How do wine pros make removing the capsule look so darn easy?
[What's to follow is inspired by Steve Heimoff, who's been having a bit of fiction fun lately.] How do wine pros make removing the capsule look so darn easy? It’s so simple. In fact, it’s really so easy that let’s play pretend for a moment. You’re Lester, the court jester. King Steven, your king, is [...]
Does the weight of a bottle have anything to do with the quality of the wine?
How do you feel about the weight of wine bottles these days? I know of one wine writer who, when the bottles began to take on the “Big Boy” effect, had serious issues right away. It’s only been within the last 10 years that wine bottles have put on the extra pounds… As part of [...]
It’s National Tequila Day! ¡Ole!
One of the joys in my life, for the past year, has been the introduction of tequila into my repertoire. Before working with Tequila Semental, I only knew about tequila as a spirit ingredient in my margaritas. I never saw it as a sipping beverage, and I never believed that I was a “let’s do [...]
You’d Better Have a Good Reason For Changing a Name, and Jeremy Baker Did
This is what I was told in my wine sales and marketing class that I took ages ago. We were handed this assignment: SCENARIO: You’ve just bought an existing winery. Do all of the following. Then, be prepared to present your marketing plan for this winery to us, the two professors who taught the class [...]
All the Crazy Things Said About and Done With Petite Sirah ~ Episode 2
File this one under CLASSIC: This is what happens when just anyone can get onto the Internet and write whatever he or she pleases. When it involves Petite Sirah, I’m going to find it. And if it doesn’t make any sense, I’m going to dispel it. I’ve tried the more direct route, by searching out [...]
What An Extraordinary Read With Unrivaled Visuals
Wine’s Hidden Beauty by Sondra Barrett, PhD, is a walk in the wilds of a microscope. Sondra delivers the heart and soul of wine like we’ve never experienced it before… Or have we? Have we journeyed to the life that exists within a bottle of wine intuitively before, but just not recognized it in our [...]
Getting to the Heart and Soul of Suisun Valley
I’m working on a project right now that’s captured my imagination with new concepts about all the old facts I’ve learned regarding Suisun Valley. We’ve been working with the growers and producers for a six year cycle. As this year’s plan came together, we all knew was that the last year of their grant money [...]
