Ours is a competitive society, and it seems that to varying degrees, all human beings are hard-wired to pursue “better” and “best”. That competitiveness is alive and well in the wine world. Wines are scored by critics and each additional point from an influential writer can mean incremental sales for a winery. Wine competitions are routinely held and medals received are proudly displayed on wine bottle labels. This competitiveness has greatly benefitted the wine consumer. The pursuit of better and best by the wine-making community has lead to numerous innovations that have made wine better: gravity-fed wineries, organic and sustainable farming practices, screw caps, cold soaking, phylloxera-resistant root stocks, to name only a few. These are the positives that result from our competitive quest for better and best. Unfortunately, there is a bad side to this competitiveness as well.
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In 1983, Mike and Brian McMenamin opened their first pub in Portland, Oregon, followed by their first brewery and first hotel in 1985 and 1990, respectively. Today, they own and operate more than fifty properties throughout Oregon and Washington and are one of the largest producers of micro brewed beer in a region that has more craft breweries per capita than anywhere in the world.
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On July 4th, 1840, Cunard Line’s first ship, RMS Brittania, left Liverpool on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic bound for Boston, Massachusetts setting the standard for today’s cruise industry. 175 years later, Cunard’s reputation of sophisticated elegance is alive and well amongst her three ships: the Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and the flagship Queen Mary 2. Our first cruise with Cunard turned out to be a world-class Advineture and an experience we would definitely recommend to fans of wine.
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Natalie McLean is a terrific and prolific wine writer from Toronto (check out http://www.nataliemaclean.com). When she called us up with the opportunity to attend the Australia’s First Families of Wine “Tour de Force” in Vancouver, we jumped at the chance.
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Epiphany is a wonderful word: lots of syllables and an almost lyrical sound to it. It also benefits from a certain air of mystery, its definition being a little inscrutable. It is one of those words that I use but I don’t precisely know the meaning of….kind of like terroir…or umami.
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Franc: The Other Cabernet
Cabernet Sauvignon is perhaps the most widely known red grape varietal. But its close relative, Cabernet Franc, is much less well known, which for consumers is a shame, because it can be a wonderful contributor to a blend as well as making some very good wine on its own.
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