Syrah! Uploaded to flickr by McD22.

Eric Asimov chimes in on Robert Parker’s plan to shuffle the lineup at The Wine Advocate and hand over responsibility for California to Antonio Galloni. His analysis is spot-on and worth reading.

A really nice article in Wine & Spirits Magazine on the trend towards cooler climate syrahs, with a focus on Pax Mahle of Wind Gap, Wells Guthrie of Copain, and Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts of Arnot-Roberts.

The  BBC’s “Inside Out” investigation team looks at the current boom in wine investment — and how it’s opening the door for “unscrupulous fraudsters.” (H/T Dr. Vino)

In Palate Press, W. Blake Gray spends some time with Rex Pickett — discussing Pickett’s new book, Vertical, and the book that made him famous, Sideways. It’s an excellent piece. Elsewhere on the interwebs, Gray chats with Frank Ostini, owner of The Hitching Post.

For the latest on the Four Loko controversy, please watch this. And this.