Oct 5, 2011
When I heard the news that Steve Jobs, 56 (56!!), had died I was in the process of syncing my Apple iPhone to my Apple iTunes account via my Apple iMac, while uploading Apple Pages, Keynote and Numbers software to my Apple MacBook Pro, and reading Wines & Vines Magazine on my Apple iPad with sounds of Ornette Coleman all around me via my Apple iPod. Upon digesting the news, I made the semi-crass move of checking what my Apple…
Sep 15, 2011
Before we had "friends", we had mailing lists—and they weren't made public. We used to have to be careful when we followed someone for fear of being branded a stalker, rather than just being counted and sorted. I used to be wary of getting invitations because I knew it meant having to get dressed up, while now I can usually attend all the "events" I'm invited to in the comfort of my boxers and along with thousands of other boxer-clad…
Sep 6, 2011
I spent a decent amount of time Labor Day thinking about whether Sam Kim is an unethical wine critic, whether he gives all wine writers a bad name and whether or not his brand of pay-for-review wine criticism ought to have gotten him ostracized from from a Wine Writers association. In the end, I came to the conclusion that Mr. Kim, rather than being the scourge to wine criticism many of his colleagues believe him to be, is instead the…
Sep 2, 2011
A story in the NY Times today on the sorry state of the Gravenstein apple market in Sonoma County provided a reminder of the primary force that moves the wine industry. If you like seeing more Pinot on the market, don't thank the movie Sideways. If you worry over the proliferation of big, high pH fruit bombs, don't blame Robert Parker's palate or Jim Laube's preferences. If are trouble by the higher alcohol in wine these days, don't blame new…
Jun 29, 2011
A damned interesting event occurred recently that has nearly slipped under the radar. "Damned interesting" may seem hyperbole to most of you but to those who gravitate toward the historical, political and regulatorial (that's not really a word), this event is pretty interesting. Not long ago, the good people at the Center for Alcohol Policy (a National Beer Wholesaler of America creation) took it upon themselves to see to the re-printing and re-release of what might be the most influential…