On the Road and Buying Wine

I didn’t have the opportunity to write yesterday, because my fiance and I were traveling to Tampa on a business trip. We stopped in Savannah, GA overnight. I was only in Savannah once before and I happened to LOVE it. What a beautiful city, with so much to do! Of course, it has a reputation to uphold with Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Forrest Gump.

After eating dinner at Maurice’s Barbeque, which is a unique experience in and of itself, we headed to Piggly Wiggly to buy a bottle of wine. Now, I didn’t expect any great vintages, but we had to experience the novelty of being able to buy wine in a grocery store. After browsing the isle for about 10 minutes, we decided on a French Beaujolais. When we got back to the motel room I got out the wine opener. It was the aah-so type; the kind with the two prongs that you slip into either side of the cork and then twist while pulling up. After using a rabbit opener for some time, you loose your ability to open a bottle with anything that requires a little skill. I slipped the prongs into the bottle and noticed that the corked receeded instead of protruded. I immediately thought, “Uh-oh, I better let Bob finish this!” Well, I made the right decision, because I didn’t want to be the one responsible for having the cork floating in the wine. That’s exactly where the cork ended up, so we really had a “corked” bottle of wine. But it tasted fine anyway! I’m waiting until we get home to do the actual review of the Beaujolais.

Today, we stopped at Lakeridge Winery in Clermont, FL. for a tour and tasting. I talked with Kyle Johnson, Marketing Manager, and learn some intersting information about Lakeridge. Look for them to be featured on Wine Reviewer very soon.

Pennsylvania’s Archaic Wine Shipping Laws

In May, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that said states must have consistent intra-state and inter-state wine shipping laws. For example, a state could not allow in-state wineries to ship to its residents while disallowing out-of-state wine shipments to its residents. Many states are currently in violation of this ruling. Pennsylvania is one of them.

What makes the issue particularly difficult for Pennsylvania lawmakers to resolve is that, with the exception of PA wineries shipping to PA residents, under the existing system, all wine and alcohol must be purchased through the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB). These sales generate an annual income of several hundred million dollars (last year it was close to 400 million). Opening the doors to inter-state wine shipments would syphon off a large chunk of money that is now produced by the sale of wine through the PLCB.

In July, a suit was filed against Pennsylvania by a Montgomery County resident and an Indiana County Vintner claiming that PA laws were discriminatory and in violation of the Supreme Court ruling. The LCB responded to the suit by shutting down all direct shipment of wine effective Nov. 1, 2005. Not exactly what some of us who are looking for more choice and better prices were hoping for. However, change may be brewing.

Senator Jim Ferlo, D-Pittsburgh, is drafting a bill that seeks to to allow PA residents to order wine from out-of-state or out-of-country wineries. Whether this bill will pass is yet to be seen, but we can be hopeful. It is time for Pennsylvania to relinquish some of its archaic post-prohibition stronghold and allow for greater consumer choice.

www.wine-reviewer.com

Wine-Reviewer Launches New Wine Blog

Drinking wine is a passion of mine. Every time I enter a wine store, many thoughts go through my mind. The first thought is usually “So many wines, too little time!” Next comes, “How many bottles can I afford today?” Then there’s the almost impossible task of trying to select a few bottles for reviewing.

A positive aspect to being a wine reviewer is that I’m constantly trying new wines. Of course the negative side is that I don’t buy my favorites as often as I’d like because there are just too many vintners, varietals and vintages I’d like to try so that I can officially review them on Wine-Reviewer.com.

Do a Google search for “wine” and you’ll find almost 58 millions results. That’s a lot of information about wine. What makes www.wine-reviewer different from most of the other wine sites is that each of the wine and winery reviews is personally written and more extensive than you might find elsewhere. My goal is to travel the country, visiting wineries, tasing wines, and writing reviews. Lofty goal, don’t you think? …and GREAT work!

While Robert Parker has virtually become a “brand name” for wine reviews in the Wine Advocate, I, Marcia Parks, am in the process of developing a wine rating scale called the “M” Factor. My goal is to impliment a system that will allow the consumer to get a good idea of whether or not they will like the wine based on such factors as sweetness/dryness, tannins, etc. So move over, Mr. Parker and make room for Marcia Parks.

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