Feb 4, 2019
Despite the transition to a digital age, I’ve never left my books go. And there are lots of them. There are many reasons I want books on display in my home. First, I want Henry George surrounded by them. He needs to know that you can go anywhere, be anything, know anybody through books. But on a more personal note, having a home that is filled with books reminds one of where they have been, marks the intellectual paths down…
Jan 18, 2019
Think of this as my exit interview from Napa Valley. My family and I are leaving Napa Valley for a new home in Oregon’s Willamette Valley in a few days. We leave behind too many friends to count. An environment so beautiful it’s sometimes hard to catch your breath. And we leave behind a local wine industry in which we have actively participated and truly love deep in our hearts. Our boy was born here. He’s only four and a…
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…
Dec 21, 2018
For quite some time I’ve wanted to sample the Pinot Noirs of Oregon’s Evening Lands. I’ve read about these wines and received positive feedback on them from people with tastes similar to mine. I just hadn’t gotten around to buying any. A few weeks back I shared two bottles of 2012 Evening Lands Seven Springs Pinot Noir under some of the most remarkable circumstances of my life. Here’s the story. It’s a good one. It started a few years ago…
Nov 27, 2018
When I was 14 years old (1977), I was enduring my last year of junior high school at Sinaloa Jr. High in Novato, California. I remember a few things about that year. The things that stand out most is being suspended for a week of school for having been the ringleader of an expedition to San Francisco’s Chinatown where I and two others conspirators procured a collection of small smoke bombs, which were subsequently unleashed on a somewhat entertained collection…