WineCountry Staff: January 2008 Archives

by Courtney Cochran

Once upon a time, there was a wine so big, so bold and so outrageously outsized that its fans felt ashamed admitting it was their favorite. "Oh no," naysayers would insist, "a wine that big just can't be good with food. Why, it's so ridiculously over the top as to hardly even resemble what I think of as a wine."

Despairingly, lovers of Petite Sirah would retreat to enjoy their prodigious darling in the privacy of their own homes, away from the prying eyes of fellow drinkers who insisted that a wine must have impeccable balance - meaning it could harbor neither outsized fruit nor high-octane alcohol - in order to be enjoyed.

by Courtney Cochran

Given the surge of interest in so-called adventure tourism, it's no surprise that extreme activities have finally made their way to wine country. From mellow outings like deep-sea fishing and balloon rides to truly adrenaline-pumping options like skydiving and trapeze training, the options themselves are as varied as the highs they inspire.

by Courtney Cochran

As the year winds to a close, many of us find ourselves anticipating what lies ahead in '08: the election of this nation's 44th president, Beijing's hosting of the 29th Olympic Games, and - we hope - the wine world's continued waning of interest in White Zin. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's take a moment to reflect on the top wine news stories of 2007.