Friday, May 30, 2008

Decanter Articles: May 2008

I read several wine magazines and sometimes one issue has much more of interest than others. That happened recently with the May 2008 issue of Decanter, a British wine magazine. I already posted about a couple of intriguing articles from that issue, A New Pago and Who Collects Wine. I wanted to mention a few other articles as well.

Chinese Whispers: This is a short editorial, by Sarah Kemp, about China and wine. It discusses some of the reasons why the Chinese buy and drink certain wines. "Chinese buy for face, not for taste."

Spreading the Word: This is a brief article, by Steven Spurrier, about Indian and wine. Only about 1% of the country drinks wine, though that is still a market of 11.5 million people. Yet advertising alcohol is illegal so how do you market wine in India? Consumers in India lack much information about wine. Sounds like they could use a few good bloggers to help out.

What Is Wine Writing For?: This is a brief article, by Linda Murphy, that discusses how wine journalists now seem to write more about mergers & acquistions and scandals than history and personalities. Has wine writing really changed over the years? Is it now more about scooping the competition?

Morocco: Can Wine and Islam Mix?: This is a full length article, written by Rupert Joy, about the wine industry in Morocco and how it deals with Islam. It provides some history as well as facts about the current status of wine in Morocco. There are also some tasting notes for several of their wines.

German Labelling: It's Simple, Honest: This is a full length article, written by Freddy Price, that gives excellent advice about how to decipher a label on a bottle of German wine.

Prospecting for Minerality: This is a full length article, written by Jeff Cox, about the definition of "minerality." The term is often used to describe numerous wines. But what really does it mean? What is the taste of minerality? U.S. wine makers seem reluctant to use the term. Is minerality reflective of terroir? This is definitely a fascinating discussion.

If you can find a copy of this issue, I highly recommend you pick it up!

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