Jun 4, 2007
Things That Could HURT the Wine Industry Yes, it’s a macabre topic, particularly if you work in the wine industry. Yet, for some reason while enjoying a marinated skirt steak at Izzy’s in Marin the other day the topic popped into my head. Actually it was drunk driving disaster that popped into my head. Probably because of all the police cars that were surrounding a 2006 BMW right before I pulled into Izzy’s lot. The guy was standing by the…
May 30, 2007
After I got my Bachelors degree in History, and even before that, I knew I would go on to get either a Masters or a PhD. I just liked school and college in particular. But I never once, ever, considered getting an MBA degree. I wasn’t a business kind of guy. Also, those numbers? Not good. They tended to get big once you started working them and all sorts of fancy calculations and formulas got thrown into the mix; the…
May 24, 2007
10 Things I Learned On My One Day Trip To New Jersey 1. Seat mates on airplanes don’t mind as much if it’s white wine that is spilled on their suit. 2. It’s very difficult to bribe a airline ticket counter agent…even if you offer a smile along with money. 3. New Jersey wine retailers are very cool folks who understand the stakes for themselves and consumers when it comes to the issue of direct shipment of wine. 4. Bad…
May 14, 2007
The Sunday Santa Rosa Press Democrat had an interesting ad in it placed by the Sonoma County Winegrape Commission. In it they identify Sonoma County restaurants where 75% of the wines on their lists. are from Sonoma County and restaurants where 50% of the wines on their lists are from Sonoma County. These restaurants are congratulated for supporting Sonoma County, its growers, etc. This is a nice way to both encourage more Sonoma County-centric wine lists and to let diners…
Apr 25, 2007
Chateau Bob was created 3 years ago in Vineville when Bob planted his first grape vines. That’s right, it takes a good three years before you get a usable crop from a new vineyard. Yet, Bob has finally produced his first batch of wine: 200 cases of 2004 Chateau Bob “Real Red Wine”. Down the street from Bob is his old friend Pete who owns Pete’s Restaurant. Pete’s been waiting three years for his old friend to make that wine…