April 30th. National Honesty Day

Luckily for us there's only one day a year we are expected to be truly honest. I guess that means there will be no used car transactions on this day...

Honesty Day was made the last day of April because the first day of the month is about lying--April Fools Day. When it comes to buying wine let's be truly honest here.

Visiting Wineries? Tasting To-Dos

There are various recommendations of tasting room etiquette and what not to do when you go wine tasting, including a recent one from me. Let's focus on the positive here with what you should do.

Sonoma County Appellations: Rockpile

Maybe you've heard of Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, and possibly Dry Creek Valley. Not many people know about Rockpile in the far northwest of Sonoma County. If you haven't had wine from here you are missing out on something special. Rockpile is home to some of the best red wines around.

Near the top of the map you'll find little ol' Rockpile.

A different take on organic farming

From a NY State farm organization (not sure who's behind it) saying organic farming just may not be the healthy alternative you were expecting. Food for thought.
heres-why-your-organic-wine-is-actually-really-bad-for-the-environment

Sonoma County Appellations: Dry Creek Valley

The Dry Creek Valley appellation (legally designated wine-growing region) sits in northern Sonoma County about 20 miles inland from the Pacific Ocean. There is a unique interaction of the soil, climate and history that drives the people to make some remarkable wines.

This is the "world headquarters" for America's most underrated wine -- Zinfandel. In DCV it always seems to come back to the Italian heritage and Zinfandel.

April 23rd is Take a Chance Day

Yes, there is an official goofy "holiday" called Take a Chance Day. What's this got to do with wine? Well, use this excuse to try something new and risky. Maybe buy a Sangiovese, find a Yakima Valley Merlot, or even splurge on a $50 Cabernet to see if it's really better than the $15 stuff.

Maybe you want to find something to drink with dinner on the 24th, Pig in a Blanket Day.

Sonoma County Appellations: Russian River Valley

Sonoma County has many legally designated wine-growing regions (appellations). Some are well-known like the Russian River Valley, some maybe not so well known like Moon Mountain. Here we'll talk about the Russian River Valley appellation. There really were Russians! Then there was lumbering of old growth Redwoods then dairy and apples and now world-famous wine grapes.

First Sip Wines vs. Second Glass Wines

Some wines are great on that first sip--right from the beginning they tickle your palate. What happens when you get to the second glass of a wine? That's where it gets interesting as great first sip wines and great second glass wines are always the same.  Huh?

Reasons to Vacation in Sonoma County

Eating, drinking, hiking, kayaking, biking, driving--it's all first-class here in Sonoma County. Following are a few of the reasons we should be on your short-list of vacation spots.

Grapevines and Water

Water conservation is the hot topic in California and the farmers are in the middle of the conversations.

Most all modern vineyards are irrigated. Many older vineyards are dry farmed. Why?

Visiting Napa? Ideas on where to go

There's a question that gets asked a lot by visitors--which wineries should I visit?

There are hundreds of choices in Napa Valley and next door in Sonoma County. Yeah, this is a Sonoma blog, more or less, but Napa is right over the hill and everybody has to go to Napa at least once.

The Western Drought

A few days ago the Small Business Administration approved low-interest loans to help with relief from the drought in Oregon. In March the governor of Washington declared a drought in three different regions of the state. Much of the West is experiencing a severe drought, but you hear mostly about California because of the number of people affected and the agricultural impact on the entire country.

California's Drought and Your Wine

California's historic drought has been in the news for awhile. Recently there has been a lot more press because of the governor's mandatory water cutback plans. What does this mean for agriculture and wine grapes in particular? Not much as it turns out.

Red Wine vs. White Wine Drinkers

We have some who say they drink only red wine. We have white wine only drinkers. And we have bi (those that will drink anything put in front of them especially if someone else is buying). There are those who will occasionally cross over and try a Merlot or a Chardonnay to be sure they still don't like the other side (bi-curious).