Well, I’ve tried and tried to get into "A Very Good Year: The Journey of a California Wine from Vine to Table" by Mike Weiss. I just can’t do it. It’s not that it’s a bad book. And it’s not poorly written by my estimation. It has a natural flow to it too. It’s just that I know this stuff. The book delivers what is a fairly common set of discussion for someone in the wine industry: marketing For someone…

My wife and I attended a really beautiful wine event yesterday. We and a number of other "wine club" members spent the day treking through vineyards up in the Atlas Peak appellation where Astrale e Terra Winery have their vineyards. We were led by the owner and winemaker and learned a great deal about hillside grapegrowing and winemaking in a mountain appellation. Letter we dined under a tent in the Shadow of these hillside vineyards and overlooking hundreds of acres…

My favorite meal in this world is a simple one, and one my wife and I engage in on regular basis: Two or three fine cheeses, good crusty french bread, a lump of very good, fresh butter, and a bottle of wine. I’ve never met a wine lover who did not have a near reverence for the pairing of wine and cheese. And how could I. The two are of the same type. The best of each reflect a region,…

I remember, and it wasn’t that long ago, when I could stop working for the day and indulge in a wine I’d been looking forward to. I’d uncork something, pour a glass, perhaps cook, and have another glass, eat, have another glass, then finish off the rest of  the bottle with a book or a movie. I’d easily finish the bottle…by myself…over a period of  three or four hours. I’d have something of  a buzz, but nothing really impairing. Those…