Wine Culture

It reads like a pilot for a Hollywood sitcom: Six friends move to Northern California, share a mutual enthusiasm for wine, and start their own wine label. In the Hollywood version, comedy and romance would surely ensue. In real life, the world gets some great wine. IntoWine caught up with Tim Halloran, one of Kindred Wines' six co-founders, to discuss the joys and hurdles of their nascent wine venture.

Though Spain is better known for the red wines of Rioja and Ribera del Duero, the Rueda, located north east of Madrid, is home to arguably Spain’s best white wine, Verdejo. Similar in style and characteristics to Pinot Gris, Verdejo fully expresses itself in the high altitude of Rueda where it showcases lemon and citrus, minerality and above all, a sharp acidity which makes it compelling with the tapas so that are so ubiquitous around the region. It’s also inexpensive, with bottles exported to the U.S. usually less than $15. Verdejo has been planted in this area for over a thousand years, and it’s believed it was brought to Spain by the Moors. Some producing vines date as far back 130 years. However it has been only in the last few decades that Verdejo has proved to be the best fit for the cooler Rueda region.

Profile of Riedel Glas Austria One of the most influential companies in the world of wine has never produced wine at all. In fact, Riedel Glas Austria got its start several centuries ago, refining glassware and making window panes. Today, Riedel is widely considered to have forever changed the way the world tastes wine.

Wine and food festivals are pretty much a dime a dozen, which is not to say they aren’t a great way to discover new wines and food purveyors, run into friends and make a great day of it. But we’ve been there and have done that and there tends to be little variation on that theme. The Earth Day Food...