Author W. Blake Gray

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W. Blake Gray
Staff Writer
Wine writer W. Blake Gray is Chairman of the Electoral College of the Vintners Hall of Fame. Previously wine writer/editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, he has contributed articles on wine and sake to The Los Angeles Times, Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, Wine Review Online, and a variety of other publications. He travels frequently to wine regions and enjoys coming home to San Francisco.

Sake is Getting Sweeter

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
Sake is changing. The most expensive Japanese versions, Ginjo and Daiginjo, are getting sweeter on average. Yet mid-range artisanal sake (Junmai) is getting drier. As such, it may be time for dry wine lovers to give up on Daiginjo, save some money, and switch to Junmai. I don't believe anyone
Khalidi and Matthiasson

I Want My… I Want My… Throwback Cabs

W. Blake Gray
Features
4 min read
Imagine if a former MTV executive tried to make wine in Napa Valley, based in part on his research into millennials' tastes. What would he come up with? Extra points for those who guessed old-fashioned wines like the greatest Napa Cabs of the '60s: lower in alcohol, more savory than

Roero Arneis is Italy’s overlooked great white wine

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
Seashells are the key to Roero Arneis. Seashells and sand. To understand this underappreciated Italian white wine, you have to think about sitting on a beach – 100 kilometers from the sea. Roero is just across the Tanaro River from Barolo, but by such small geographic differences fortunes are made,
pregnancy-wine

Real Facts about Wine & Health

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
Though both are now wine writers, Dr. Michael Apstein and Dr. Ian D'Agata met while working in a Boston hospital as gastroenterologists. (That's the kind of doctor who puts a camera up your butthole.) Earlier this month, they held a seminar in Canada on wine and health that was candid and
milwaukee-cocktails

Milwaukee’s Bitter Brews: A Cocktail Tour

W. Blake Gray
Features
5 min read
Milwaukee is so famous for beer that its baseball team is named the Brewers, and a guy used to slide into a vat of beer every time one of them hit a home run. Laverne and Shirley ran for seven years, into the early '80s, featuring two women who capped bottles in
brunello

Brunello: Beyond the Hype

W. Blake Gray
Feature Stories
5 min read
I never understood the appeal of Brunello di Montalcino. I haven't bought many because it's expensive, and it usually tastes like a bulky Super Tuscan to me, even though it should contain only Sangiovese. Last year I went to an oenophile's dream tasting in Montalcino. Sitting at a table with