Jan 6, 2019
Moving away from Napa Valley is, for our family, both an economic and lifestyle choice. But it could have been easily justified by much more. Too many who live here in Napa Valley don’t talk about the ugly underbelly of this place. Leaving soon, I have no problem now exposing the many reasons to leave Napa Valley. Here are the top five. The Food After a while, it just gets old. Take Bistro Jeanty, the Yountville institution that can be…
Jan 3, 2019
I’ve lived in Northern California for 55 years. I’ve lived in the North Coast Wine Country (Sonoma and Napa) for more than two decades. Nearly all of my very best friends are located here in Northern California. The heart of the Industry in which I’ve worked for 25 years is here in Northern California. At the end of January, I’m packing up my family and leaving for Oregon’s Willamette Valley. That we are leaving is largely an economic decision. In…
Nov 30, 2018
The San Francisco Chronicle’s excellent young wine editor, Esther Mobley, engages in some really interesting speculation this week. In response to Katherine Cole’s excellent survey of how some wine labelling regulations have and are changing in the U.S. published in SevenFifty Daily, Mobley asks the following question: “Will this emulation of Europe at some point endanger our distinctively American spirit of experimentation when it comes to planting vineyards?” What Esther is asking is will wine labelling regulations in the U.S….
Oct 25, 2018
News that the Coppola family of Napa and Sonoma winery fame purchased the Vista Hills Vineyard in Oregon’s Willamette Valley shouldn’t be a real surprise. While there isn’t an exodus to Oregon among California winemakers, there certainly is a turning north in winemakers’ investment view. The Vista Hills Vineyard is a pretty prime spot. Located in the Dundee Hills AVA and situated next door to Domaine Drouhin and Domaine Serene, the 42 acres of vineyard and tasting room and winery…
Aug 24, 2018
In its fierce “determination to put an end to anti-competitive practices that hurt law-abiding businesses and prevent consumers from enjoying a wide selection of products” the TTB announced that it had levied punishment upon Napa Valley’s Modus Operandi Cellars. The crime? “Consignment sales of wine to wholesalers who were not obligated to pay for the wine until after it had been sold to retailers.” The Punishment: “A one day (emphasis added) suspension of its basic permit.” I’m not suggesting that Modus…