Winery RimJan Blanc

California’s wine industry has avoided a financial crisis after the federal government announced a multibillion-dollar rescue package for depositors at the collapsed Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Thousands of wineries were locked out of their accounts after the industry’s go-to bank was placed into receivership on Friday. They spent an anxious weekend fearing that they would be unable to pay their staff or process transactions. John Balletto, president of family-owned Balletto Vineyards in Santa Ro ...

By 1965, the vineyards of Condrieu had largely been abandoned – phylloxera and two world wars had decimated the place and its people. There were just 8ha of vines remaining on these granite slopes. If it weren’t for the hard work of a few steadfast vignerons, the appellation might have disappeared entirely, reclaimed by the forest. Thankfully, Condrieu survived and has since flourished – but great appellations have been lost before. We know this because some have recently been rediscovered. In f ...

Tongue firmly in cheek, I sometimes define ‘wine consultant’ as ‘someone lacking employment who will work for whoever pays them’. Although meant in jest, the implied question is valid: just what does a wine consultant do? More importantly, in this age, when every assistant in a retail shop styles him- or herself a sales consultant, who would hire one? The short answer is this: a wine consultant is someone who advises wine lovers about their passion. He or she advises buyers on what to buy (and a ...