Where Chardonnay's Characteristics Come From

You've got the natural flavors of the grapes along with where they're grown, you throw in some oak maybe and you've got the characteristics for the finished wine. That's kind of close for most wines, but not for Chardonnay. Chard is, I can't say this gently, a little bland without some help.

Pinot Noir Clones

Grape varieties have genetic mutations called clones. Pinot Noir has hundreds of clones with a few dozen being commercially popular. Other grape varieties have only a few clones. Why is this? First, Pinot Noir is a very ancient grape variety and has changed through generations of growing in different places. Second, it's thought to be more genetically unstable than other varieties.

Shame on You. Give Us Back Our Holidays

In the last few years a few retail big box stores have started opening on Thanksgiving Day trying to get a jump on Christmas dollars. Not everyone has been in favor of this as traditionally Thanksgiving has been a family day, not a shopping day.

Getting Out of Your Wine Comfort Zone

Most of us have a level of complacency  with our wine choices. I expect very few wine drinkers are true experimenters.

Getting out of your comfort zone usually means trial and error and that can be expensive. Who wants to spend fifty bucks on a wine they hate? Or even fifteen?

Ten Places to Visit in Sonoma County

I was reading a Wine Enthusiast article about 10 Places to Visit in Napa Valley and thought Sonoma needs one of those lists! Okay, there are probably a few of those out there already. Here's another.

The Stages of Drinking

Happy holidays! It's that time of year. Here's a little something to help you recognize your current state while you're yucking it up with family, friends, and coworkers.

Wine is Not About How Much You Know

It's easy to be intimidated by someone who knows more about wine than you. But you know what? In any area of life there will be people who know more than you -- even in your own profession, right? So don't worry about not knowing how to read a French wine label or the difference between Russian River Valley and Dry Creek Valley. Relax. Enjoy.

Legends of Sonoma County Winemaking

A nice article on the current whereabouts of Dick Arrowood (Chateau St. Jean), Brice Jones (Sonoma-Cutrer), and Joel Peterson (Ravenswood). These three gentlemen had a lot to do with putting Sonoma County on the wine map. All are 70 years old or so and should be retired, but can't quite let go of the grape.

Article from Palate Press

Sonoma County Red Wines for Winter Meals

It's getting to be that time of year when you can put away those rosés, Sauvingnon Blancs, and Pinot Noirs  and break out the heavy-duty wines. Not that there's anything bad about drinking Sauv Blanc in cold weather. I mean it's not like wearing white pants after Labor Day...

Usually foods get a bit heavier in winter and so can the wines.

Wine Marketing Buzzwords

Wine is a jargon-rich world. Maybe not as bad as the high-tech biz, but it can still be pretty intimidating.

There are lots of terms used to help sell wine. Some are a bit geeky and might actually scare off  people. What these all have in common is that none are any sort of guarantee of wine quality and whether you'll actually like it. Some of these might be on the bottle's label; others are thrown around by the folks who sell wine.

Cannabis and Constellation Brands

  Constellation Brands, a wine, beer, and spirits conglomerate based in NY State, owns the likes of Corona beer, Casa Noble tequila, and many wine brands including Ravenswood and Robert Mondavi. They are now in the cannabis business.

Post-Fire Sonoma: Economic Impact

You saw the devastation on TV. It looked as if most of Sonoma and Napa counties were burning. Unhealthy smoke filled the air. That part is over, but thousands of homes were lost, tens of thousands of people displaced, billions of dollars will be needed to rebuild. Of the hundreds of wineries a couple were lost and another couple dozen had some, mostly minor, damage.

The fires affected not only Sonoma and Napa, but adjacent Mendocino, Lake and Solano counties though Sonoma took the biggest hit, more specifically Santa Rosa and parts of Sonoma Valley. Most of Sonoma County is untouched by the fires.