Everything is a matter of perspective

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North American winery count: 7,834

SACRAMENTO, CA -- The number of wineries in North America grew to 7,834 in 2011, according to WinesVinesDATA, the research arm of Wines & Vines magazine.

Publisher Chet Klingensmith released the count at the Unified Wine & Grape Symposium on Tuesday, the same day the magazine's annual Directory & Buyer's Guide went on sale.

The compilation found 7,345 wineries now operating in the U.S., an increase of 450 wineries, or 6%, from a year ago. Canadian wineries now number 465, up 17%, and Mexico is home to 24 wineries, for a North American total of 7,834.

California continues to count the most wineries in North America, with 196 new wineries, bringing the total to 3,519. California continues to bottle more than 90% of the nation's wine even though fewer than half of North American wineries are in California.

Each state has at least two wineries. The top six states in number of wineries:

1. California
2. Washington
3. Oregon
4. New York
5. Virginia
6. Texas

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Historic wine cooler fetches $782.5K

NEW YORK -- When you think of wine coolers, you probably don't think of America's founding fathers. But, at a Christie's auction Thursday night, someone thought so highly of a particular wine cooler that he submitted a winning bid of $782,500 for it.

The item in question was an actual cooler for wine that belonged first to George Washington, then to Alexander Hamilton. Pre-auction estimates had forecast a winning bid in the $600,000 range. It went on the block as part of Christie's Americana Week sales.

The buyer was Gary Hendershott, a collector and dealer in Little Rock, AR, who specializes in Washington memorabilia. He won the auction by telephone. I dropped out of the bidding a mere $781,000 earlier.

The cooler is a Sheffield-plate bowl that holds four bottles and ice. It was one of four designed by Washington in 1789 when he was sworn into the presidency and moved into his first official residence, on Cherry Street in New York.

When he left office in 1797, he gave one of the coolers to Hamilton, who had been the nation's first Treasury secretary. It had remained in Hamilton's family until the sale.

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Phony data uncovered in wine-heart study

Dr. Dipak K. Das

One more reason to wonder about the reality of studies involving wine and health.

Dr. Dipak K. Das, director of the cardiovascular research center at the University of Connecticut, apparently repeatedly and regularly used fabricated or false data in articles he wrote about his research on the benefits of resveratrol, a compound found in red wine.

A number of studies have concluded that resveratrol activates proteins called sirtuins that have been shown in studies to have protective cardio benefits.

Following up on what it said was an anonymous tip, UConn officials said they found 145 cases of phony data. The university subsequently notified 11 journals that had published Das's writing, including the Journal of Cellular & Molecular Medicine and Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry.

"We have a responsibility to correct the scientific record and inform peer researchers across the country," Philip Austin, interim vice president for health affairs, said in the statement.

CBS cites the research bibliography site PubMed with saying Das has served as a lead author or co-author on more than 150 articles, including a January 2012 study titled, "Health benefits of wine and alcohol from neuroprotection to heart health," published in Frontiers in Bioscience.

Das' other areas of research besides resveratrol include medicines derived from plants and the molecular structure of plants and herbs and their effect on heart disease, according to the Associated Press.

"I don't expect this news to have a big impact on what we work on," Dr. David Sinclair, a resveratrol researcher at the Harvard Medical School, told CBS News in an e-mail. Sinclair had been featured in the 2009 "60 Minutes" report on such research. Sinclair said his research focuses on sirtuins and aging, while a lot of the published research papers in question focused on heart health.

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Update: NJ gets a new wine shipment law

Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City, NJ

UPDATE: Governor Chris Christie this week signed the bill into law. Earlier story follows.

TRENTON, NJ -- It now is up to Governor Chris Christie whether the law on direct wine sales in New Jersey changes.

Legislation that would allow residents to directly acquire wine from sellers in other states and allow New Jersey wineries to ship wine to customers today received approval from both houses of the state legislature and went to the governor for review and signature.

If he signs the bill, it would establish a special category of vineyard, also covering out-of-state wineries, for all of those producing less than 250,000 gallons of wine annually. They, for a licensing fee of less than $1,000, could operate up to 18 sales rooms across to sell its own products.

Vineyards could also sell to a retailer, such as a licensed liquor store, or to a wholesaler. The winery also would be permitted to ship up to 12 cases to any customer for personal consumption.

The Assembly passed the bill by a 51-18 vote with four abstentions. The Senate approved it 24-9. Christie has until January 19 to sign it into law. If he does not, what is known as a "pocket veto" occurs, and the bill must begin the legislative process all over again.

The Garden State Wine Growers Association has a place on its website consumers may use to urge Christie to act on the bill.

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HV wines finally getting more respect

Hudson Valley wineries can be forgiven for often thinking of themselves as the Rodney Dangerfield of New York's producers. But, in the last couple of years the region's offerings have been getting a little more respect.

The latest comes from the fact that, for the first time ever, the influential magazine Wine Enthusiast has coordinated a tasting of some of the Valley's best wines. The wines scored high on the magazine’s 100-point scale, with 20 of them hitting the 84- to 89-point range consistently across six producers. This is the first major tasting of the region by any major news organization.

The Hudson Valley is one of the oldest producing wine regions in the U.S., and New York is the nation's third overall producer of wine. In recent years, new wineries, new money and new people have helped raise the overall level to some degree. As I noticed when I judged in the Hudson Valley Wine Competition back in September, some of the highest level Valley wines can hold their own against the more well-known Finger Lakes and North Fork products, and the mid-range quality wines are growing in number.

“We are thrilled with the results,” said Carlo DeVito, president of the 26-winery Hudson Valley Wine Country trade group and co-owner of the Hudson-Chatham Winery in Columbia County.

“The Hudson Valley is a great example of some of the excellent wines New York State produces. Our passion and commitment to making quality wines has been recognized. We think this highlights what we’ve been doing here. The Hudson Valley is making wines that can compete anywhere.”

Here is a rundown of the scoring, by winery:

TOUSEY WINERY

86, Tousey Winery 2010 Pinot Noir 2010, $20
85, Tousey Winery 2010 Cabernet Franc, $22
84, Tousey 2010 Chardonnay 2010, $16

MILLBROOK VINEYARD & WINERY

89, Millbrook 2010 25th Anniversary Pinot Noir, $18
88, Millbrook 2010 25th Anniversary Chardonnay, $16
87, Millbrook 2007 Proprietor's Special Reserve Cabernet Franc, $29
87, Millbrook 2009 Proprietor's Special Reserve Chardonnay, $20
86, Millbrook 2008 Cabernet Franc, $20

HUDSON-CHATHAM WINERY

87, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Casscles Vineyard Reserve Baco Noir, $20
86, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Cabernet Franc, $17
86, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Old Vines Baco Noir, $22
86, Hudson-Chatham 2008 Empire Reserve Baco Noir, $22
85, Hudson-Chatham 2009 Old Vines Masson Place Vineyard Pulteney Farm Baco Noir, $20
84, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Field Stone Baco Noir, $30

OAK SUMMIT VINEYARD

88, Oak Summit Vineyard Pinot Noir, $35
85, Oak Summit Vineyard Chardonnay Hudson, $28

BROTHERHOOD

85, Brotherhood Pinot Noir, $16
85, Brotherhood Grand Monarque Champagne, $25
84, Brotherhood Blanc de Blancs, $11

WHITECLIFF VINEYARD & WINERY

88, Whitecliff Vineyard 2010 Reserve Chardonnay, $17
87, Whitecliff Vineyard Cabernet Franc, $20
86, Whitecliff Vineyard 2010 Traminette, $16

PALAIA VINEYARDS

84, Palaia Vineyards 2008 Cabernet Franc, $19

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SF Chronicle competition results are in

The 2012 competition winners.

CLOVERDALE, CA -- Four days of judging in this Sonoma County town sorted out the top winners in the prestigious San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition that ended Friday.

Sixty judges evaluated 5,500 wines to come up with more than 80 best of class awards. The competition is billed as North America's largest, and this year's number of entries set a record.

The major category winners:

Sparkling: 2006 Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs Carneros ($28).

White: 2010 Dr. Konstantin Frank Reserve Finger Lakes Gewurztraminer ($25).

Pink: 2011 Barnard Griffin Columbia Valley Rosé of Sangiovese ($12).

Red: 2008 McGrail Vineyards & Winery Reserve Livermore Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($36).

Dessert: 2010 Castello di Amorosa Anderson Valley Late Harvest Gewurztraminer ($35).

Label: Mutt Lynch Winery 2009 Out of Reach Muttitag.

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A visual tour of Long Island wine country

Jason R. Rich created this Long Island, NY, montage. He notes, "This presentation was created as I was doing research for The Insider's Guide to Long Island, a full-length travel guide ... published ... by Globe Pequot Press."

Check out Jason's travel blog.

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2-year-old Pennsylvania winery closing

During the 2010 harvest.

DALLAS, PA -- A tiny northeastern Pennsylvania winery that opened in 2009 is scheduled to close on February 29.

Temporarily, that could be a good thing for consumers because Pavlick Hill Vineyard plans to sell off its existing wine stock at a 30% discount, or 40% off 12-bottle cases.

On their website, owners Denise and Bill Karlotski said, "With sadness, we have decided to end our business. This was a very difficult decision for us to make, but we are very grateful for the experience and the chance to meet so many wonderful people. We feel like we’ve gained this huge extended family, and that makes us happy.

"So, as of now, our wine store will close the end of February. Starting January 7th (we will be closed January 1-6) and continuing through February 29, we will be having a 'going-out-of-business' sale ... "

The Karlotskis used grapes from their one-acre vineyard to create their wines.

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23rd Boston Wine Festival a 45-day event

Chef Bruce

• From CBS Boston

BOSTON -- Boston has no shortage of wine events: from free tastings at boutique stores to the appropriately-named Wine Riot to tours and classes, there’s something for everyone. If you’re looking for something on the less riotous end, the Boston Wine Festival might be for you. In its 23rd year, the festival spans all the way from January 6 to March 30, comprised of 45 wine-related dinners, tastings, and seminars. The price tag for many of the events is steep, but the payoff is high for wine connoisseurs.

The Boston Wine Festival was created by Daniel Bruce, executive chef of the Boston Harbor Hotel (which houses the festival). Over the lifetime of the festival, Bruce has created over 3,000 original dishes to pair with the wines.

The festivities kick off with an opening reception on January 6 which includes tastings of more than 50 wines from featured vineyards as well as tastings of some of Bruce’s creations. At $100, this is the least expensive event in January. On the higher end, the month ends with "Super Tuscans," a $295-per-person four-course dinner paired with Tuscan wines, such as Ornellaia, Brancaia, and Sassicaia. Another January pick is the Battle of the Cabernets (January 12 or 13, $225-per-person): Napa Valley cabernets, food pairings, a blind tasting led by a cabernet expert panel, and a vote for the favorite. Châteauneuf-du-Pape more your style? A seminar and dinner on the January 20 highlights this region; the event is hosted by Ambassador Alain Junguenet and his son, John ($185).

[Go here for the full story and schedule.]

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