Here is our list of upcoming topics. If you would like to add to the list, please register for an account and add your topic. Once submitted, we will schedule an industry professional to lead the discussion.12)
"Wine & the Industry" Moderator - Clark Smith (Bio)11)
"New techniques in viticulture and winemaking - is wine getting better?" Moderator - Joe Dobbes 10) Oregon Pinot vs. Burgundy Pinot - how do these styles differ based on flavor profiles, viticulture and winemaking techniques? And what really determines style?
9) Is Eco-Wine better? Getting through the maze of sustainable, biodynamic and organic wine, is green better when it comes to enjoying wine and what does it all mean? Scheduled for: TBD.
Moderator - Randall Grahm (Bio)8.
"California's High Alcohol Wines - is this an increasing trend, and is that what we want?" Moderator - Clark Smith (Bio)7) The new "face" of Bordeaux wines, Bordeaux Oxygene, wine for the "masses", not just for the elite.
Here are a few questions that surfaced from the "Old World vs. New World" debate, compliments of The Wine Kapital, Beau Rapier:
6) What is the historical role of wine as commodity? Before the emergence of global trade was wine still often produced to be sold (bartered) or was it simply meant for consumption by the producers and their family or village? And was there always a food/wine connection? What about wine producing regions in Europe that aren't part of the Mediterranean culture; Germany, Russia, Hungary etc.?
5) When Europeans began to trade globally did wine immediately enter into this or was it exported only for consumption by the traders? (The Madeira story comes into play here). What is the role or legacy of British wine trade and culture in the U.S.?
4. What's the real story in the exportation of Vitis vinifera vines to the New World? What about the indigenous vines of America?
3) Craig Camp mentions that 30 years ago or so wines in California were hard to distinguish from European ones. Is this true? Or was there already a natural occurrence of more fruit flavors and less structure and was this what led to events such as the Judgment of Paris and the rise of critics like Parker? This is a chicken vs. the egg question but still an interesting one.
2) What are the wine cultures of Argentina, Chile, Australia, South Africa or even Canada like? We know that what these places export here falls almost exclusively into the cocktail wine category, but what about what is made and consumed in their own backyards?
1) When Hugh Johnson coined the Old World/New World phraseology was he identifying clearly noticeable differences in approach and style or was he simply engaging in a bit of British/European wine colonialism?
