Why Restaurant Wine Lists Stink

First off, not all of them stink, but way too many do. There are some restaurants with great wine lists and some of these I can even afford to dine at occasionally. The vast majority of the family / casual / chain restaurants have wine list that are a steaming pile of suck. Many of the higher-end restaurants don't do much better except that their markup is much higher.

Rainy May in California

While many of us were happy to not be watering our yards and gardens the "February in May" rainstorms played havoc with some of the grape crop. Like any fruit, one of the growing season stages is flowering. This all turns to fruit assuming the weather cooperates. Wind and rain can knock back the tiny flowers.

That all happened through much of May right when some of the grape varieties in some locations in the county were flowering. Seems to be mostly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are affected. What this means is that the quantity of the fruit will be lower; the quality is not affected. The extent of the damage won't be known until fruit set in a few weeks.

This is what the crop could look like in some vineyards

Your Basic Instincts Made You Buy That Wine

Not just wine, but other products, too. Our basic instincts can be used against us. We all want food, shelter, clothing. We want security. We want sex. Your basic instincts are used to sell you luxury goods, things you don't really need.

New AVAs -- Good or Bad?

Definition
An appellation, or American Viticultural Area, is a wine term with a legal basis. An AVA is a federally approved name for a specific wine grape growing area with certain rules around it. American wine labels will have a government region on the label, such as California or Sonoma County, and/or will have an AVA, such as Sonoma Valley or Napa Valley.

Problem
Are there too damn many AVAs?

"New" Summer Wines to Look For From California

None of these wines are actually new to California, but might be new to you as all are grown in small quantities and can be difficult to find in your local stores. Try some of these this summer.

Summer 2019 Events in Sonoma County

Following are major wine and non-wine events in Sonoma County for  June through Auguest. Lots of stuff happening and it's going to be a fun summer!
 

You Don't Smell the Way Others Smell

No, I don't mean your personal scent. I mean your perception of odors. This means wines may not smell and taste the same to two different people. So when you like a wine someone doesn't or you don't like one they do it doesn't mean you're wrong! It just means you're different. Yes, you can even disagree with the people who taste wine for a living.

Your smell and taste receptors were put there to let you know what's good to eat and what's not. Your smell also alerts you to other potential dangers. Since the days of our ancient ancestors your smell and taste receptors and the part of the brain that interprets them have become more sophisticated. How they interpret is different based on your DNA, possibly your race, age, and sex.

You Don't Smell My World from the NY Times

Let's Tax Imported Wines to Help Poor Kendall Jackson

Rick Tigner, CEO of Kendall Jackson Family Wineries while speaking at a local business group said the U.S. needs to tax wine imports to level the playing field. I think maybe ol' Ricky (est. salary of $1m/year) wants to screw the American consumer to help K-J sell more wine. I have a better idea. If $500m in annual revenue isn't good enough maybe you should do your job and control your expenses so you can compete!

Help us! from Northbay Business Journal 
 

Oh Oh Napa, Here Comes "Wine Country"

This week Amy Poehler's Wine Country comes to Netflix streaming. It's based on a girls' trip Amy went on a few years ago. So a bunch of middle-age women come to Napa Valley, get drunk, and get into many "situations."

If you remember the bigger movie Sideways from a few years that almost killed off Merlot and help propel Pinot Noir sales then you might wonder what this one will do to Napa. Sure, it'll increase awareness and add to visitation. If the movie spends too much time on drunken depravity then people might think, "Hey we don't have to go to Vegas to get drunk and in trouble, we can go to Napa!"  That's where the "oh oh" comes in. No tasting room, restaurant, or hotel in Napa, Sonoma, or anywhere else wants people to come for the alcohol. They want them for their love, or at least curiosity, of wine.

Wine Country movie trailer

5/11 Edit: Not to worry. Watched the movie and OMG it was worse than a 20 year old corked Chardonnay that was left out in the sun.

Organic vs Biodynamic vs Natural vs Sustainable Wine

Yeah, I know, if wine weren't already confusing enough many wineries throw in some "save the planet" stuff. Here's a look at the differences from three sources.

In Today's Wine News

Recent wine (and related) news.

How a Town Gets to be in Wine Country

Are you jealous of people who live in the home of premium wines? Wouldn't you love your town to be the next Napa Valley? Well, The Onion will tell you how it's done. And you thought Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, etc. all gained fame because of soil, weather, or some shit like that?

Might as Well Produce Wine Here

The Summer of Understaffed Tasting Rooms

Winery tasting room retail jobs are considered "fun" jobs by onlookers, but to many employed this way it's their livelihood. Wineries try to attract college students, retirees, people just entering the job market or people newly relocated to wine country who came for the wine lifestyle. Regardless, they probably have rent or a mortgage to pay and there's the problem.