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Number of employees of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, the largest wine and spirits distribution company in the U.S. with operations in 44 states. The company formed last year when the giants Southern Wine & Spirits and Glazer’s merged, further consolidating the number of companies that distribute alcohol. Southern Glazer’s ranks 17th among America’s largest private companies

In Portugal, a Vintage Port year is “declared” when:

A. Ninety percent of Port producers agree that the grapes in a given year were exceptional

B. The Port Wine Institute conducts blind tastings and based on its findings, instructs producers to declare (or not declare) a year as a vintage year

C. Individual producers decide independently that their grapes warrant being made into Vintage Port

D. The grapes taken from sample vineyards throughout the region achieve a perfect ratio of sugar to acidity as measured in grams per liter

The process of declaring a vintage year and making a vintage Port begins with a judgment. How good are the grapes from that year? Each producer of Port makes this decision independently. If the grapes are excellent, if they possess just the right balance of richness, power, freshness, and finesse, then the producer will “declare” the vintage. Even though the decision to declare is independent, the truly stunning years for vintage Port are usually those declared by 50 percent or more of all producers. Once a producer declares a vintage, a formal procedure ensues. Before the wine can be bottled, the shipper must submit its intention and samples of the wine to the Port Wine Institute for tasting and approval. The great vintage Port years from the second half of the twentieth century through the first decade of the twenty-first have been: 1955, 1958, 1960, 1963, 1966, 1970, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2016, and 2017.

Coulure

The failure of grapes to develop after flowering occurs. Poor weather conditions during the spring, such as overcast skies, very cold or very hot temperatures, wind, and rain can cause the flowers to stay closed… Continue reading

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