Cuba de Calor

A method of making fortified base wine for inexpensive Madeiras that involves heating the base wine in large vats fitted with serpentine-shaped, stainless steel heating coils very slowly over a period of 3-6 months.

What is Pierce’s Disease?

A. A fungus that attacks any green part of the plant and damages the vine's shoots

B. A bacterial disease which is spread by an insect called a sharpshooter

C. A wilting of the vine caused by grape moths who feast on the leaves

D. A black rot which spreads after poorly handled vineyard equipment pierces the vine trunk

Pierce’s Disease, one of the most feared vine diseases, originated in the Americas and was initially called “Anaheim Disease” because it was first recognized in the southern California town of Anaheim in 1892. The sharpshooter is a leaf-hopping insect which transmits the disease while sucking out the fluid from a vine. Making sharpshooters particularly threatening are their ability to fly up to a quarter of a mile, survive cold winter temperatures, quickly build immunity to pesticides, and their tendency to appear in great numbers when they arrive.

A Solution to Climate Change? Wine.

Attention all wine-sipping Royal watchers. Prince Charles now drives a sports car fueled entirely by a white-wine-based biofuel. (Naturally, only English wine is allowed). Charles’ practice is part of the British Royal Family’s determination to… Continue reading

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