Author: deborahparkerwong

Terra Madre Americas food conference to feature Slow Wine USA masterclasses

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Visit Sacramento and Slow Food International will host Terra Madre Americas, the American version of the internationally acclaimed Terra Madre Salone del Gusto food conference May 17th – 19th at the Sacramento Convention Center. Programming focuses on three key Slow Food themes – wine, coffee and biocultural territories of Latin America and the Caribbean.  The event is free to the public and brings together wineries, food producers, scientists, cooks, and researchers from the United States and Latin America for educational and interactive experiences for all ages. Additional ticketed event opportunities including Slow Wine USA masterclasses programmed by Slow Wine USA editors Deborah Parker Wong and Pam Strayer with producers from the 2024 Slow Wine USA guide. Saturday, 5/18 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Slow Wine: Take Your Time, Everyday Wines: Wines Priced $30 and Under, $50 Speakers: Deborah Parker Wong, journalist and Slow Wine USA director, and Pam Strayer, journalist and Slow Wine USA co-director. Little known fact: Lodi and the Sierra Foothills offer affordable, artisanal wines (priced below $30). Explore California wines from lesser-known varieties originally from …

Translating the language of the planet at Fondazione SOStain

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Biodiversity equals stability was the key message at Siclia’s second international SOStain symposium.

Wine aromas promote relaxation

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There’s more than alcohol at work when we pour a glass of grassy Sauvignon Blanc and feel a deep sense of relief.

Slow Wine debuts 2024 Guide at Grgich Hills Estate

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Last December, a like-minded group of winemakers and winegrowers gathered to share the fruits of the labor and celebrate being part of the Slow Wine USA community to mark the release of the seventh edition of the Slow Wine Guide USA.

Ingredients for Action: Napa Valley Vintners tackle sustainability at SOMMCon 2023

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Sustainability is a catch-all term that’s tossed around casually to refer to just about anything even remotely related to climate action, resource conservation, and land stewardship. But for Martin Reyes, MW, and the panel of winemakers that joined him for the “Napa Valley’s Green Scene” session at SommCon in San Diego in September, achieving sustainability requires taking concrete steps with the intention of ensuring the viability of the planet, the broader community, and the wines that are grown and produced in Napa Valley well into the future.

Glitchy neurons learn to discern aromas

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Due to their reputation as vectors for Brettanomyces and their unwelcome presence when discovered swimming in one’s glass, fruit flies have long been viewed as annoying pests by wine drinkers. But as research subjects, they’re surprisingly beneficial: Their brains are teaching us more about how we humans learn to differentiate aromas.

A Bolly Good Time

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In May, Cyril Delarue, a sixth-generation pro- prietor of Champagne Bollinger who oversees the producer’s U.S. interests, celebrated the release of the Bollinger 2008 R.D. Extra Brut ($360) at San Francisco restaurant The Progress. Delarue collaborated with The Progress chef-owner Stewart Brioza in creating a six-course menu that was paired with nine wines ranging in age from the nonvintage Special Cuvée Brut ($150) in magnum to the oldest wine of the evening, the 2002 La Grande Année ($250). The wines were ordered such that the 2002 and 2008 La Grande Année—the cuvée that is selected in superior vintages to become R.D., which stands for “recently disgorged”—were tasted first. The first vintage of the R.D. Extra Brut was made in 1952 and released in 1967; today, it continues to be highly sought after by collectors for its longevity. The 2008 R.D. Extra Brut is a blend of 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay from 18 crus and simultaneously shows exuberant freshness and development withtoasty aromas, dried stone fruits, and distinct truffle notes that were mirrored in …

Interview with Champagne Piper Heidsieck’s Émilien Boutillat

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I spoke with Émilien Boutillat, chef de cave at Champagne Piper Heidsieck, this week from New York for an update on the maison’s sustainability initiatives and the launch of Essentiel in the U.S. Find the video here. Boutillat took the reins from Régis Camus, who now oversees Rare, in October 2018. He’s a native of Champagne where his father is a grower and has worked in winegrowing regions – including for Peter Michael in Sonoma – around the world. The interview touches on several topics with an emphasis on the company’s sustainability efforts which include being the first Champagne house to achieve B Corp certification (2022) in addition to holding HVE3 (Haut Valeur Environmentale Level 3) and VDC (Viticulture Durable en Champagne) since 2015. As of 2020 they no longer farm using herbicides and are working with their growers to acheive the same level of stewardship. Meet Bacchus, the Vitibot, and learn more about Piper Heidsieck’s goals to reduce their and the Champagne AOP’s carbon footprint by reducing bottle weights and with longer term measures …

Decoding the Origins of Wine Aromas

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If you detected the familiar aroma of coconut in a young Merlot wine, you might surmise that it was derived from barrel aging and characterize it as a secondary aroma. Likewise, if you perceive dried-fruit aromas of figs or prunes, you might conclude that those tertiary aromas indicate the wine had considerable bottle age. Yet the aromas of coconut and dried fruit that we typically associate with secondary and tertiary development can also be found in must and young wine. In a July 2023 study by Alexandre Pons, a research scientist at the University of Bordeaux and Seguin Moreau France, the compounds responsible for those aromas in must and young red wines were identified as furaneol and homofuraneol. The concentration of these compounds as well as that of γ-nonalactone, which is reminiscent of coconut and cooked peach, depends on vintage conditions and the amount of sunlight grapes receive during ripening, with the highest levels of γ-nonalactone being found in Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. When grapevines are stressed by heat or by Uncinula necator, a fungus …

Thresholds for Smoke Taint a moving target

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California State University Fresno’s Dr. Miguel Pedroza talks with Matthew Malcom from California Ag Network about his smoke taint research. Pedroza is my graduate advisor and the principle investigator for the study which is the basis of my thesis.