Archive for the ‘Culture and Wine’ Category
I was reminded recently of an amazing resource of which we all ought to be aware. Josh Hermsmeyer, dedicated winemaker and blogger, sent me a note letting me know that on March 28 the Sonoma County Wine Library will be hosting a talk by Steve Heimoff, author of New Classic Winemakers of California. Steve will be discussing winemaking with five of his New Classic Winemakers including Randy Ullom, Eric Cinnamon, Merry Edwards, Greg La Follette and Michael Terrien. The even…
My daughter recently had to take a writing test mandated by the state. The format of this particular test was to have the kids write a "persuasive letter". The topic, which the kids could take either side of, was "Should schools add an additional two weeks to the annual school schedule?" I thought it outstanding that persuasive writing skills of the 7th graders were tested simply because good persuasive writing might be the most important type of writing a child…
Today is really a bonus, isn’t it? I mean, is today an extra day? Are we living on granted time today it being Leap Day and all? I really can’t figure it out. From what I understand, today—FEB 29—is added to the calender because we, as a people, choose to use poor mathematics in mapping out our calender. Today is like that little "R2" that that 1st graders use when learning division: Today accounts for the "remainder minutes" that are…
It is most often the case that single individuals are the cause of change or the inspiration for change in (and the evolution of) the wine industry. This is not unique to the wine business. However, it must also be noted that associations, organizations and, yes, CONSORTIUMS can and have pushed issues forward, and caused significant change in this industry. The California Wine Institute, Family Winemakers of California, Wine America, AWARE (for those of you who remember this group), Specialty…
It’s a fair rule I think that on your birthday you get to do whatever you want…within reason and mostly within the law. With that in mind, I’m choosing to torture my kids today. No, I’m not going to force booze and wine down their throats. I’m going for the next best thing: I’m dragging them to a Jazz Club in San Francisco. They could think of other things to do. But, they know the rules about birthdays. There I’ll…
