http://reignofterroir.com Wine Blog Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:12:49 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A few kilometers from Cabrières, south of Clermont l'Hérault in the Languedoc, rises the massive limestone Pic de Vessou, the 480 meter summit of which once served as an ancient Roman outpost. Unsettled December weather brought fast moving clouds, curtains of rain on the horizon, long-lived rainbows, and sudden ... http://reignofterroir.com/2012/01/04/clos-romain-the-quiet-work-of-time/ Greybeard writes…   Vine Diseases are not my specialist subject, in fact before last week I knew practically nothing about them, but for some reason a casual reading of a blog post from Jim Budd set me off on a major tangential internet sortie.   Jim’s post was entitled "Bourgueil and Saint Nicolas ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/12/21/the-rise-of-grapevine-trunk-disease/ The year is winding its way towards the Christmas and in the northern reaches of England winter’s icy touches are already starting to be felt, but as Europe and America’s wine now sits in tank and barrel there’s still plenty of news and views to look at in the wine ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/12/11/greybeards-corner-winters-hold-2011/ "I'm not too particularly interested in how deep the color is and how pronounced the bouquet is and how high is the total acid and how low is the sugar. To me, is it something I enjoy drinking and want more? If so, then it is good. ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/11/22/george-taber-of-bargain-wines-and-culture/ What follows is a bit of a departure for Reign of Terroir. Normally a space for a quiet conversation about some aspect of wine science, (agri)culture, wine history, or an international winegrowing region, today here is heard the constant throb of the diesel engines of a fishing vessel. ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/11/09/portugal-new-bedford-mass-the-ties-that-bind/ I've recently returned from the European Wine Bloggers Conference (EWBC) held this year in the town Brescia, east of Milan. The province of the same name is home to Italy's prime region of sparkling wine production, Franciacorta. Being a great lover of Champagnes in all their miraculous diversity, ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/10/29/notes-on-the-wine-culture-of-turkey/ By the time you read this harvests all over the Northern Hemisphere will have ended or be well on their way to finishing. 2011 has been a challenging harvest in both Europe and America but for different weather related reasons.   In Europe vine development was accelerated by as much as 5 ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/10/23/greybeards-corner-harvests-end-2011/ It is with great pleasure and humility that I announce the US premier of the my documentary Mother Vine at the Santa Rose International Film Festival this Friday, September 16th. As some regular readers know, Mother Vine it is a deep and abiding testament of love for the country ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/09/15/mother-vine-the-united-states-premier/ Rodrigo has http://reignofterroir.com/2011/09/08/quinta-nova-the-heroic-viticulture-of-the-douro/ Summer’s end has come and as the northern year slips towards shorter days and colder nights it’s time for my monthly roundup of the greater wine world and my miniscule corner of it.   Wine News: South Africa hit the headlines for the wrong reasons with the release of a report from ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/09/04/greybeards-corner-august-september-2011/ The California couple moved to Oregon in 1999 with dreams of creating a new vineyard. Under their plan, 2010 should have yielded 26 tons of grapes. Instead, year after year they’ve watched vines wither and die, killed by herbicide drift so severe it has sterilized the soil in places. They’ve ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/08/23/kevin-kohlman-revisiting-oregons-herbicide-politics/ If you had the right prescription during Prohibition you could get your bottle of San Antonio Padre's Elixir, a tonic to be used only as directed, for medicinal purposes. And I am absolutely certain this is just what everyone did. Just how many prescriptions doctors of the era ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/08/14/san-antonio-winery-a-los-angeles-landmark/ With few standout events the regular review of the wine world’s recent happenings is a mixed bag of topics including broken Shiraz, green wineries and melting bloggers .   Wine News: Let’s start with the curious tale of the broken Mollydooker, as a shipping container holding 462 cases of the Velvet Glove ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/08/08/greybeards-corner-july-2011/ Greybeard writes...   Johannes Schmitz isn’t your typical Moselian, his Rebenhof winery on the southern edge of Ürzig is testimony to that. In contrast to an otherwise traditional Mosel village his glass, steel and concrete monument to the 21st Century proudly pronounces the establishment as a “Riesling Manufaktur”.     As a self-confessed Riesling ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/07/31/urzig%e2%80%99s-spice-garden-die-riesling-manufaktur/ Gly(cine) phos(phon)ate (glyphosate), more commonly known as Roundup, has been the herbicide of first resort for farmers, horticulturist, conventional home gardeners, golf course greens managers, even the US government's coca eradication efforts in South America (op cit.). And vineyards. According to the most recent figures I've been able ... http://reignofterroir.com/2011/07/14/roundup-and-the-sustainable-vineyard/