Wine Producers, Growers, & Labels

Dr. Robert Eyler is Professor and the Frank Howard Allen Research Scholar of Economics at Sonoma State University (SSU) and the Director of the Center for Regional Economic Analysis at Sonoma State University, as well as Director of SSU’s Executive MBA program. Dr. Eyler specializes in research on macroeconomic and monetary policies, and is finalizing a textbook on monetary and banking topics. His academic work has focused on the economics of the wine industry, monetary policy and theory, derivative markets, and international finance. He heads up the SSU EMBA Program, one of the only kind in the U.S.

Allen Meadows, author of Burghound.com, a highly respected and critically acclaimed quarterly publication that reaches subscribers in more than 60 countries and nearly all 50 states. Burghound.com was the first of its kind to offer specialized, exhaustive coverage of a specific wine region and grape, he and pioneered the on-line format. There are reviews of the wines of Burgundy and U.S. Pinot Noir, as well as coverage of Champagne. Subscribers have access to a fully searchable database of nearly 60,000 of Meadows’ tasting notes with recommended drinking windows for present day vintages all the way back to 1845. Meadows spends four months every year in Burgundy and visits more than 300 domaines during that time. He is also the author of “The Pearl of the Côte – The Great Wines of Vosne-Romanée.”

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Seattle Mariners themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Mariners fan? The Seattle Mariners first took the field in 1977, after the city's former baseball team, the Pilots, moved to Milwaukee. The Mariners are owned by Nintendo of America and have the unfortunate distinction of never having played in a World Series. Nevertheless, Mariners fans proudly stand by their team; fan loyalty is one of the team's greatest assets.

Founded in 1980, Boisset Family Estates is a family-owned producer and importer of fine wines with its roots in Burgundy, France. Boisset’s collection of more than twenty historical and unique wineries boast leading positions in the world’s pre-eminent terroirs, including Burgundy, Beaujolais, the Rhône Valley, the South of France, Canada, and California’s Russian River Valley and Napa Valley. Jean-Charles Boisset, President of Boisset Family Estates, has implemented sustainable, organic, and biodynamic farming practices at the family’s vineyards, while simultaneously introducing alternative packaging innovations that reduce a wine’s environmental impact and carbon footprint.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Miami Marlins themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Marlins fan? In preparation for the 2012 baseball season, the Miami Marlins adopted a new name, designed new uniforms and moved to a brand-new stadium, Marlins Park. Marlins Park will offer a state-of-the-art retractable roof, a wide array of food concessions and a newly-energized team ready to play ball in sunny Florida.

Bruce Nicholson became the senior winemaker at Inniskillin Winery in Canada in 2007 where he continually crafts some of the most sought after and highly awarded ice wines in the world. Inniskillin was named by Drinks International as one of the Top Fifty Most Admired Wine Brands in the World, and one of the Top Ten Most Admired Wine Brands in North America. Though they produce still and sparkling wine, it is Icewine that is their flagship product.

What's an appropriate wine to serve at a Atlanta Braves themed party? What wine would be a good gift for a hard core Braves fan? The Atlanta Braves' history dates back to the very beginnings of Major League Baseball. The team actually predates Major League Baseball by a few years, joining the National League as the Boston Red Stockings in 1876, five years after its founding. The Braves and Cubs share the honor of being the oldest teams in the National League. The team has played under a variety of names, including the Boston Beaneaters (1883), the Boston Doves (1907) and the Boston Braves (1912). The team won its first World Series in 1914 as the Boston Braves. In 1936 the team changed its name to the Boston Bees, but reverted to its former name in 1941. The Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953 and the team won its second World Series four years later, in 1957. In 1966, the team moved again, this time to Atlanta, where it has remained ever since. The Braves began to attract a lot of attention when media mogul Ted Turner bought the team in 1976, showcasing games on his television station and thus bringing Braves baseball into homes across the country. Of course, the team's winning ways and strong rosters helped ratings, especially when the Braves won 14 division titles, five National League pennants and the 1995 World Series in the years between 1991 and 2005.

In the last few weeks, I have been asked whether the vintage of a wine truly matters. My initial reaction was “of course”. Then, I started to question whether it was true or whether it was just a knee-jerk reaction based on historical precedent or even worse – wine snobbery. We can all envision the wine snob sitting down in a restaurant and refusing a bottle of wine because it’s the wrong vintage. Yikes. I have done that myself. Was I being a wine snob? Was I just trying to impress my dinner companions? Or, does vintage matter? Nothing like a bit of self-reflection when ordering a bottle of wine. Oh well, at least it’s cheaper than a therapist.

Karen MacNeil, one of the foremost wine experts in the United States, has had a long and creative career in wine as an educator, consultant, television host, and writer. She is the author of the award-winning book, The Wine Bible, and host of Emmy-award winning Wine, Food & Friends with Karen MacNeil; the first television series on wine in the United States. Karen is the creator and Chairman of the Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley. She conducts customized wine education seminars nationwide for individuals and corporations including American Express, Lexus, Merrill Lynch, General Electric, Time Inc., and NBC, among others. In 2008, the International Wine and Spirits Competition awarded Karen the “Oscar” of wine: Communicator of the Year. In a full page profile featured in Time Magazine, Karen was described as America’s “Missionary of the Vine.”

Hugh Davies was born in 1965, the year his parents, Jack and Jamie Davies, revived the historic Schramsberg Vineyards property in Napa Valley. Forty years later, he was named president and CEO of the then 40-year-old sparkling wine house. At Schramsberg, Hugh has led the ongoing effort to fine-tune winemaking and grape-growing techniques, building upon the winery's track record of producing award-winning sparkling wines. He was instrumental in replanting the winery's historic hillside vineyards to Bordeaux varietals. He holds a master's degree in enology from the University of California, Davis, and has his undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College in Maine.