A daily sample of thoughtful writing and discussion from (mostly) independent wine blogs:

intenational women's dayOn International Women’s Day, Bob on Sonoma celebrates several Sonoma-based women winemakers.

The Wine Curmudgeon is not a big fan of corks or the cork industry’s latest PR push.

The Academic Wino reviews some recent research on drought mitigation winemaking, grape seed extract as a fining agent, and the health consequences of binge drinking.

James Lawrence reports on the growing trend of replacing wine/food pairings with cocktail/food pairings.

This week’s Wine to Five Podcast is about the Italian grape Negroamaro.

Selected Reviews:

Fredric Koeppel reviews La Crema’s bottling of Willamette Valley Pinot Noir.

Good Vitis has a run down of some old world, off-the-beaten-path, value wines; we all need more of those.

Reverse Wine Snob continues his series on the charity/ wine seller Wines for Humanity with a review of Duca Bortini Sangiovese Terre Siciliane.

Aaron Nix Gomez reviews a very unusual blend of  Gros Manseng, Petit Manseng, and Arrufiac by Chateau Viella, of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, as well as a 2014 Soave from Bertani.