James Laube ( ) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

wine critic Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

, writing for ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

'' since 1980, a full-time staff writer since 1983, with expertise on

California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. I ...

. Laube has published the books ''California's Great Cabernets'', ''California's Great Chardonnays'', and ''California Wine'' containing nearly 700 winery profiles with chapters on California wine history, grapes and wine styles, which won the 1996

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

for best wine book of the year.

TCA taint controversy

A ''Wine Spectator'' report by Laube that

Chateau Montelena Chateau Montelena is a Napa Valley winery most famous for winning the white wine section of the historic "Judgment of Paris" wine competition. Chateau Montelena's Chardonnay was in competition with nine other wines from France and California und ...

wine was tainted by TCA, was followed by a great deal of controversy, and the contention that Laube is able to detect TCA at much lower levels than most people. In a letter to the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', Steve Heimoff, an editor of a competing wine magazine ''

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

'', wrote that Laube's position as a critic in a prominent magazine should be more cautious about branding wines as being tainted when most wine drinkers do not have the same level of sensitivity to detect anything wrong with those wines.

Influence on California wine

As the lead reviewer of wines from California for ''Wine Spectator'', Laube's influence over the California wine industry has been compared to that of the ''

Wine Advocate ''The Wine Advocate'', fully known as ''Robert Parker's Wine Advocate'' and informally abbreviated ''TWA'' or ''WA ''or more recently as ''RP'', is a bimonthly wine publication based in the United States featuring the consumer advice of wine criti ...

's'' Robert M. Parker, Jr. Laube's preference for high

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

, full bodied wines that have been aged in

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

has been charged by some critics as a possible reason for the high numbers of that style of wine being produced in California.

References

External links

James Laube profile
''Wine Spectator'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Laube, James Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Wine critics James Beard Foundation Award winners

TCA taint controversy

Influence on California wine

See also

References

External links