Sonoma County's Rural Rebellion

Business is booming in the wine county. The number of visitors is up. Along with that the traffic and the noise levels are up. Some people in the rural areas of Napa and Sonoma are saying "enough."

A few months ago Food Network star Gary Fieri's plans for a rural party palace, I mean winery, were shot down by the county.

Now it's taken a more generic turn with county-wide forums debating the issue. There is a push for more regulation of new wineries.

Preferences of the American Wine Drinker

A recent survey of wine drinkers across the country came up with some interesting results. And it's not always what the premium wine areas like Napa and Sonoma want to hear.

The survey sampled occasional and frequent wine drinkers with a fairly equal split across generations.

How Your Family Drives You to Drink More Wine

Following are some of the many reasons your relatives force you to drink wine even though you wanted to take the night off with a nice cup of tea. Really, it's not your fault.

So here it goes, the top ten reasons your family is driving you to drink wine. And I'll even tell you how much wine each irritation is worth!

What wine with your BK Whopper?

You maybe never gave much thought to drink options at Burger King past a Coke or a milkshake, but somebody at BK has. Why? Fast food joints (and Starbucks) are using alcohol to attract more adults to their businesses.

Top Wine-Producing Countries

Where does all that wine come from? You can figure out that Western Europe and the Americas will have countries in the top ten, but you might not have guessed China.

When you need a hug ... e bottle of wine

Cuz sometimes hugging an iddy biddy 750 ml bottle just won't do.
Wait, there's more! Prepare to groan.
 

Sutter Home Goes All Classy

Sutter Home Winery, the source of those millions of cases of that white zinfandel stuff, gets as much ribbing from me as anyone for their pink soda pop wine. They probably have their "laughing all the way to the bank" routine pretty well worked out.

This year Sutter Home is donating to send care packages to some of the nearly quarter million troops we have overseas. Every little bit helps when you're away from home during the holidays. Just text HOME to 89800 and they will donate $5 towards the cause for every text received.

Go to Sutter Home for the holidays for all the info

Saving Money on Premium California Wines

It's not so much about finding sales at Costco or great deals at Trader Joe's although this certainly does happen. This is more about what to look for on a label to find the bargains.

Coffee is healthy, too, just like red wine

Over the years research has shown red wine can lower your blood pressure, burn fat, prevent cancer and heart disease, and so on. Now coffee is said to have many health benefits including boosting your brain function (I guess that's like waking you up), improve your mood (ditto), but also lowers your risk of Alzheimer's, dementia, Parkinson's, cancer, and a host of others.

Article

Research Into Curbing Rising Alcohol Levels

Anyone paying attention to the California wine business over the past couple decades knows the biggest difference in wine from then and now relates to the alcohol levels in the wine. Why have alcohol levels increased? Because the resulting style is what many critics, judges, and presumably much of the buying public wants. But there has been push-back. One group is trying to fix this with a long-term study in the vineyards and in the cellar. Wish them luck!

Article from WineLand

Wine Pairing with Halloween Candy

Since you no doubt currently have Halloween candy in your house now here is info on what to drink with it. Milk? Nah. Dr. Pepper? Eew. We're talking adult beverages. Yes, somebody has actually put time and thought into this!

Wine and your favorite Halloween candies.
From VIVINO

If you're more interested in beer pairings someone has figured that one out, too.
From Craft Beer & Brewing

Sonoma County for Fall Color

National Geographic published their top ten list of places for autumn color. First on the list is Sonoma County. Sonoma? In California? Yes, oaks, maples, and grape vines. Peak season for the vineyards is the first half of November.