THE WINE REPORT: A View from the Southeast

We'll pop a bottle of Champagne tonight in honor of The Wine Report, today's debutante in the MagSampler.com newsstand. This big-sized bimonthly, published in Atlanta, is an interesting publishing concept. The magazine is a regional publication, with ads and local features that reflect that orientation, but it's filled with well-written articles about California and foreign wines that will interest wine lovers in Oshkosh and Phoenix too. The Wine Report is distributed gratis in selected wine stores in the Atlanta, Birmingham and Charlotte markets, but is also available by subscription and now boasts having subscribers in more than 40 states. My guess is that with its obvious editorial strengths it will become much more of a national publication in the years to come. I've been looking through the November/December issue, and was interested to learn that the United States and the European Union have finally made some progress―after more than 20 years―in developing a trade agreement over the sale of wine. One big stumbling block, the magazine reports, has been the carefree use by American wine producers of European regional names like "Champagne" and "Burgundy." Now it's been agreed that U.S. companies can continue to use these names on existing brands of their products, but not on new brands. This issue also has an illuminating article on a marketing success by Pommery and other French Champagne makers. They're packaging a sweeter and less fizzy version of their pricy product in individual-portion bottles, often with their own straws, and sales have been rocketing, especially in trendy American clubs. The Wine Report found a perfect subject for a profile in Terry Hoage, a star for the University of Georgia Bulldogs in the early 1980s (along with Herschel Walker) and a 13-year NFL defensive back. He's been putting his University of Georgia degree in genetics to good use in developing his own commercial winemaking operation in California's Sierra region. Additional regional features in the issue include a review of a resort on Lake Lanier, near Atlanta, and several pages of listings of wine tastings, cooking classes and the like in the Southeast. Wine fans will enjoy the magazine's reviews and rankings of hundreds of vintages in the back of the book. This issue covers California Cabernet Sauvignons over $40, Cava (Spain) and Prosecco (Italy) sparkling wines, and California Carneros Chardonnays vs. French white Burgundies. The ratings, the result of blind tastings, are based on appearance, aroma, general taste, body, finish and food friendliness, and the reviewers also deliver an illuminating descriptive paragraph about each wine and a price value rating (from "exceptional value" to "overpriced"). You can get a subscription to The Wine Report (six issues) for $18.00 from the publisher; we'll send you a sample copy for $2.59.