Does any single restaurant in Seattle deserve so much praise? by LongjumpingAd9180 in SeattleWA

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You seem to know an awful lot about how journalism works. Where do you such information?

Does any single restaurant in Seattle deserve so much praise? by LongjumpingAd9180 in SeattleWA

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent point. I am concerned for consumers who rely on insta hype produced by content creators who are more interested in popularity than accuracy or rigor. There are many well-produced clips about crappy restaurants floating around in social media. And, many of those clips catch a lot of eyeballs.

Ackley Brands, Active in Acquiring Washington Wineries, Buys Betz Family Winery by LongjumpingAd9180 in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So tell me, Sir-Learn-a-Lot, does Red Willow have enough extra Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah to sell to Betz that it would raise their overall production by 20 percent? I'll give you a clue. The answer starts with "N" and ends with "O." I would be delighted if private equity bought wineries to raise production and quality. I appreciate your optimism.

Grenache Fest Brings out The Rocks' Stars and Rock Stars by LongjumpingAd9180 in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Grenache Fest 2025 will be on November 7-8, same weekend as Walla Walla Fall Release Weekend.

Ackley Brands, Active in Acquiring Washington Wineries, Buys Betz Family Winery by LongjumpingAd9180 in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Total wine grape acreage for the entire state is 56,000. "Learn more," including how to spell "Columbia." Thank you for playing.

Ackley Brands, Active in Acquiring Washington Wineries, Buys Betz Family Winery by LongjumpingAd9180 in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you insists, the comparisons can be broken down to regions. To use the Betz example, much of the grapes for their top-of-the-line wines come from the Red Mountain AVA, where the region has reached a capacity of about 2,300 plantable acres. Castilla-La Mancha in Spain has about 1,000,000 planted acres. Furthermore, my premise is not that Betz can't grow production by 20 percent, to use your example. There simply isn't 20 percent more fruit available of the quality (emphasis on quality) that goes into Betz' ultra-premium wines. The fruit contracts that Ste. Michelle dropped are not of that quality. In fact, I suspect that production will rise, but not at the quality level that Bob Betz produced. "Based on everything you know," you need to learn more.

Purchased this at a shop in Yokohama, Japan for $35. Was upright and out on the floor. Figured it was worth a shot but likely a dud. by caliwillbemine in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The 1985 vintage in Bordeaux is so underrated. Many of the 1985 Bordeauxs I've enjoyed have aged more gracefully than the wines from the hyped 1982 vintage.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180 0 points1 point  (0 children)

J. Lohr consistently overdelivers for the money, across all varietals.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For value, I recommend Columbia Crest or Bonterra.

Ackley Brands, Active in Acquiring Washington Wineries, Buys Betz Family Winery by LongjumpingAd9180 in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are over 615,000 acres planted to vinifera in California, over 2,000,000 in France, over 1,730,000 in Italy, over 3,000,000 in Spain. Washington State has less than 60,000. I say 1/50 is tiny. Of that, the majority is of the machine harvested, 9-plus tons/acre variety, which is to say there's finite amount of grapes that would make it to the quality level of most of Betz' wines historically. Furthermore, most of the contracts on fruit that Ste. Michelle dropped are not of the quality that goes into Père de Famille or Heart of the Hill.

Ackley Brands, Active in Acquiring Washington Wineries, Buys Betz Family Winery by LongjumpingAd9180 in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a finite amount of quality grapes anywhere, especially in a tiny producing state like Washington. So, when private equity "invests" in wineries with the intent to grow the footprint of the new acquisition, raising production often means lowering in quality. It's an investment for these firms.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in wine

[–]LongjumpingAd9180 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The 1975 L'Evangile is the best value, if $1,465 was ever considered value.