Archive for the ‘Napa Valley’ Category

Dec 22, 2020

Wine and 2021 — Predictions

The point of identifying trends is to help hedge one’s future risk. If we can predict what will come we are more likely to flourish where there is a real risk of being overrun by events. As I have for many years, here I look ahead a year to two out and attempt to articulate how current trends will impact the wine industry. In some respects, this year’s foray into predicting the future is easier than in past years. For…

Dec 16, 2020

Wine in the U.S. in 2020 — The Top Takeaways

I can’t stress enough just how unique 2020 has been. From a historical perspective, it’s arguable that this year is among the top two or three most eventful and impactful 12 months in 100 years. And keep in mind, those past 100 years included the 1929 stock market crash, the worst years of the depression, the beginning and end of World War II, the Cuban Missle Crisis, two presidential assassinations, the passage of the Civil Rights and Voting acts, 1968,…

Dec 3, 2020

The Wine Vacation: Napa Valley vs. Willamette Valley

Napa Valley and Sonoma County may remain the premier wine destinations in the country. However, the recent exposure that Oregon wine has received has solidified it’s place as a significant destination for wine travelers…specifically, the Willamette Valley. So, the question arises, if you are looking forward to a post-vaccine wine holiday, which destination should you choose? Here, we compare the merits of Napa Valley vs Willamette Valley (north). In the context of wine regions, these are two very different placed,…

Oct 30, 2020

Report—Cannabis Impacting Wine and Alcohol Sales

Over the past week or so, Wine-Searcher’s W. Blake Gray has done a fantastic job of covering how Napa Valley’s powers that be are reacting to the cannabis marketplace. A little over a week ago Gray reported how Napa Valley is helping the California cannabis industry create its own AVA or appellation system for cannabis, while at the same time working to prevent a “Napa Valley” cannabis AVA. More recently, Gray covered the disagreement inside the Napa Valley wine industry…

May 31, 2020

California Brings On the Winery Tasting Room Silliness

When it comes to alcohol, digressing into silliness isn’t uncommon. On the one hand, the stuff can get you drunk and you can do silly, stupid things. But on the other hand, the stuff is the source of huge amounts of tax revenue, it is among the most heavily regulated substances in the country, and there are entire departments of government devoted to overseeing how alcohol is made, distributed, sold and drunk. Put that all together, mix in a little…