Musings of a Wine Maven

April 21, 2019 32

A TRIBUTE TO JERRY CLARK, THE WINE MAVEN (November 16, 1939 – April 17, 2019)

Provence WineZine lost an important voice this week and I, along with many readers, lost a very dear friend: Jerry Clark, aka “The Wine Maven,” passed away on Wednesday, April 17, 2019... [...]

November 4, 2018 22

Musings of a Wine Maven
Rosé Vintage Importance: With Ten Seconds To Choose, Which Rosé Will It Be?

Numerous studies have been conducted in the food industry on what influences shoppers’ buying decisions. I came across several such studies during my printing equipment sales career, as print quality of the package can have enormous impact, positive or negative, at the moment of selection. What stands out in my mind today from... [...]

December 31, 2017 23

Musings of a Wine Maven
Are you ready for a wine cellar in 2018?

A wine cellar can be defined in various ways. In its basic element, I define it as a place to stash wine. My first was a nine-bottle wooden rack placed at the back of a clothes closet on the seventh floor of an air-conditioned apartment building in New York City. Since that humble beginning, my storage space has hitched itself to my business-related moves to no less than fourteen [...]

December 25, 2017 8

Musings of a Wine Maven
My Favorite Seasonal Window Display in New York City

I no longer wait in that endless line to meet Santa at Macy's flagship store on Herald Square in Manhattan, but I do indulge in other seasonal delights in the city. Good friend and wine importer Jacques Navarre joined me in the Apple recently. Beginning at Saint Pat’s under the lights, we crossed Fifth Avenue to see the giant tree and the skaters at Rockefeller Center, followed by the famous department store windows, including a peek at Saks’ windows (always stunning during the holidays). [...]

July 2, 2017 36

EDITORIAL DEBATE: CAN WE SETTLE THIS OVER A ROSÉ?

Since I began in 2015 to write for Provence WineZine, my colleague and publisher Susan Manfull and I have had a sort of running dispute on why I don’t seem to take rosé as a serious wine. Frankly, she is rather [...]

May 7, 2017 31

Musings of a Wine Maven
Alternative Facts and the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

It would seem there is nothing unequivocal in the tag line to the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) logo proclaiming it to be “The Largest Competition of American Wines in the World.” So you can imagine my surprise when I was reviewing its listing of medal winners of the 2017 event held in January and started noticing clearly foreign-sourced wines copping some

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April 21, 2017 8

Musings of a Wine Maven
Most Laid Back Wine Competition of the Year Award Goes to “Rosé Today”

I guess I am beginning to become a little numb when considering all the wine competitions held around the globe each year. Could there be 100, or closer to 1,000? Let’s just say that there are so many that when I enter a tasting room and see a slew of certificates, ribbons, trophies, etc. I totally ignore them. Surely the vineyard is proud of these accolades, or they wouldn’t be displayed. But what do they really tell me? Not all that much. I will know in short order after I start tasting and

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April 7, 2017 17

Musings of a Wine Maven
Lord Save Us, Martha Stewart is Selling Wine Again

Never a quitter, Martha has shaken off the debacle of her failed venture with Gallo a decade ago to come back at the unsuspecting wine consumer with a new wine marketing scheme. Unable then to successfully sell her Martha Stewart Vintage label at fifteen bucks a bottle, her name is now attached to a box of six of her favorite selections for $59.99, served up in a wine club framework. Hmmm, if a fifteen buck wine made for her by Gallo couldn’t sell, why then these ten buck finds (introductory price) from California, Spain, Italy and France?

There are at least two rosés from Provence, the region that has taken the U.S. by storm with its immensely popular pink wine

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February 18, 2017 6

Musings of a Wine Maven
Something Corked about Wine Spectators’s Best Value 2016 Wines from Provence

Earlier this month I spent a considerable amount of time perusing the new issue of Wine Spectator (Jan. 31 – Feb. 28, 2017). I love lists, and this edition's cover caught my attention with its bold text proclaiming “Ultimate Values: 1,236 Wines 90+/ $30 or Less.” I was in the local bagel shop at the time and errands begged to be done which limited my taking the time then to go through their winners from beginning to end. But what did draw me in immediately was that of the eleven wines from Provence that made the cut, six were rosés.

I enjoy rosé well enough, but I imagined had it been me blind-tasting the presumed several hundred Provence wines tried during the [...]

January 2, 2017 40

Musings of a Wine Maven
A Rosé Gives Me Street Cred in France

Having a passion for wine is wonderful. Yet if people think this appreciation has turned you into some kind of vinous savant, then beware. As I write the story of my recent experience that led to this caveat, I am reminded of a scenario from an old Hollywood western—I am a longtime movie buff—in which some folks envision you as the fastest gun around the OK Corral, and they would love nothing better than to outdraw you.

I had such a “quick draw” moment earlier this fall in Bordeaux. It was totally unexpected, as it came in the very agreeable environment [...]

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