Free Wine Barrels

Wineries are often looking to dump their old wine barrels. These can make great planters, end tables, etc...

I found the following post online. It looked to be about five months old at the time of this post, but they may have extra barrels periodically, so you might check with them if you are within driving distance of the vineyards.

Need more drums? Wente Vineyards in Livermore, California has about 60 used wine barrels available that can be made into taiko drums. If interested, call (925) 934-5817.

We think they're free, but you'll have to go pick them up yourself. :)
Posted 5 months ago #

Free Wine Labels

Wine Labels are a much sought after collectible for wine enthusiasts everywhere. Here is some information on how you can get some free wine labels for your collection.

Custom Wine Labels:
With every purchase of a wine kit, Grape Stompers will include some custom wine labels. You specify the design and text. Or, you can purchase 30 labels for around $8 if you don't want to purchase the wine kit.

Free Wine Labels:
The best way to get free wine labels is to soak them off the bottles themselves. You can make your own wine label soaker by cutting the top off of a 2-liter soda bottle. Then, fill the wine bottle with water to weigh it down, and set it in the plastic soda bottle. Put warm water in the soda bottle, and let this sit overnight. Hopefully, the label will come off easily. You may need to use an exacto knife to pry stubborn labels loose.

Another way to get wine labels is to contact the wineries directly. Many wineries keep their old excess labels after their bottling run for any particular vintage. You might be able to score some freebies this way.

In Tough Times, Winemakers Should Work Together

American winemakers should work closely in collaboration with other New World wine producers on a global basis, opening each other’s markets and uniting against protectionist policies of European Union countries in order to stave off the effects of the global recession.
There is no reason wineries should be working against each other; there is every reason they should be finding ways to work together, especially when it comes to surviving the current economic climate.
Australia should not be seen as the enemy of American producers in international markets; California and Australia have to become more collaborative, not enemies. U.S. winemakers also need to make a more serious effort at exporting. Very few American companies currently export wine because of the stringent international requirements.
American winemakers need to work together rather than separately in negotiating such agreements with the European Union, which has shown a policy of “divide and conquer” when it comes to trade agreements with New World countries.
If one country gives up the right to use the term ‘vintage’ because of the EU’s insistence that it is a historical European winemaking term, it will use that to force the same agreement from all the other New World producers.
In this difficult economic period, it seems certain that the world is facing a winegrape oversupply which will make successful exporting programs essential for all of the world’s key wine-producing countries.

Oregon Pinot Gris Harvest Better Late Than Never

Although the Oregon Pinot Gris Harvest is a little later this year than vineyard managers would like, good weather has ensured that this year's crop should be outstanding. The rule in Oregon has been that the even years (2004, 2006, etc...) are better than the odd years (2005, 2007), and it look as though the grapes will prove that theory right again.

A virtually rain-free summer with warm temperatures has slowly given the vines enough heat units to produce healthy fruit. There has been a lack of extended periods of moisture, or any other destructive types of weather. Last year's harvest was noticeably unfavorable, with several weeks of bad weather in September and October.

Ponzi Vineyards Hosting July Event

One of Oregon's better-known Pinot Gris producers, Ponzi Vineyards, will be hosting a wine event this Sunday, July 13 2008. Between 5:00 and 9:00 PM, Ponzi is offering wine, music and bocci ball --- that oh-so neglected game from our Italiano ancestral roots. The event takes place at Ponzi Vineyards' main estate lawn. There is no need to RSVP, but they ask that you leave any dogs at home, so there aren't any landmines left for the bocci players!

Visit their website, www.ponziwines.com for more info.

Pinot Gris - A Wonderful Grape Mutation

Pinot Gris is a grape varietal that is a mutation of the Pinot Noir grape. The Pinot Gris vine appears similar to the Pinot Noir, but it produces a grape that is coppery gray instead of the dark violet of Pinot Noir. In fact, the only certain method of differentiating the vines is by the fruit that they produce. Researchers have found that the DNA structure of Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir are virtually identical.

The Pinot Gris grape produces a delicious white wine with a rosy platinum color. This wine captures a perfect balance of acidity, fruit flavor and sweetness.

Local Events Website

If you've got a moment, check out Local Wine Events.



It's a great site that lists wine events for just about any state, country or region. Plus, they send out a Weekly Newsletter called The Juice which will notify you of upcoming events in your area.

Oregon Pinot Harvest Delayed by Weather

The Pinot Gris harvest in Oregon's Willamette Valley was set back even further by rain, and even some hail last weekend. On Sunday alone, it rained over an inch in parts of the Willamette Valley. It also hailed in various locations. While any widespread damage to the grapes is unknown at this point, the continued cool, soggy weather can't be good for the grape development at this late stage.

Grapes need to attain a certain sugar level (measured in Brix) to achieve proper ripening and balance.

Definitive Wine Guide

If you need to educate yourself on the finer qualities of our fermented friend, check out this Wine Guide Video. You will discover all you need to know about foreign wine.

Speaking of "Fermented Friends", don't say I didn't warn you!

Wine Website For Sale

I wanted to let you all know that my Pinot Gris website (PinotGris.Biz) is up for sale. It is full of great, original wine content written by me. It also currently ranks highly with the major search engines:

#3 overall on Yahoo for Pinot Gris (search)
#4 overall on MSN for Pinot Gris (search)
Page Rank = 1 (Google)

I am asking $250 for the site, perhaps less to someone who just wanted the domain name. If I don't sell right away, I will continue to promote it.

My site is worth $282.
How much is yours worth?

If interested, please reply here

Pinot Harvest Looking a Little Spotty

Due to the unusually cool summer, and the recent rainfall, Oregon's Willamette Valley wine producers are nervously biting their nails, dreading a harvest with grapes that are not fully ripened. Without the proper heat units, the grapes will not reach full maturity, although they may look fully ripe. The cooler weather will likely mean that harvests in Oregon will be delayed as much as they can be, without pushing the grapes over the edge.

Look for the next two weeks to be crucial to the '07 harvest.

Is There A Wine Recession Coming?

With the huge popularity gain for wine in the past five years, one could wonder if a recession in the wine industry is looming.

Much depends on factors in the grand scheme of things. The once-booming housing industry created much wealth for a lot of Americans, but a recent downturn in home sales has created a large-scale semi-panic in the mortgage and banking industry. The stock markets have been shaken by the idea that mortgage companies are virtually disappearing overnight. This has put into question the stability of the biggest banks, and what their exposure to these smaller (defunct) companies has been.

The wine industry is based much on excess wealth. Wine is seen by many, not as an essential, but as a luxury item that would be cut out of a budget if tough times arose. A recent look at distribution and retail inventory levels showed a large glut, sometimes in excess of 200 days worth of stock.

The ever-popular Pinot Noir seems to be immune to this kind of chatter, however. Spurned to new heights of acceptance by the movie Sideways, the "heartbreak grape" seems to be an indespensible red... a must for any cellar or pantry. The next couple of years will be crucial to the industry at the retail and restaurant level.

The Vineyard Owner

For an in-depth look at starting up your very own vineyard, check out Vineyard Owner. It's still a work in progress, but it currently sports some nice articles on Disease and Pest Management, and Climate factors.

Get Free Wine Charms

Kumala wines in South Africa is offering two free wine charms to anyone of legal drinking age who takes their survey and signs up for their newsletter. The offer is only valid in the United States.
Here's their website: http://www.kumalausa.com/fun/quiz-b.php

Wine and Housekeeping

This post is to add the Pinot Gris blog to technorati.

Technorati Profile

State Wine Laws Prohibit Growth

Thanks to overzealous state legislators, wine may only be shipped to consumers in the following states:

Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
District Of Columbia
Florida
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oregon
South Carolina
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

If you don't see your state listed above, you're outta luck!
Visit FreeTheGrapes.org and contact your congressional representative to ensure free wine trade between all districts and states.

Global Warming Could Affect Wine Producers

As the polar ice caps melt away, and the oceans get warmer by a degree or two, winegrowing areas such as Napa, Sonoma Valley and other warm climate regions could become unsuitable for premium grape growing. Some scientists predict that the average temperature in the southwest United States could rise by several degrees, making California a less than perfect region for growing grapes.

This may lead some to start stocking away their Napa Valley Cabs and Merlots. However, any such changes should occur gradually, and probably wouldn't be noticable for a century or more. In fact, the average temperatures in the southwest U.S. have risen by a degree or so in the last hundred years, and the principal grape growing areas have remained virtually unchanged.

PinotGris.Biz up and running

Hello all,

I have finally put up a full-fledged pinot gris site at www.pinotgris.biz

Much of the content you'll find in the pages of this blog will be listed there. I will continue to keep this blog up and running as long as it's practical.

Please visit the new site, and thanks for reading!

A Pinot Gris Success Story

My e-zine article "Pinot Gris - The 'Other' White Wine" has recently climbed to Page 1 on Google for searches under Pinot Gris.

You can see the Google results here. I'm currently at the bottom of Page 1.

Read the article here.

Fill it with Merlot, Please!

A GOOD wine is a terrible thing to waste. But sometimes even the French have no choice when the good stuff isn't selling. As painful as it surely must be in a country where the fruit of the vintner's labors is considered a fine art, winemakers are drowning in vats of surplus wine.

The worldwide glut has gotten so bad that for the first time in history French vineyards that produce quality wine several sniffs above the ordinary table brands are getting rid of it. They're distilling millions of bottles worth of reds and whites into - fuel. Mon Dieu!

Previously France had resorted to distilling surpluses of lowly table wines into vinegar and ethanol. But the quality wines were sacrosanct until bottles began piling up in vineyards and stores where shoppers could buy some for less than what it cost for bottled water.

Winemakers long deceased must be turning in their graves with the woeful developments. And yet their successors, some of whom took to the streets early in the year to protest the falling wine prices, have to survive somehow.

By the end of this year hundreds of wine-makers will turn their mellow Merlots and crisp Chardonnays into crystal-clear ethanol, which will be sold to oil refineries for use as an additive for gasoline. France already uses about 1 percent ethanol in its gasoline and that percentage is expected to rise to 5.75 percent in a few years to meet European Union demands for more use of renewable fuels.

In the meantime, France will continue exporting its wine-blended gasoline abroad to one of its biggest markets in the United States. Ironic, no? People who wouldn't touch a french fry in a patriotic huff could be pumping gas into their cars with a bit of France's best Beaujolais.

The reasons for the wine glut vary from new producers in countries like Australia and Chile to falling demand in France, where wine used to be abundantly enjoyed at lunch and dinner until a crackdown began against drunken driving.

"What's killing consumption is fear of the gendarmes," lamented one vintner before his doomed wine headed off to the local distillery.

The ruinous price decline of even top-shelf French wine will, by year's end, force millions of bottles worth to become full bodied gasoline at the tank. It could be the end of French civilization as we know it.

Instead of toasting the new year will motorists wonder how many miles per gallon the Gamay Beaujolais can deliver?

Article Source: Toledo Blade