October 28, 2022

YALUMBA Samuel’s Collection” Shiraz 2018

(Barossa Valley, Australia) $21

Fabulous flavors of wild berries and café au lait. Rich and yet cooling, thanks to touches of eucalyptus notes. Grilled meat is in order.

89 points KM

Available at Wine.com

All Oregon Pinot Noirs must be 90 percent that variety.

Answer: True.

Labeling a wine based on the variety of grape used to make that wine has been commonplace in most of the New World since the late 1960s. In the United States, the first varietally labeled wines were required by federal law to be composed of 51 percent of the variety named. In 1983, the minimum was raised to the current level of 75 percent. States and specific appellations can choose to exceed (but not go below) the federal regulations. For example, in Oregon, all Pinot Noirs so-labeled must be at least 90 percent Pinot Noir. The same is true for Oregon Chardonnay, but not Oregon Cabernet Sauvignon. Oregon makes an exception from the “90% rule” for Cabernet and other grapes that benefit from blending and have a long history of being used for blending in their respective European regions.

“Whatever we [the wine industry] are doing to promote wine to young consumers, we should stop doing right now because it’s not working. They aren’t engaging. Young consumers are less engaged with wine now than they were ten years ago, especially wines bought directly from wineries.”

—Rob McMillan, Silicon Valley Bank State of the Wine Industry Report 2023

–Rob McMillan, Silicon Valley Bank State of the Wine Industry Report 2023

YALUMBA Samuel’s Collection” Shiraz 2018

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