The August 2025 Pickett Fire started in a remote area of rugged terrain outside of Calistoga in Napa Valley. There had been a party on the Hundred Acre Winery property. The fire took two weeks to contain. Homes were lost, wineries and vineyards were damaged, people, including firefighters were injured.
Gewurztraminer grown in the U.S. gets no respect, or maybe people are afraid to try to pronounce it. Saying geh-wurts is fine, btw. The previous blog post was on the lack on interest in West Coast Riesling. You'll find these two grapes similar in characteristics and U.S. popularity. Both grapes do best in a cool climate, can be made in a dry to very sweet style, rely on aromatics for much of their character, and they pair with similar foods.
There are Chardonnay lovers, Sauvignon Blanc people, and Pinot Grigio drinkers galore, but Riesling gets no love. There seems to be no respect for premium Riesling from the West Coast.
Charles Krug is the oldest commercial winery in Napa, opening in 1861. Beringer Vineyards, est. 1876, is the oldest continuously operating winery. It's Beringer's 150th anniversary.
The oldest commercial wineries in Sonoma County are in the town of Sonoma. Buena Vista opened in 1857, and Gundlach Bundschu in 1858. Buena Vista is the oldest commercial winery in the state, but it has not been continuous. Wente Vineyards, founded 1883 in Livermore, is the longest continuously operating family winery.
Following are a few photos of beautiful old vines, mostly zinfandel, that I've taken over the past few years. I'll identify where the vines are as best I can. Mostly wintertime pictures because you can see the vine structure better.
The Wine Market Council surveys the U.S. consumer for insights on what they're thinking about wine. This data is from a survey in wellness and health as related to wine.
Non-alcoholic wine is a recent trend. It gets lots of press about how growth is going to explode. You may or may not have heard this before with other trends. I have.
A couple of graphs taken from Vine Pair showing the total number of wineries and the number per capita.
Claret is a centuries old term for French red Bordeaux used by England. A Bordeaux is a blend that contains some of the following: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. France wants to market a new style of Bordeaux to go with changing tastes in wine.
In January 2026, Facebook changed the way their algorithm works for recommendations. They are restricting alcohol-related businesses, like wineries and wine retailers.You can still see the pages if you search them out, but FB will no longer proactively suggest them under "Pages you may like," for instance.
Alcohol is bad, though apparently not bad enough to implement this on Instagram. FB offered no explanation or no rule changes.
I suppose this goes along with the genius move of being able to only see about five of your 200 FB friends.
We like to compare generations in many way, so why not wine consumption?
Not every quality wine has to be grown in a Mediterranean climate, as it turns out.
