Fred Swan Interviews SF Chronicle Wine Editor Jon Bonné
On Tuesday, December 9, I conducted an hour-long interview of Jon Bonné in front of a live audience for the Commonwealth Club. Bonné is the Wine Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, a two-time...
Discover Piemonte's Real Roero
Learn about the geography, climate, grapes and producers of Roero, an often overlooked subregion in the Piedmont (Piemonte), Italy at San Francisco Wine School. These Italian wines shouldn't be mi...
Thinking Outside the Bottle For more than 200 years, wine bottles have enabled easy transport, long-term cellaring and convenient service. Consumer and on-premise needs have evolved though. New t...
11 New, Nested AVAs in Paso Robles Present Opportunities for Distinction
Paso Robles was long the largest undivided AVA in California. That changed on October 9, 2014 when the TTB approved a proposal to create 11 nested AVAs.
TTB Establishes Eagle Peak Mendocino County AVA
On October 9, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Board [TTB] approved 12 new California AVAs. Today, our focus is the new Eagle Peak Mendocino County AVA. Next week...
SF Wine School Gives Bloggers a Deep Dive Into Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara County is one of California’s best and most diverse wine-growing regions. Among its five AVAs are climates ranging from cool “Region I” to St. Helena-like “Region III,” soils from dee...
A Look at the Newly Approved Ballard Canyon AVA, Santa Barbara County
The Ballard Canyon AVA was approved by the TTB on October 1, 2013. It is a small wine-growing region within Santa Barbara County’s Santa Ynez Valley AVA. Though not yet a familiar name to most enth...
Which Wine is in Your NV Champagne Bottle?
Last year, I reported that wine critic Antonio Galloni would no longer be scoring non-vintage Champagne that didn’t list the disgorgement date on bottle. Consumers couldn’t be sure the wine they se...
Foss Valley: Napa’s Valley Above the Fog
Foss Valley: Napa’s Valley Above the Fog The name Napa Valley AVA is somewhat misleading. Napa Valley is certainly dominant within the AVA but is far from the only valley. Some others are obvious ...
Blanc du Bois, a Southern Belle?
Blanc du Bois, a Southern Belle? Sitting in a winery tasting room outside Fort Worth, Texas I perused the wine list. “What’s this Blanc du Bois?,” I asked. The name reminded me of Blanche DuBois fr...
TTB Approves 4 More Chateauneuf-du-Pape Varieties in USA
TTB Approves 4 More Chateauneuf-du-Pape Varieties in USA Fourteen grape varieties may be used in Chateauneuf-du-Pape.1 Many of them are bit players, used to add traces of spice or color or acidity,...
The Impact of Bottle Size on Wine Aging
The Impact of Bottle Size on Wine Aging Conventional wisdom says magnums of wine develop more slowly than 750ml bottles. The smaller the bottle, the more rapid aging is assumed to occur. We rarely ...
The Cult Wine You Don’t Realize is from Oregon
The Cult Wine You Don’t Realize is from Oregon In the mid-1960’s, Oregon’s wine industry pioneers began planting grapes in the northern Willamette Valley. They focused on Pinot Noir, but also plant...
Antonio Galloni of The Wine Advocate on Wine Critics and Champagne
Antonio Galloni of The Wine Advocate on Wine Critics and Champagne At the recent Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, Fred Swan had the opportunity to talk quite a bit with Antonio Galloni of T...