January 03, 2012

Encouraging Signs for 2012

Well, it is 2012, and I am excited and optimistic on many fronts to start this new year.   As I will continue to introduce you to the kinds of wines that thrill me and that I think will make your wine drinking experience more rewarding and exciting, I am particularly optimistic that consumers will continue to move away from the boring fruit, oak, and alcohol bombs of the past couple of decades and to re-discover the joys of more delicate, complex, terroir-driven wines.

As I read through my first article of the new year to post here on the Wine News, I couldn't help but smile a little.  Here, in commenting on Washington State's 2011 vintage outlook, a wine writer seems to actually be looking forward to the prospects of as he calls them "Euro-centric wines...with nuanced flavors."  He writes of lower alcohol, higher acidity, and subtle varietal characteristics such as pepper, smoke, herbs and spices, as something many wine enthusiasts will actually appreciate.

We can thank nature for providing many American wine regions in 2011 with the conditions for more exciting wines.  Now it remains to be seen how consumers will respond.  If I am right, the trend toward appreciating subtlety, nuance, and varietal expression in wine will continue, and 2012 should prove a great year for wine lovers to continue their discovery of more naturally produced, terroir-driven wines.  Here on The Grapes of Rand we will enthusiastically continue to do our part to further this trend, and I hope you continue to join us on our journey.

Here is a link to the story.
2011 Washington Grape Harvest Holds Promise of Subtle, Food-Friendly Wines

No comments:

Post a Comment