Verbiage About Wine
Donut Time
Posted In - Uncategorized
With my last blog, I set the stage for what lays ahead – a whole lot of grapes arriving shortly. And as many of you may have heard, we are in the beginning stages of a pretty big heat wave in our area, with temperatures expected to top 100 degrees for the next 5 days Read more…
On The Verge . . . .
Posted In - 2010 Harvest
As I write this, we are awaiting a true late September heat spike in our area – one that both excites and scares the heck out of me . . . It excites me because, as of now, we really did not have much of a ‘typical summer’ in Santa Barbara County this year. Overcast Read more…
Give A Little Bit . . .
Posted In - Miscellaneous
As owners of a wine label, we get asked to give to a lot of different organizations – a surprisingly large number of them, many of which we have no direct tie to whatsoever. I wish that we could assist all of them, but we simply cannot.
The Story Behind Thread Wine . . .
Posted In - Uncategorized
Bottle Variation – What’s the Story?!?!?!
Posted In - Cellar Stuff, Miscellaneous, Whining About Wine
Have you ever opened up a bottle of wine only to have it not live up to the expectations you had about this wine based on previous bottles? This happens far too often as far as I’m concerned, especially when it may – and I stress may – be avoidable. There are many factors that Read more…
Rhone Rangers – What Would You Do ??!?!?
Posted In - Cellar Stuff, Conventional Wisdoms, Miscellaneous, Wine Words
I am proud to say that I have recently been asked to sit on the Board of Directors for Rhone Rangers, the preeminent organization for Rhone varieties produced in the US. I am honored and humbled by the invitation, but above all, I am psyched to lend an ‘alternative’ voice to the leadership of this Read more…
Wine Competitions – Should You Believe the Results?
Posted In - Whining About Wine
It’s Friday afternoon and you really want a bottle of wine to enjoy that night with dinner. You go into your local wine shop / supermarket / gun and wine shop (!) and peruse the shelves . . .but how to decide what to buy? All of a sudden, you start noticing ‘beacons’ drawing you Read more…
It’s Not Over Yet!!!!
Posted In - 2009 Harvest
It always amazes me during the Fall how articles come out talking about the grape harvest as a whole – quality, weather, people – and they tend to almost always focus on the ‘North Coast’. Napa, Sonoma, Russian River … I guess these are the only places that seem to matter?!?!?!? I read an article Read more…
Lucky Guy . . .
Posted In - 2009 Harvest
I’ve always been of the belief that you should love what you do for a living . . .or make some changes in your life. It’s a pretty simplistic concept, but one that I’ve always felt was worth living by. I’ve got to tell you – I absolutely love what I do. Period. End of Read more…
Rain Rain Go Away?!?!?!?
Posted In - 2009 Harvest
As I type this latest edition to my blog, it’s raining outside – not cats and dogs, just slightly sprinkling. That said, even the slightest precipitation can seem like a torrential down pour, and quite detrimental, to some . . . Just as oxygen is a wine’s enemy during aging (for the most part), rain Read more…
