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 [...]
Thoughts on an Obscure AVA ~ Suisun Valley’s Emergence
I’m currently writing about an obscure American Viticultural Area, called Suisun Valley. Many years ago, Rick Wood (who lives in Fairfield, California) had a dream to preserve some of Solano Country’s most rustic and precious farmland. That bucolic region is called Suisun Valley. Rick’s dream to save this area for generations to come would provide [...]
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 [...]
American Viticultural Area (AVA) ~ How Suisun Valley Got Its Name
Working with the Suisun Valley AVA, I’ve wondered more than once how Suisun Valley got its original name. My duties have been to tell everyone what’s going on in the valley today; however, always in the background has been that question. I’ve heard snippets about Native Americans, but nothing that was really sticking with me. [...]
daring pairings ~ Evan Goldstein’s new book is one of vinous adventure
I haven’t read Evan Goldstein’s first book, Perfect Pairings, and now I know that I’m missing a great book in my library. I’ll have to remedy that. Why? Because I’ve just finished Evan’s latest book daring pairings, published by UC Press, and now only imagine the great wine and food recommendations that I’ve yet to [...]
Revisiting “Removing the Cork 101″ ~ It’s not brain surgery
Just can’t get enough of this one, as I watch people struggle all the time, including nervous wait servers. Originally posted on January 16, 2006… Here it is again. Why is pulling out a cork so darn intimidating? Because very few of us in our American culture were raised on wine, so we don’t know [...]
Wine, Women, and Shoes ~ What a trip!
First of all, I learned something very important at this event… But, let me digress for a minute. A while ago, I wanted to protect my camera from my husband. He’s lovely… no problem there, he’s just been known to drop a few things, so I bought him his own camera. Now that he has [...]
