Jan 8, 2013
Filed under “Arrival of Common Sense”: “I have to ask you, if you are trusted to vote, trusted to carry a weapon in the service of your country, why can’t we trust you to buy a beer at the bar?” This is one of the perfectly valid and obvious arguments that is being made by Colorado State Senator Greg Brophy in the service of a bill he will introduce in Colorado that would allow parents of 18-20 year olds to…
Dec 31, 2012
Without hope, there is no sense in going on. Hope sustains us. Hope motivates us. With hope there is no action. Hope is the seed that grows into a wish. MY WISHES FOR WINE IN 2013 1. The Natural Wine Movement Reforms Itself I wish 2013 is the year that those who self-identify with and promote the “Natural Wine” movement finally give credit where credit is due and recognize all the artisan producers everywhere who have for years (decades, really),…
Nov 30, 2012
Reading a story today about golf in the Sonoma wine country reminded me of something I’ve been thinking a lot about since my recent vacation in Kauai: The wine lover organizes their understanding of wine in very similar ways by which the golf fanatic organizes their understanding of the game of golf. I started thinking about this while playing a round of golf on the Makai Course in Princeville, Kauai with a young doctor from India with whom I was…
Nov 12, 2012
Robert Parker is often described as the most influential wine critic alive and who has ever lived. Some have suggested that his influence on which wines ascend to the pinnacle of winedom make him the the most influential critic regardless of subject matter, period. Mr. Parker’s status as a critic is an interesting question, but not nearly as interesting as the line of discussion that Lettie Teague of the Wall Street Journal encourages Mr. Parker to explore in an interview…
Oct 25, 2012
The list price of Jancis Robinson’s new “Wine Grapes” is $175. It’s a bargain. Since working in the wine business beginning in 1990, only one book has been released in those 20+ years that I consider essential, something that must be in your collection simply because without it you risk being uninformed, unenlightened and possibly without inspiration when you need it. That book is the Oxford Companion to Wine, published first in 1994. Jancis Robinson edited that book. Today I…