Jul 30, 2013
Visiting Napa Valley? Coming to “Wine Country” to soak up some of that good life? Heading our way for a relaxing getaway. Good! We are very pleased you are coming, can’t wait to see you and promise to put our best foot forward for you. However, I do want to offer 10 warnings to those coming to Napa Valley for a quick vacation, particularly those who have never been here before. It’s not about scaring you away because, believe me,…
Jul 22, 2013
In some circles, the next two weekends represent the jackpot duo: the weekends for which they’ve waited all year. They likely already have their bags packed and a bit less work will get done the next few days as they day-dream about the coming explosion of Pinot Noirs upon their palate and consciousness. For others, like my wife Kathy Berez, the next two weekends represent not just the culmination of a great deal of work, but also a chance to…
Jun 8, 2013
My sixth Wine Bloggers Conference was approached with trepidation. I’ve been questioning the utility of the semantics of “blogger” and “wine blogger” of late. Also, I knew nothing of Penticton, British Columbia. Finally, very few of my closer blogging-friends and colleagues would be in attendance. The format was the same. Bring together “wine bloggers” in a wine region to discover that region, learn about wines from other parts of the world, explore their wine writing avocation amongst their peers and…
Jun 3, 2013
There is a proposal sitting on the desk of the Feds that, if approved, would expand the Santa Barbara County-based American Viticultural Area called the Sta. Rita Hills. The expansion proposal has been submitted by a grape grower whose vineyards now lie just outside the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The upshot of that unfortunate placement is that the grower does not get as much money for his grapes than if they were inside the boundary of the Sta. Rita Hills…
May 28, 2013
“Auction Week” in Napa Valley has begun. The way you can tell are all the little signs floating around the Valley that wish you a “Happy” auction week. For the uninitiated, Auction Napa Valley is the signature annual event of the Napa Valley Vintners, the organization of Napa Valley wineries that promote the idea of Napa Valley and its wines as well as take steps to defend the commercial interests of the “Napa Valley” brand as it pertains to wine….