Verbiage About Wine
Of Mice and Men . . . and Cats
Posted In - 2013, Conventional Wisdoms, Miscellaneous
14031756 I awoke the other morning to my daughter asking me to quickly come over to where she was standing. There, in our house, behind a duffle bag, lay a mouse. Now my daughter loves animals and would never want to hurt them, and wasn’t sure if the mouse was alive or dead – so Read more…
On Fishing and Winemaking
Posted In - 2013, Conventional Wisdoms, Miscellaneous
I took my youngest son Jaxon out fishing yesterday for the first time. He’s been asking me to take him for quite some time, but things just never worked out, or I just never made the time I needed to to make it happen.
So How Long Should I Store That Bottle???
Posted In - 2013, Cellar Stuff, Conventional Wisdoms, Miscellaneous
This is one of the most widely asked questions I get in the tasting room each and every day. Someone tries a wine and wants to pick up a few to ‘lay down’ for future enjoyment . . . but they want a reassurance that they can and should do this.
A Carafe Please . . .
Posted In - 2013, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized
I was visiting one of my favorite wine bulletin board, Wineberserkers, when I saw a thread about a restaurant in LA offering wine by carafe. That’s nothing that unusual, but what was unusual was that they were telling you the variety, vintage and region, but not the producer. Their concept was to remove some of Read more…
Blending for Perfection . . . . or just blending . . .
Posted In - 2013, Cellar Stuff, Miscellaneous, Uncategorized
I’ve spent the last couple of days prepping for a bottling run I’ll be doing at the end of August. It’s been a lot of fun going through dozens of barrels and determining how they’re all going to find a place in a bottle.
Wines By The Glass Suck (well, not really) . . .
Posted In - Whining About Wine
I had fun reading the latest blog post from Matt Kramer over at the Wine Spectator. He talks about three different things the wine industry doesn’t want you to know about . . . and the first topic deals with the economics of wines by the glass and why they are not a good deal Read more…
It’s Been Too Long
Posted In - Wine Words
Those of you who know me well know that I am rarely silent. In fact, people that I talk with on the phone generally freak out when I am silent for more than 5 seconds, illiciting frantic comments such as ‘Are you okay?’ or ‘What’s wrong?’. And therefore I have had many people wonder why Read more…
It’s What’s Inside The Bottle (or Tasting Room) That Counts . . .
Posted In - Miscellaneous
I do a lot of tastings for my label throughout California, and I’m always amazed at what draws people over to my table. Sometimes it’s my sad puppy eyes when no one else is willing to venture over to me. Sometimes it’s the Erlenmeyer flasks that have become part of my ‘signature’ at these tastings. Read more…
SB County Vintner’s Festival – Yep, It’s THAT Time Again . . . .
Posted In - Uncategorized
Well, there’s been no frost since my last post – all of three days ago! – but we’ll take it thus far! I’m excited about this weekend’s Santa Barbara County Vintner’s Festival, the annual Spring get together of the 100+ wineries that are members of this association (and hopefully we’ll add the others in our Read more…
Mother Nature Once Again
Posted In - Uncategorized
April is always a scary month in the wine business. No, not because of tax season . . .but that certainly is scary in and of itself! It’s a time when the vines have reawakened and start to grow, and bud break is in full swing. Inside each of these tiny buds, which start out Read more…