Oct 9, 2007
This is a radar map of Napa and Sonoma Counties at 10pm this evening. That green is rain. And it’s been pouring pretty hard here in Glen Ellen for about an hour. The rain looks as though it should pass in about an hour or two. Unfortunately more rain is forecast for Friday. What we are looking for here tomorrow is some good breezes and some sun. There’s probably a good 20% of the grapes still hanging. I hate this…
Oct 9, 2007
Damn this girl works hard!! This is Annette Hoff. She GMs and makes the wine at Cima Collina Winery near Monterey. Her background is Saintsbury, New Zealand pinot production, Sterling Vineyards and Estancia. What she’s doing here is punching down! This is the least fun work in a winery I’ve ever performed and I’ve done most winery work at least once. This is the thing I vowed never to do again. Punching down that cap of grape skins and juice…
Sep 26, 2007
In a post yesterday I ran on at the mouth about the kind of fun a winemaking and wine marketing simulation game would be to a very limited number of people. Of course I assumed nothing of the sort existed. Richard A. was kind enough in the post’s comment section to set me straight. Something of a simulation does exist. SimVin is a very rudimentary simulation of the winemaking and wine marketing experience with the emphasis on rudimentary. However, it…
Sep 25, 2007
Word is that Nintendo is about to release a new "wine game" for the Nintendo DS. According to Decanter, "the educational game features a glossary of wine terms, several quizzes, wine advice and tips on etiquette." Somehow I don’t think the Nintendo folks have any hope of creating much of a stir with this game, nor much of record of sales. If any of the game console folks really want to create something cool they should create a winemaking and…
Sep 20, 2007
I’ve not commented on the recently announced alliance between Martha Stewart and Gallo, who it appears will make wine for the doyen of all things domestic under the new "Martha Stewart Vintage" line of wines. It just seemed so obvious that this announcement had very little meaning. Who knows, maybe some meaning will emerge. Maybe that meaning will be the creation of a new wine brand that produces and sells over 1 million cases annually. However, today in Dan Berger’s…