I find it rather strange and hypocritical that Hardy criticizes the wines at WBC11 in general, but only mentions CalNaturale in his tweets, and then berates everyone else as "bottom feeders", goading us to be critical of the wines. These posts seem to be all about Hardy, and how he didn't feel entitled enough in C'ville, rather than about the wines. To be sure, many of the best Virginia wineries were not participating in WBC11, and some of its worst were. So I think "y'all" got a balanced picture, though incomplete. But I hope you won't be goaded by this silly "catfish" comment to be negative just to prove your bona fides as wine writers/bloggers. I like to compare Virginia and California wines with the image of triangles. Virginia has some top quality wines that can stand among the best of the world, but that's the tip of the triangle; the base is wide and varied. California may be an inverted triangle. There's a lot of crappy wine made in California, and yet there's more at the top level, too. Virginia is doing something exciting - something that everyone thought could not be done if only because Jefferson couldn't do it 200 years ago. Don't be locked in a negative mindset about the possibilities out there.

Congrats, Lenn, Evan and team! Well deserved kudos. (Hmm, Len Evans - is this an Australian blog??) Cheers, Dave

At a tasting in the Dry Creek Valley a few years ago, someone asked why winemakers were producing wines with higher alcohols. It was David Rafanelli, I believe, who replied, "Because we can." If memory serves, he may have mentioned global warming, but more relevant were vineyard techniques (trellising) that helped ripen grapes more evenly, and more efficient yeast strains that carried through fermentation. And of course, the choice of when to harvest. I don't believe wine critics were mentioned.

It was chilly and damp, but not too cold by the time we got to the Loire.

Allen - Are those changes in terms of quantity or price? (Im assuming the latter.) I doubt most people are drinking less because of the economy, but were probably drinking less expensively. Seems like you had a good recovery year last year, though - I hope you are a national economic barometer!