Napa news & other Tidbits...

     In 2018 it would cost you half of what it costs now to go to wine tastings in Napa. Don't let the bullshit jargon newspeak of "Elevated" wine tastings grip you. Yes I get it. Napa is one of the premier wine regions but Jimminy Christmas, do they have to keep raping us in the pocketbook? Isn't it enough that because of the Napa label they get to charge much more dinero than say Paso Robles (though they're raising prices also)? Though prices are rising in Sonoma too, they're still less than their eastern neighbor and their wine is amazing. You will never hear, "OMG you didn't go to Napa? You were just in Sonoma? Gasp!!!" Ain't gonna happen, and if it did you're dealing with a moron that was just going to Napa for clout. Booo.
     Remember those fires in Bordeaux, well Spain has it's own problems now with "total destruction" in the middle province of Avila. The wines from this region often plant at 700 to 1100 meters above sea level and gives their wines a unique character. Fires also rage in Cebreros and almost 90,000 hectares burnt in total in Spain. This past week alone 20,000 hectares have been torched which is about the same size as NYC. Yikes
     And Minnesota is making news for something good for a change. The American Society for Enology and Viticulture=Eastern Section (ASEV-ES) had a 3 day conference in Bloomington, MN since going virtual for the last couple of years. The eastern climes are colder and face different problems than more sun drenched areas such as California and Texas. Various vineyards were visited plus the Horticultural Research Center at U of MN. MN is known in wine through it's GMO varietals: Frontenac, La Crescent, Frontenac Blanc, Marquette and Itasca. Good Luck. I prefer the classic vitis vinifera myself. Drink good wine, zombie apocalypse is coming.