TODAY'S TOP NEWS

• Drought Is Taking California Back to the Wild, Wild West
• Crisis looms if Bordeaux fails with 2014
• Merrill Lynch Bullishness On Treasury May Be Wishful Thinking
• Cava Looks To Leverage Prosecco Surge
• Preserving trust in an era of consumer distrust
• See the world of wine in 4 minutes – ProWein 2015 presents an unparalleled diversity of wines from all continents. *Sponsored Link*

• Burgundy welcomes return to normal

• Antinori family gets wine right in the Napa Valley
• Valley raisin growers, packers agree on price after tough negotiations
• New vineyard drone to debut at Rootstock
• Take control of your wine costing and set your prices with confidence *Sponsored Link*

• How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Cal ABC's Bomb
• Champagne truffles treated as explosives by the US FDA
• The Stupidest Alcohol Law in All the Land? (Surprise: Not Calif)

• Global thirst for sparkling wine insatiable
• PLCB Sees Luxury Wines Drive Retail Growth
• Planned Holiday Spend Per Shopper
• Asia key region for long-term growth
• Is Asia’s Champagne palate changing?

• Drought Monitor authors encourage growers’ input
• Water Levels In California's Reservoirs Continue To Drop
• Why the Government Wants Drought-Stricken California Farmers to Flood Their Fields
• United States Water Use Drops to Lowest Level in 40 Years
• Please Scroll To Bottom For Extended Drought/Water Coverage

• Wine’s Quiet Hypocrisy
• It's Everywhere, the Clickbait
• Working with psychopaths in media and advertising
• In praise of the editor
• Wine Marketing & Sales, 2nd Edition *Sponsored Link*

• Good wine list idea: one-word descriptions
• A glass of wine a day CAN protect against heart disease - but only if you have a specific gene carried by just 15% of the population

• Premox: has the crisis moved to red wine?
• Burgundy and Champagne Lead by Example
• Chateau Clos Dubreuil Produces the First Chardonnay from Bordeaux
• WA: Old vineyard produces special blends for Harrison Hill
• OR: 1st harvest at Erath’s Willakia Vineyard something special
• Michael Klouda’s Stem Theory is unoppressively contrarian

• Uncorked: Raffaele Boscaini
• Craig Becker Is Betting on Honesty
• Doug Margerum Cooks For His Harvest Workers
• NZ: A wine like Alex
• Making wine in Dad’s cellar was grape experience
• South African native lives life to fullest making wine
• The Tastemakers: Why We're Crazy for Cupcakes but Fed Up with Fondue *Sponsored Link*

• The Intimidating Genealogy Of Wine Varietals
• Fact-Checking Some Viticulture Myths
• Breaking Down Grapes to Build a Better Wine
• Finding an answer to trunk disease in grapevines
• Our wine owes a debt to ancient viruses

• Wines Closed With Cork Saw Increase in Sales Volume and Value
• The Art and Design of Contemporary Wine Labels*Sponsored Link*

Planned Holiday Spend Per Shopper - By Category (Oct-2014)

TODAY'S FEATURED WINE

Rabbit Ridge Vineyards: Sangiovese - Brunello: Paso Robles California: : 2013: United States

This is the first Rabbit Ridge Sangiovese I have had since the 2010 and WOW! has it matured.

What was previously a pleasant, young-tasting wine has morphed into a deep Nuovo Italian style with intense cherry/blackberry/raspberry fruit that plays very well with chewy tannins and a little oak.

This is big without being a tannin monster or over-alcoholic (15.4%) Winemaker

Erich Russell told me that comes from 4+ weeks of skin contact and pump-overs five or six times daily. A solid value at $20.

 REVIEW POLICY:

For winery tasting samples, gifts from friends or family or samplings at a party or event, review it truthfully, but only if I like it. If I have paid my own very-hard-earned money on a bottle, the gloves are off and it gets what it deserves ... whether perfect or puerile.