Oeno-File

Bordeaux Growers Track Ripeness via Satellite; Allison Janney Talks Wine With the Journal

“I once mailed a surveillance CD like that to my neighbors!”

• With about a month to go before harvest in Bordeaux, a satellite-imaging company is shipping out CDs to the various chateaus that provide detailed snapshots of the varying levels of ripeness of grapes across their properties, so that they can decide where to start picking first. [WorldCrunch/Time]

• There are a number of risks to purchasing wine online, including but not limited to temperature damage and the potential of light damage. [Press-Democrat]

• Actress Allison Janney, who says she “usually play[s] characters who smoke and drink box wines,” prefers her wines under $30, and has been known to mark her coveted bottles with duct tape so that her frequently visiting wino neighbors don’t open them. [WSJ]

• Dean & Deluca this week launched a new wine website, based in California, featuring a blog, wine store, and behind-the-scenes videos with vintners. [Dean & Deluca Wine]

• This week, Eric Asimov recommends four wine books that are suitable for the beach, the pool, or “a breezy porch.” [NYT]

• As more city slickers from the Bay Area buy property in the Napa Valley, towns are getting more complaints about farming activities and farm-related disruptions there. The city of Calistoga now wants to make new property owners sign disclosure agreements allowing for the “right to farm.” [Napa Valley Register]

• Earlier, Grub Street endorsed the best kept secret in Northern California wine-touring: the Anderson Valley in Mendocino County. Now, the valley’s winemakers are doing more to promote themselves as a destination. [Wines and Vines]

Bordeaux Growers Track Ripeness via Satellite; Allison Janney Talks Wine With