November 14 2006
I’ve decided that blogging is like working out. Once you get in the habit, it’s easy, but you have to get in the habit. After a week or so away, I’m back in the saddle again.
For now, a couple of interesting links to items that have occurred over the last several days.
A couple of items from the North Bay Business Journal ...
A couple of wine industry veterans, John Stallcup, a frequent contributor to wine industry journals and a marketer and Tim Hanni, a Master of Wine, are teaming up to create a complement to the salt and pepper shaker.
It seems that a combination of salt and acid can counter-balance some difficult to pair with wine foods like asparagus. From the news article which can be found in its entirety at this link.
The pending product is based on knowledge of the basic tastes – salty, sweet, sour, bitter and savory, which is also known by its Japanese name “umami.” The seasoning uses salt, the acidity of spray-dried lemon juice, a mixture of ingredients that appeal to the savory basic taste along with other spices.
Mr. Stallcup first met Mr. Hanni five years ago when they created a consumer survey for the WineVision industry think tank. But what sold him on the product idea was a demonstration for sommeliers by Ms. Scott on how unseasoned steak and fish ruined the taste of six different wines, but the right amount of salt and lemon juice restored the wine flavors.
“It’s almost like a parlor trick, but it’s all physics,” he said.
Interesting ... the article also points out that the recently retired former President from Lawry’s salt has agreed to join the board. Overall, I’m not sure what to make of this. On the surface it seems like an ‘A-ha’ and then I’m reminded that people buy the Ronco pocket fisherman and I’m not so sure how ‘A-ha’ this might be.
In other news, if you have a Napa, Sonoma or other California vineyards you want to sell, in, say, the next 60 to 90 days Vintage Wine Trust, a vineyard related REIT, has registered with the SEC to go public. A “Real Estate Investment Trust” essentially is a property owner that affords outside investment to fuel its portfolio. To date, they have spent about $142M on property and will go public when they’ve spent $400M. An IPO will fuel future growth. For armchair entrepreneurs like me, this is a good way to get in on some of the action and it is the only winery/land investment vehicle of its kind.
If nothing else, Joseph Ciatti, founder of Joseph W. Ciatti & Co., a grape and bulk wine broker, and CEO of the REIT knows how to make a lot of money on the tertiary of the wine business.
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