I love Twitter. For example, biochar would not be on my radar today if I was not following @RandallGrahm on the platform. I remember reading an article on terra preta some time ago (might have been this article in National Geographic) but it is Randall’s sustained expression of enthusiasm for biochar as a vineyard amendment [...]
Archive for the ‘Topical’ Category
To Decant Or Not
That is the question. I have a number of decanters around the house. I use them when I have a wine that needs to be removed from a sediment in the bottle. But I never decant a wine hours before serving it to let it “breathe” and I don’t own one of those thingamajiggys that [...]
Demagoguery At The Wine Party
When I am into harvest there is not much else that can get my attention. When harvest is on, I’ve got my head down, in the moment. But at the moment for me harvest is decidedly not on–yet (see my last post). Oh, I am busy–don’t mistake me–mostly selling wine but also monitoring and managing [...]
Wine Marketing As A Sandwich
Yeah. A sandwich. Bear with me–this ain’t rocket science. First and foremost–if your filling is not delicious, you aren’t even in the game. It can’t be a great sandwich if the filling is not delicious. The filling can be many things–hopefully many things that complement each other. But fillings are distinct from condiments. If you [...]
Judging A Wine On Its Own Merits
I recently came across this exchange between Wine Wonkette (Amy Corron-Power) and 1 Wine Dude (Joe Roberts) on Amy’s “Another Wine Blog” (which is up for a 2011 Wine Blogger Award–and BTW so is Joe’s blog). Joe: “Do critics give decent ratings to wines that they don’t personally like but otherwise are made well, just [...]
Thank You Teddy Roosevelt
I remember reading this in high-school civics. I find it worth recalling from time to time: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in [...]
Wine Grapes & Pesticides in Sonoma
The other day I was reading “Lack of Sex Among Grapes Tangles a Family Vine” in the New York Times and came across the line “…a host of pests have caught up with the grape, obliging growers to protect their vines with a deluge of insecticides, fungicides and other powerful chemicals.” The line was a [...]
Wine Alcohol — Here We Go Again
Yesterday Jordan Mackay posted an article on “The Fruit Bomb Resistance” over at SF Mag. Jordan is a good writer. We love SF Mag at Westwood and like participating in their events. I personally avoid drinking over-the-top cocktail wines, and certainly don’t make them — so yes, you could label me as a “fruit-bomb resister.” [...]
What’s In A Wine Score?
The wines I’ve made have been reviewed infrequently over the years. Different reviewers, different wines but the results have shown a predictable monotony: 84-89 points, nearly every time. Same with competitions: the wines always medal — frequently gold, but never double-gold or best of show. Seems that I show a remarkable consistency. But hey… I’m [...]
Nutritional Labeling And Wine — 2010
A couple of days ago Marion Nestle wrote about “Alcohol nutritional labeling a regulatory maze” in the SF Chronicle. First she sets up the straw man: “Q: I like to read nutritional information on the foods and beverages I consume. Why is there no such information on alcoholic beverages?” (I mean, honestly, do you really [...]
