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Willamette Valley’s Whites Peeking Out From Under
Pinot Noir Dominance

by Alan Goldfarb
August 4, 2008

By taking a close look at the broader spectrum of Willamette Valley wines – as our senior editors did in a recent round of BEST-OF-APPELLATION - it became quite evident that the region's white wines also beg to be reckoned with. In particular, certain attributes of character and quality begin to come into focus for the footprint of Willamette Valley Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, and Riesling.

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Canada and Virginia: Quietly Achieving Greatness
by Dan Berger
July 25, 2008

Talk about unlikely places to find excellent wine: In the vast pantheon that is world-class wine, a handful of regions may be found in which the quality far exceeds our image of the them. Two such regions – Virginia and Canada -- are reaching if not already achieving greatness in some wines which have yet to be revealed to the masses.

[>] see full story

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Sierra Foothills Wines
Make Their Mark

by Jean Deitz Sexton
May 16, 2008

The individualistic, sometimes quirky, but always interesting styles of Sierra Foothills winemakers came to the forefront in the inaugural BEST-OF-APPELLATION PROGRAM with the Sierra Foothills appellations as its first focal region. Over the course of three days, teams of wine experts blind tasted and discussed the wines of El Dorado, Amador, Calaveras, North Yuba, Sierra Foothills, Fair Play, Fiddletown and Shenandoah Valley.

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Look Closely...
There's a Quiet Evolution Happening in the Napa Valley

by Alan Goldfarb
May 27, 2008

If there was any concept that could be concluded from our tasting of Napa Valley wines it was this: There’s a quiet evolution taking place in the Napa Valley. Some producers have taken up the cudgel of terroir-driven wines.The wines are beginning to be ratcheted back through various means both in the cellar and in the vineyard; and equilibrium is returning, especially to the Cabernet Sauvignons that made the appellation so famous in the first place.

[>] see full story

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Canada and Virginia: Quietly Achieving Greatness by Dan Berger   (Jul 25)

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Q: What is an appellation?
An appellation is a winegrowing region with officially recognized boundaries. Appellation designations are required on wine labels to identify the origin of the grapes used in making the wine. In North America there are three classes of appellations: states/provinces and counties, as well as regions more specifically defined by actual growing conditions, known as American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in the U.S. and Designated Viticultural Areas (DVAs) in Canada.

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