The Sexiest Châteauneuf??!!

Hi Everyone,

My “Wine to Know” this week is Domaine André Brunel’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape “Les Cailloux.” The first time I went to Châteauneuf-du-Pape (sometime around 1990) I remember thinking: Châteauneuf has got to be the sexiest southern French wine there is. I still think so.

Is it inappropriate to describe a wine as “sexy?” I know language can be used subtly (and not so subtly) to malign and sideline people. But I also know that language, used with positive intent, expands our worlds.

It’s also true that wine, far more than, say, food is incredibly hard to describe. So I worry that once we restrict language by shunning terms that some people think are inappropriate, we’ve taken a step on the road to no return.

For a couple of years now, for example, some people have bristled at the use of the terms “masculine” and “feminine” to describe wine. I get it; and I don’t want to be tone deaf to their concerns. But wine and language are complex issues. For now, I’m on the side that says “don’t tie writers’ hands.” By the way, I’ll be giving a free class on wine and language coming later this fall.   

I’ve also been thinking a lot recently about wine in American history—and not just North American history. (Although the WineSpeed Wine Quiz this week is exactly on that topic and may surprise you).

But, it seems to me that South America’s wine history (which goes back to 1539 in Peru) has been largely ignored, even by those of us who should know better. South American wine isn’t just Malbec and Carmenere as Amanda Barnes points out in her fantastic book The South America Wine Guide. It’s way more than a guide!    

Finally, if you’re anywhere in the Bay Area on October 16^th, come up to Napa Valley where I’ll be on stage interviewing the inimitable British wine expert and author Hugh Johnson. It’s free, but you need a ticket which you can get HERE.   

Exceptionally happy to have you as a reader, Karen