Archive for the ‘Events’ Category

May 16, 2012

The Pinot Producers Are Coming—PINOT DAYS SF

Who Doesn't love a good list? Who doesn't love a good Pinot Noir? Who doesn't love a great Pinot Noir Event? Here you'll find all three: PINOT DAYS SAN FRANCISCOSaturday, June 16th200 Pinot ProducersBelow is the killer list!Here's how you get ticketsAbiouness Wines Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards Alta Maria Vineyards Amalie Robert Estate Ancient Oak Cellars Arista Winery August West Bailiwick Wines Baxter Winery Belle Glos Wines Benovia Winery Bien Nacido Vineyards Big Basin Vineyards Big Table Farm Brandborg…

Mar 23, 2012

Bringing Focus and Attention to Jazz and Wine

< Branford Marsalis, the great jazz saxophonist and member of the remarkable Marsalis jazz family, is coming to Napa Valley. He along with his longtime pianist partner Joey Calderazzo will play the intimate Napa Valley Opera House on March 29th. Jazz, like wine, remains largely an experience that is most fully appreciated by a relatively small sector of the American population, despite it being an original American art-form. While I wish more Americans would find greater pleasure in appreciating the…

Feb 29, 2012

Talking Natural Wine: A Real Discussion

What is the meaning of the "Natural Wine" movement? Why is here with us and why now? How has it slipped up? What kind of opposition does it face? How much support does it have? These are the questions I've been pondering recently as I prepare to go down to World of Pinot Noir this weekend to attend that annual festival of all things Pinot Noir and, in particular, listen to a debate/discussion about Natural Wines. What I'm hoping for…

Feb 16, 2012

There’s Something About Pinot

I love Pinot Noir events primarily because I love Pinot Noir. There is something about the Pinot producer too that sets them apart from other winemakers. There is an arrogance I like. Maybe it comes from them working with one of the more difficult grapes to control. Maybe it's because there seems to be an additional air of intellectualism behind the grape. It's often more subtle and it takes a keener vocabulary and sharper set of senses to really wrap…

Nov 29, 2011

The Top Wine Stories of 2011

What an interesting year in wine. Legal battles, political battles, movements rising, technology, new markets, and changes in the media led the news. Here are my top wine stories for 2011 A SMALL CRACK IN THE WALL: Initiative 1183 Takes Washington Out of the Booze Business and Into the 21st CenturyIt has been a long time since a state abandoned its control of the alcohol marketplace and turned it over to the private sector. Initiative 1183 in Washington State did…