Why Supermarket Wine Sucks

Maybe you shouldn't buy your wine at Kroger or Safeway or any other chain grocery store. Here's why:

Natural Wine in Sonoma County

Isn't all wine natural? Not if you ask the folks in the natural wine movement that stays away from additives and anything "unnatural." Sales are growing of wine labeled as natural. Just know there are no legal definitions for what can be called natural wine so be sure to deal with honest vintners.

A couple points: 
If you jump into natural wines you may discover why some of those additives are there.
If these wines are natural that doesn't mean other wines are unnatural. Think of them as conventional wines. 

Here's the scoop from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat

A Sonoma & Napa Geography Lesson

What does someone mean when they say "Sonoma" or "Napa?" It's not always clear. A geography lesson follows.

"Celebrating" Prohibition

Prohibition began a century ago in a failed attempt at social control. Anyway, to celebrate lets look at some of the oddball state laws that came about after Prohibition ended when the feds just threw up their hands and turned alcohol control over to the states.

When a Customer Returns Wine

Nothing hurts more than a wine being returned by a customer because it's bad. "Bad" is very loosely defined with wine (as discussed below). Whatever the reason it's costly to replace and there's an irritated person who bought the product and might not again.

The California Grape Glut

It seems we are officially in the too much supply side of the wine grape supply-and-demand cycle. This will lead to cuts in grape prices for some vineyards. And with the excess juice already in the market place this should mean you'll find some good wines at good prices, mostly from negociants (people who buy grapes, juice, or even finished wine and sell it under another label). While this is good news for consumers it's bad news for the people growing wine grapes.

What grape growers are facing from the Press Democrat. 

Sonoma County Cannabis Tourism

You can get a day long tour out of San Francisco to explore Sonoma County's wine, weed, and beer (whew, what a day that would be). You can have cannabis delivered to your room (maybe a couple brownies for after dinner). How about a cannabis and food dinner pairing (bet you hadn't thought of that one). Or a grow tour (like a vineyard tour).

Cannabis tourism isn't huge in Sonoma County, but considering it was nowhere a couple years ago it seems to be turning into a thing probably for folks who live where it's still illegal.

Read all about it in the Press Democrat

Clouds on the Horizon for Wine?

The economy seems rosy, people spent lots of money over the holidays, but maybe the wine biz is in for a bit of a downturn. Not talking about a recession coming, but maybe a premium wine downturn. Several factors are leading people to think this might be about to happen.

Sonoma County Lodging with a View

If you wish to stay somewhere in Sonoma County with a view your best best is on the Pacific Coast though there are places with vineyard views, too.