines produced in the grower and independent spirit ranging from the superb high-end cuvées of the Grande Marques to the terroir-driven jewels of the small producers.

ICSWI sommeliers will represent cities and regions from across the nation, with restaurant representation including Per Se, The French Laundry, NYC’s Eleven Madison Park, Aspen’s The Little Nell, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. All have broad wine industry experience including winemaking, retail, restaurant management and buying for private collectors.

Today, there are over 19,000 independent growers in the Champagne region, accounting for nearly 88% of all vineyard land in the region, with around 5,000 of these growers producing wine from their own grapes. These “fizz farmers” if you will are master artisans, controlling what happens on their farm every day unlike at some of the more large-scale industrial operations at the corporate labels.

Worldwide, independent Sparkling Wine production includes Cava in Spain, Asti and Prosecco in Italy, Cap Classique in South Africa, Sekt in Germany and the sparkling wines of California. All together, there are thousands of champagne and sparkling wines to chose from, making the grower category ideal for authenticity, quality, value and ultimately choice.

Smaller vineyards allow more site specific wines to be created for a truer reflection of terroir, and their extraordinary attention to detail is reflected in each grower’s unique product.

By Jared Paul Stern | Source :: www.luxist.com

Some 42,000 people die each week for lack of clean water, and the majority of them are children under 5 years old. Aiming to help alleviate this problem, online wine vendor CellarThief donates 100 days’ worth of clean water for every bottle of wine it sells.

Launched earlier this year, California-based CellarThief sells only three wines on its site at any given time, and they’re typically available for just 48 hours or until they sell out. All wines are hand-picked from world-class wineries by industry veterans, and CellarThief presents the story of each vintage as well as suggestions for food pairings. Prices are heavily discounted, CellarThief says, and shipping is USD 5 for any order of at least three bottles. Most interesting of all, however, is that the company has partnered with Charity:Water to provide clean water to those who need it. In addition to the donation made each time a bottle of wine is sold, further donations are made each time a wine sells out.

CellarThief’s corporate generosity will surely please the discerning palates of the members of Generation G, who increasingly expect such benevolence in return for their business. Currently the company ships only within the continental United States. One to partner with or emulate for the ethically minded oenophiles near you?

Source :: Springwise

It’s hard to speak pretentiously about terroir with secret sauce dripping down your chin. Los Angeles-based Learn About Wine’s Blind Date tastings pair a variety of respectable reds with beloved In-N-Out Double-Double cheeseburgers.

The tastings are held on assorted Friday nights in a downtown loft and boast 20 one-ounce blind pours. Each night of the series features a different red: merlot, cab, zinfandel, pinot noir and Rhone. Afterwards the wines are revealed so that tasters can ensure they pair the right bottle with their next combo meal. But you can’t get fries with that — wine tasting has to retain some level of class!

What this means to business:

Californians, with their own lively vinoculture, know that wine is not just for snobs, and most oenophiles know the scene at the end of the movie Sideways speaks the truth: Wine goes with just about anything, including a hamburger.

Mainstream consumers are curious about wine, but are often intimidated by the snooty reputation and endless rows of bottles on the shelf. A class that pairs vino with fast food opens the door to massclusivity and welcomes all to swirl and sip.

Learn About Wine’s “Blind Date” wine tasting + burgers series.

By Tori Davis | Source :: www.blog.iconoculture.com