Jun 20, 2006
This past fathers day was a hoot. We had four fine fathers gathered with their wives and children and grandchildren all in our newly renovated back yard. It was all good…Until I had to explain myself. You see it was warm outside. And while a chilled rose and gewurztraminer were on the table, I wanted to drink something red. But it was just too damn hot to really appreciate it. So I did what I often do with red wine…
Jun 12, 2006
I can recall the era when the emergence of a new wine growing region, while somewhat exciting, was also met with a bit of skepticism by the wine trade and the hard core consumer. The issue was 1) can the new area producing anything of merit and is there any talent making wine in the region. It was also the case that getting out the word on wines from an emerging region was also a difficult task. The wine media…
Jun 5, 2006
For those of you in the San Francisco Bay Area (you know who you are) there is a very interesting tasting coming up next weekend. The Marin County Pinot Noir producers will be pouring their wines as a benefit for the Marin Agricultural Land Trust and as a way to speak the word about this region just south of Sonoma County that is beginning to churn out a decent supply of lovely Pinot Noir. MARIN COUNTY PINOT NOIR TASTING Friday…
May 15, 2006
As I was driving up Highway 280 from San Jose back to Glen Ellen after visiting my mother I heard something on the radio that was arresting. It was a radio commercial for a wine that mocked rap music in an attempt to present and market the wine. The commercial went something like this: To make it these days you need a rap star to endorse your product. No rap star would return our calls. So, we’ll do it ourselves….
May 8, 2006
Staying on the terroir track for today, I was alerted to an article in a local paper by a good reader of FERMENTATION. The article spoke to the formation of a new regional grape growing and winery alliance that is focusing on a swath of land that deserves focusing on for its special and unique climate. The "Petaluma Gap" might be a term you’ve heard of lately, particularly if you are an aficionado of Sonoma County wines. The Petaluma Gap…