Welcome to PALATE PRESS: The online wine magazine. It is my pleasure and honor to introduce you to our incredible group of wine writers and wine lovers.
I created PALATE PRESS to help wine lovers find the very best content the internet has to offer. Too many terrific stories and talented writers were being missed just because there are so many different wine sites. Now, at PALATE PRESS, you can find it all in one place. The stories in our inaugural edition demonstrate just how much talent there is out there, and just how much value the virtual pages of PALATE PRESS can provide by bringing them together.
The Featured Story is about Randall Grahm, of Bonny Doon Vineyard, and his upcoming book, Been Doon So Long. Randall Grahm is fascinating and I cannot wait to read his book, but my greatest pleasure in this story was in reading Meg Houston Maker’s writing. Her talent shines through, providing its own light even in the glare of Grahm’s brilliance; she captures his soul-searching, mid-life renaissance perfectly.
This week’s Spotlight is on Zinfandel. Or is it Primitivo, or perhaps Crljenak Kaštelansk? Go to the story to find out. Zinfandel is author Thea Dwelle’s (“dwell-ee” — she does not dwell) favorite varietal and it shows as she shares the passion and insight that have long been on display at her blog and on Twitter. The self-dubbed “Wine Brat” was one of the very first people I asked to join PALATE PRESS. Read her story and you will understand why.
Our inaugural entry at The Wine Life involves rubber chickens and wine made more than 100 miles east of Napa. It is the kind of story you can count on seeing when you see the byline “Sonadora,” also known as blogger Wannabe Wino. She has a real nose, and affection, for small family wineries, the quirkier the better.
The + Food page will continually draw attention to wine’s best friend, a.k.a. food. The opening entry hails from abroad, via Great Britain, by Andrew Barrow. France and Germany spent the 19th and a bit of the 20th Century fighting over Alsace. Andrew’s story about Alsace food and wine makes it clear why the region was worth fighting about. Andrew, a real world traveler, also wrote one of our “beta” stories, a terrific read about fair trade and South African wines.
Our inaugural Hot Potato lives up to its promise not to shy away from controversy. Robert Dwyer puts a microscope — and camera — to an issue that has long been mumbled about in wine circles: Should you trust shelf talkers, those little tags that include high scores from various magazines? Perhaps you should, perhaps you shouldn’t. Robert’s well-researched and well-reasoned article serves up ample food for thought.
The Soap Box page represents a weekly platform for rants and raves about the wine world. This week’s rant was penned by Arthur Z. Przebinda, a man not lacking in opinions. Arthur’s opinion is that when it comes to wine evaluation, opinions should not matter as much as they do. Does that sound confusing? Read the piece and I suspect you will be nodding your head long before you reach the end.
Welcome again to PALATE PRESS: The online wine magazine. Beginning Monday, we will post at least one new story every weekday. We hope you will visit often and share your thoughts as comments as well.
Cheers!
David Honig, Publisher