There are not too many states that have more arcane liquor laws than Pennsylvania where you can buy beer at the beer store (but only by the case) and liquor and wine at the state-owned liquor store.  It is a system that was originally designed to make buying alcohol inconvenient, and it certainly excels at that.

So, now there is news that the PLCB is spending $173,000 to train their employees to be nice to their customers.   We live in PA, and we can honestly say that the state stores are dramatically better than they were 10 years ago.  But that doesn’t change the fact that they shouldn’t exist at all.

That said, they could use a bit of training on how to be nice to people.  Certainly if I owned the stores, I would want them to treat the customers a bit better.

What do you think?  Is this a total waste of money?

Cork’d, one of our “competitors” (like we are really competing, huh!) got hacked today. Kudos for them handling it so well.

 If you haven’t seen it, this is well worth a read.  Tyler Colman recently gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal in conjunction with his recent book “Wine Politics: How Governments, Mobsters, and Critics Influence the Wines We Drink“. If you are not in the know, Tyler is better known as Dr. Vino in the blogosphere.

We here at Winescorecard are avid readers of DrVino.com.  He definitely has a keen understanding of the world of wine.  We haven’t read his new book yet, but we are really looking forward to it. Our copy, fresh from Amazon, is packed in our briefcase ready for our vacation to South Carolina.

I don’t know why, but I’ve been really into weddings lately.  Strange, isn’t it?  I’ve been married for almost 9 years so why the fascination all of a sudden?

Anyway, the brains behind SmittenKitchen is baking a wedding cake, and it is a fascinating behind the scenes look at the stress and such that goes into making this monstrosity.  It is worth a read.

And this begs the question (to me, anyway) - what wine does one drink with wedding cake?  Oh, sure, you could go with the the easy choice - Champagne.  And  who could fault you?  Certainly, not me.  But what about a lite Pinot Grigio?  Crisp and refreshing, it makes a nice complement to the sweetness of a fine dessert.

Actually, my choice would be a viognier.  To be specific, the McManis Family Vineyards Viognier, with its bold apricots and peach aroma and flavor how could you go wrong.  Good body, a nice gold color, it is an excellent example of the type.  Or choose a good white Cote du Rhone - it would be quite likely to be a viognier blend of some sort.

Like most working professionals in the U.S.A., we worry quite a bit about outsourcing and the effect of the global economy on our jobs. To this end, we were really interested in a recent bit of research on the effect of the global market on wine consumers.

It turns out that the Top100 wines, as defined by Wine Spectator, have actually gotten cheaper over the years.  The authors claim that this decline is real prices is a result of the globalization of the wine market.  As top wines from France are replaced by top wines from the New World, or even the “New New World,” prices decline by an average of 1-2.5%.

Not only are the wines cheaper, but the number of countries that produce the wines in the Top100 list expanded from only 6 countries to 11 over the course of the 18 years studied.  That certainly fits with what we see - more and more variety from which to select.

This is great for the educated consumer, but (in our opinion) difficult for the average consumer. We think it is no coincidence that along with the increase in new choices from around the globe, we have seen the influence of wine scores grow.  People need a way to navigate the deluge of choices coming their way in the new wine world.  And PalatePrint™ is just one example of the many tools now making it easier to sort through these choices.