It had to happen: Well Hung Vineyard

Low-hanging fruit. Well-formed grape bunches hanging heavily from the vine. So someone named a wine label after what grape bunches do--hang from the vine. A double meaning? No way! They plan to offer stiff competition. But they are up to the task.  Just wait, I've got more!

How the Well Hung Vineyard came to be

The Hosemaster is Done!

The who? His full blog name is The HoseMaster of Wine. It is satire on the usually too serious premium wine world. He was an insider, you know, one of "them." At some point he realized how unimportant the whole thing was and let the wine world have it with both barrels.

If you think many wine folks are dorky, or you regularly read wine mags, or you are a wine nerd you should read through some of his posts from the nine years he's been doing this. Many are laugh out loud funny.

The Hoser will be missed.

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How Much Do Americans Drink?

Here's a little interactive display of how much we drink based on sex and race.

Hooker's House -- and Wine

Yeah, I thought that would get your attention.

Between stints in the army during the Mexican-American War and later in the Civil War Joseph Hooker settled in Sonoma for a time. His Hooker House was built in the 1850s and since the 1970s has been used by various commercial establishments. There was even a Hooker House tea room and I'm sure the ladies giggled occasionally over the name. Yes, there are stories of prostitutes following Hooker's army around and that may be where the name hooker came from to mean prostitute.

The highly-regarded Bedrock Wine Company recently leased the building for a tasting room. Interestingly, Bedrock farms grapes grown on what was Hooker's ranch in nearby Glen Ellen. I'm sure the tasting room will be very popular and I expect some giggles over the name as they promise to call it something like, "Bedrock Wines at Hooker House." I don't know if they will charge by the wine flight or by the hour.

Sonoma County Restaurants -- For Beer

So yeah, all of your meals don't have to be wine-centric especially if you've spent a good part of the day tasting wine. Why not eat somewhere with good food and an excellent beer selection?

Some of these are restaurants that just happen to have great beer. A few are pub operations that happen to have good food.

Sonoma County's Best Winery Experiences

  From Wine Enthusiast magazine a list of what one writer considers our best "experiences" (whatever that means exactly). Anyway, it's a good list of some of our finest wineries. Most of these places require an appointment. While making and keeping appointments can be a bit of a pain it's a great way to visit on busy summer and autumn weekends. You'll get a better experience when not having to deal with people standing two-deep at the tasting bar.

Another lousy day at Iron Horse Vineyards  :)

  If you go with tasting appointments ask the winery how long their tasting will take then allow for travel and lunch break time between appointments. You should not commit to more than three in a day.

Sonoma's Best Winery Experiences

Fifteen Things to Do in Sonoma County This Summer

Yes, there are lots of things to do besides go wine tasting!

Wine & Cheese Pairings in Sonoma County

Wine and cheese go together like ... birds & bees or cops & donuts. Anyway, wine and cheese pairings have gotten to be quite the thing. Some wineries offer other accompaniments like nuts or meats. It's always better to have something to eat with your wine plus a seated wine and cheese pairing is nice and relaxing. 

Here is a list of twenty wineries in Sonoma County that put together a paring for you. Generally they run $30 and up and most places require an advance reservation. Give it a try!

Everything You Wanted to Know About Yeast

What is yeast? How does it work to make wine? And what other characteristics can it add to wine?

All you need to know from Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Fourth of July 2017 Weekend in Sonoma County

It's time to officially kick off the summer with a four day weekend! Following are events happening around Sonoma County. Lots of live entertainment and things going boom.

Friday Wine Jokes

Starting the weekend off right.

How to properly enjoy a bottle of wine.
Open it ahead of time to allow the wine to breathe. If it appears that it's not breathing properly then give it mouth-to-mouth.

You say you have problems?
It's scientifically proven there are no problems four glasses of wine can't solve.

Add "Drink wine" to your to-do list for today.
That way by the end of the day you'll feel you've accomplished something.

Wine improves with age.
Just like your dancing improves with wine.

Yesterday I told my wife that I was like a fine wine.
Today I find myself locked in the cellar.

Everything happens for a Riesling.

California's Climate and Agriculture

California has weather in extremes. Most of the state has a cool-to-cold wet-to-snowy winter and a warm-to-hot dry summer. It's really a two season climate. Premium wine grapes require a warm, sunny growing season, but with a cooling influence as coastal California gets from the Pacific Ocean.

Most of the state went from the driest period in its recorded history to the wettest year ever. The swing from almost nothing to too much is phenomenal. If you look back to find the state's wettest seasons the top ones are all in the last 25 years. The three driest years for snowpack in the mountains have all been in the last 40 years. Of course, we haven't been recording the weather for too long in climate terms. However, according to NOAA this was the worst drought since the 1500s.